By Emma Castleberry
In an exciting new development for the local food movement, food hub and delivery service Mother Earth Food has received a grant for $750,000 from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). This year’s LFPP grant is the largest ever in the program’s history, and the Mother Earth Food grant is the largest of four awarded in North Carolina. It will support the “Mother Earth Food Hub Expansion Project,” which focuses on marketing to and educating the public about the importance of supporting local farms. “When you purchase local, real people are affected,” says Janelle Tatum, CEO of Mother Earth Food.
The impact of purchasing local food is not just economic but also environmental, as Mother Earth Food works with small farms who use responsible agricultural practices. “The point is a sustainable future where we are giving back to our environment,” says Tatum. “That’s healthy not just for the body and our community and economy but also for the planet.”
The goal of the project is to double Mother Earth Food’s business in three years. “In the process of doubling the business of Mother Earth Food, we will double the purchasing from our farmers and food vendors,” says Tatum. Mother Earth Food has already proven it is capable of dramatic growth: in 2020, the business grew 450 percent. “At the time, our farmers were displaced from all the other closures,” says Tatum. “We had all the supply and all the demand and we bridged the two.”
But when quarantine lifted, many people went back to their former buying habits and business decreased. “Even in Asheville and Western Carolina, where we are a thriving local food community, only one to two percent of what food is bought is local,” says Andrea DuVall, who co-founded Mother Earth Food with Graham DuVall. “We like the idea of supporting local farms, but are we really doing it?”
Andrea DuVall and Janelle Tatum. Photo by Buchi Kombucha
Consistency and long-term commitment are crucial to anchoring a local food system. Rand Gifford is the owner of Greenshine Farms, which grows vegetables as well as hemp for its Akira Botanicals line of CBD products. Mother Earth Food has been purchasing both vegetables and CBD products from Greenshine for five years. “It has been a really fruitful relationship because they were able to take quantity at a good price and really help us grow,” Gifford says. “It gave us the confidence to plant out more.”
Gifford explains that purchasing commitments are crucial for the success of any farm, large or small. “You want to know you have it sold before you plant it,” he says. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for a buyer to make an agreement and then try to lower the price at purchase time. In working with Mother Earth Food, Gifford doesn’t have to worry about that. “The best thing about working with Mother Earth Food is the people,” Gifford says. “They’re honest and they really care about local food. They’re willing to work with smaller farms and pay them a fair price for their goods. The biggest obstacle to local food is farmers being able to make a living off of growing it. If we really want to change that paradigm, it starts with farmers being able to get a fair price for their goods.”
In light of the grant awarded to Mother Earth Food, Gifford has decided to significantly expand his harvest this coming year. “It’s a direct reflection of the ripple effect of how our local farmers can grow with us,” says DuVall.
The LFPP grant also demonstrates that the federal government has started to recognize the importance of supporting and establishing local food networks. “Most government funds are reserved for bigger entities that typically don’t produce very good food,” says Gifford. “Most of the corn and soy subsidies go to subsidize Pepsi and Coca-Cola who need cheap corn for their products. It’s good to see a small business getting access to these funds. It’s going to be great for the farmers and the whole local food scene is going to thrive, and Mother Earth Food is a huge part of that.”
“With the grant we feel like we’ve got some backing behind us,” says Tatum. “I’m excited for the potential and possibilities. We’re in a position to make a difference.”
To learn more or sign up for organic food delivery, visit MotherEarthFood.com.
