Georgia Magazine - July 2020 - 8

GEORGIA News

Compiled by Jennifer J. Hewett

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Produce delivery helps farmers
bring crops to customers

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JOE SPICCIA

ccording to Georgia Grown, a division of the
Georgia Department of Agriculture, the
state's spring fruit and vegetable harvest has
an estimated farm-gate value of $500 million to
$750 million, about 50 percent of which is traditionally marketed through food-service operations. In
the wake of COVID-19, closures of restaurants and
farmers markets have meant that farmers need
Georgians' help now more than ever to get fresh
fruits, vegetables and other products into the hands
of consumers.
One small business, Fresh Harvest in Clarkston,
has stepped up to support Georgia growers. Fresh
Harvest customers can enjoy a weekly delivery
of local produce, meat, dairy, pantry staples and
specialty items, including craft sodas, small-batch
Josh and Jess Plymale, the married owner-operators at Row by Rowe Organic
chocolates and artisan baked goods.
Farm in Luthersville, supply produce for Fresh Harvest's market baskets.
In the six weeks since mid-March, Fresh
Harvest's orders doubled.
You also can buy directly from farmers in your
"We were doing 1,700 or 1,800 deliveries a week, and now we're doing
area using Georgia Organics' Good Food Guide
4,000. That's with a waiting list, too," says David Melton, Fresh Harvest's
at gfg.georgiaorganics.org. And you can search
director of sales.
specific Georgia Grown products from farms and
Melton says the Fresh Harvest team is rejuvenated every time a farmer
businesses all over the state at georgiagrown.com/
says, "We're really thankful to still have a place to sell our stuff."
Melton says this challenging time is encouraging consumers to rethink find-georgia-grown.
-Katie Teems Norris
where their food comes from as well as food economies and the global
food system.
"Farmers stand to do well," he says. "Everybody's just got to get
through this really tough season."
If you live in metro Atlanta and want to help by purchasing goods from
Georgia farmers through Fresh Harvest, visit freshharvestga.com to sign
up for weekly deliveries.
Georgia's electric cooperatives are en-

4 Get counted

Summer meal help

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PHUMI

Georgia Magazine

8-9_GA_News_SW_0720.indd 8

Did you know that one in five Georgia children
is food-insecure? The Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP)-operated by the Georgia
Department of Early Care and Learning and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture-provides free,
healthy meals and snacks to any child 18 or
younger and to qualified disabled adults 19
and older.
To find an SFSP site near you, click on the
mapping tool at fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks, text
"Summer Meals" to 97779 or call (866) 348-6479.

couraging their members to take part in the
U.S. Census-particularly in South Georgia,
where the response so far has been very low.
To participate in the U.S. Census, visit
my2020census.gov and log in using the ID
number that you received in the mail. Accurate counts are vital because federal funding
and governmental representation are based
on the Census data.
According to the U.S. Census, only
64.8 percent of Georgians were counted in
2010. For every person who is not counted, a
county misses out on $23,000 of federal funding over the 10-year period between counts.
-Amy Schneider

July 2020

6/12/20 1:06 AM

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http://gfg.georgiaorganics.org http://www.georgiagrown.com/find-georgia-grown http://www.georgiagrown.com/find-georgia-grown http://www.freshharvestga.com https://my2020census.gov/ http://fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks

Georgia Magazine - July 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - July 2020