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By Emma Castleberry<\/p>\n
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\u2019s (USDA\u2019s) Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). This year\u2019s LFPP grant is the largest ever in the program\u2019s history, and the Mother Earth Food grant is the largest of four awarded in North Carolina. It will support the \u201cMother Earth Food Hub Expansion Project,\u201d which focuses on marketing to and educating the public about the importance of supporting local farms. \u201cWhen you purchase local, real people are affected,\u201d says Janelle Tatum, CEO of Mother Earth Food.<\/p>\n
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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. \u201cThe point is a sustainable future where we are giving back to our environment,\u201d says Tatum. \u201cThat\u2019s healthy not just for the body and our community and economy but also for the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The goal of the project is to double Mother Earth Food\u2019s business in three years. \u201cIn the process of doubling the business of Mother Earth Food, we will double the purchasing from our farmers and food vendors,\u201d says Tatum. Mother Earth Food has already proven it is capable of dramatic growth: in 2020, the business grew 450 percent. \u201cAt the time, our farmers were displaced from all the other closures,\u201d says Tatum. \u201cWe had all the supply and all the demand and we bridged the two.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when quarantine lifted, many people went back to their former buying habits and business decreased. \u201cEven 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,\u201d says Andrea DuVall, who co-founded Mother Earth Food with Graham DuVall. \u201cWe like the idea of supporting local farms, but are we really doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Andrea DuVall and Janelle Tatum. Photo by Buchi Kombucha<\/p><\/div>\n
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. \u201cIt has been a really fruitful relationship because they were able to take quantity at a good price and really help us grow,\u201d Gifford says. \u201cIt gave us the confidence to plant out more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gifford explains that purchasing commitments are crucial for the success of any farm, large or small. \u201cYou want to know you have it sold before you plant it,\u201d he says. Unfortunately, it\u2019s 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\u2019t have to worry about that. \u201cThe best thing about working with Mother Earth Food is the people,\u201d Gifford says. \u201cThey\u2019re honest and they really care about local food. They\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
In light of the grant awarded to Mother Earth Food, Gifford has decided to significantly expand his harvest this coming year. \u201cIt\u2019s a direct reflection of the ripple effect of how our local farmers can grow with us,\u201d says DuVall.<\/p>\n
The LFPP grant also demonstrates that the federal government has started to recognize the importance of supporting and establishing local food networks. \u201cMost government funds are reserved for bigger entities that typically don\u2019t produce very good food,\u201d says Gifford. \u201cMost of the corn and soy subsidies go to subsidize Pepsi and Coca-Cola who need cheap corn for their products. It\u2019s good to see a small business getting access to these funds. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the grant we feel like we\u2019ve got some backing behind us,\u201d says Tatum. \u201cI\u2019m excited for the potential and possibilities. We\u2019re in a position to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n