Family Farm Share weekly seasonal contents. Photo by Kimberly Della Donna.
WAYCROSS PILOT PROGRAM
Family Farm Share connects families with young children to local food and the farmers in their community who grow it through a weekly, subsidized, fresh food subscription program and Farm to Early Care & Education initiatives. The goal of this program is to increase low-income community access to local, organic, food and nutrition education while expanding small scale farmers' customer base and capacity to meet demand.
Add/Update: Create two columns (one for Waycross, one for West GA) - click the button to get to the SE GA or West GA pages
Keep Waycross photo and Waycross partner logos + button
Add West GA photo and West GA partner logos + button
Add: SE GA FFS page
Pictures of FFS farmers and the kids
Will add impact later on (next March)
The Southeast Georgia Family Farm Share program is comprised of Action Pact, WayGreen, Inc., Ware Children’s Initiative, a cohort of local farmers, and Georgia Organics. These partners have collaboratively developed a low-cost, weekly fresh food program specifically designed for families of young children at Action Pact’s Head Start campus.
We launched the program in 2021 with a Community Transformation Grant of $75,000 from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) to address childhood food insecurity for children ages birth to five in Waycross. We’ve expanded the program to serve Ware, Pierce, Bacon and Brantley counties with generous funding from the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation and Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
We continue to add to the cohort of small-scale farmers growing for the program, to increase access while educating families about how to prepare and enjoy their weekly bounty from local farmers.
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“It’s so affordable and the info sheets about how to use and store the fruits and veggies have been extremely helpful.”- WayGreen FFS Member, 2024
Everything is wonderful and I always look forward to getting my bag each week. - WayGreen FFS Member, 2023
"The program was a huge boost in sales because I knew that there was a box every week with a set amount of orders. It helped me to plan ahead for harvesting a certain amount as well as crop planning to be able to harvest a certain amount for future boxes...." WayGreen FFS Farmer
I loved everything about the program. It was a tremendous, healthy blessing to our Head Start families. It provided exposure to our local farmers. It encouraged my family to try new foods and recipes. Mrs. Oliver and the delivery staff were outstanding! - WayGreen FFS Member, 2023
Add: West GA FFS page
Logos: GO, CAFI and FFCSA (UWG ELC?)
Photos (side by side):
The West Georgia Family Farm Share program is comprised of Georgia Organics, Farmers Fresh CSA, and Community Action For Improvement (CAFI). These partners launched the West Georgia initiative in Spring of 2024 to reach children from birth to five years old with fresh, healthy produce while educating families on preparing and enjoying their weekly bounty from West Georgia farmers.
The program is specifically designed for families of young children at CAFI’s Head Start locations in Carroll and Coweta Counties, with generous funding from the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation and Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
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“I love getting farm fresh fruit and vegetables that I can prepare with my babies and they enjoy the taste of them better than the store fruits and vegetables.” -West GA FFS Member, Summer 2024
“This program has been absolutely amazing for my family and I. Thank you so much for all the fresh produce and taking the time to provide families with fresh produce weekly.” -West GA FFS Member, Summer 2024
“Farmers Fresh CSA is excited to have this opportunity to connect our local farms with families in our community. We know that exposing children to a variety of fresh produce at a young age helps them develop healthy eating habits for life,” said Patricia Gladney-Heatherington of Farmers Fresh CSA.
“By leveraging the collective strengths of these organizations, we aim to implement a comprehensive "whole family" approach to improving food access. This partnership supports our mission to empower individuals and families toward self-sufficiency through high-quality social and educational services." Brittany Carlock, Head Start Director of CAFI
The Waycross Family Farm Share Pilot has received a Community Transformation Grant of $75,000 from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) to address childhood food insecurity for children ages birth to five in Waycross.
Waycross Family Farm Share Pilot is comprised of Action Pact, WayGreen, Inc., Ware Children’s Initiative, and Georgia Organics. These partners will collaboratively develop a low-cost, weekly fresh food box program with farmers that are specifically designed for families of young children at Action Pact’s Head Start campus.
The goal of this initiative is to increase access to local, organic, in-season, and healthy food while educating families about how to prepare and enjoy their weekly bounty from Ware County farmers.
Connie Oliver, Founder of WayGreen, Inc.; Carol Clarke, Training and Literacy Specialist for Action Pact; Dr. Shelli Tyre, Deputy Director for Action Pact and Board Member for Ware County Children’s Initiative.
“The Family Farm Share Program will be a great addition to our Head Start program’s focus on the education, nutrition, and health of the children and families we serve in Ware County.
“Action pact already has strong partnerships in place with WayGreen and the Ware County Children’s Initiative and we look forward to working with our local farmers to provide fresh, healthy foods to those we serve.”
- Bryan Singleton, Executive Director, Action Pact
“What I love about Family Farm Share is we’re meeting families where they’re at, within their daily routines at daycare and early care centers, while connecting small farmers to new markets close to their farms. We hope to make Waycross a model that other communities can adapt and make their own.”
- Suzanne Girdner, Community Outreach Manager, Georgia Organics
WHAT’S NEXT?
The project commenced in August 2021, and work is underway identifying local farmers for participation. Beginning in early November, Family Farm engaging participating farmers and early care families to discuss their needs and preferences for fresh food. Progress and stories of the pilot program will be shared on this page and on Georgia Organics’ social media.
“We know that if we teach healthy eating habits to kids when they are young it is much more likely those habits will stay with them throughout their lifetime. The collaborative partners of the Ware Children’s Initiative work hard to ensure that all children in Ware County grow up healthy. The Family Farm Share pilot is a great opportunity to expand our work by increasing our families' access to fresh local affordable food.”
- Gail Seifert, Coordinator, Ware Children’s Initiative
ABOUT THE GRANT
The Waycross Family Farm Share Pilot is one of eight local collaboratives to receive a DECAL Community Transformation Grant. The recipients were selected from a group of 34 partnerships that participated in a rigorous application process.
“We are proud to support this important project through a Community Transformation Grant,” said DECAL Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs.
“It will help to advance our efforts to improve both the access to and quality of vital early education services for our youngest learners and their families across the state.”
The Community Transformation Grants are funded from the three-year, $11.2 million Preschool Development Renewal Grant (PDG) Georgia was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education in January 2020.
The federal grant allows Georgia to design and implement activities to help ensure that children from ages birth to 5 in the state have access to high-quality early childhood programs and services.
