Why Are We Doing This?
Great question! For a few reasons.
We are concerned about food security during this time and want to make it as easy as possible for you to access fresh, nutritious, and quality products. Amazingly, just in our backyard, Montgomery County growers can offer most of what you need to keep you and your family well-fed. As well as contribute to your well-being (with flowers!).
It seems more important that ever for farms to come together. Times like these test the resiliency of small businesses, and most food growers in Montgomery County are small farms of just a few employees and acres. By banding together, small farms are stronger. Creating this initiative, allows farms to sell their produce to markets they may have not been able to access, therefore diversifying their income sources. A robust and PROFITABLE local food system is vital to secure our future.
Online delivery stores like Butcher Box, Blue Apron, Imperfect Produce, From the Farmer has made it much harder to sustain a vibrant CSA. So, we thought, why not make our own online delivery service??
Our Solution
For the last few years Farmer Mike has talked with folks from all over the county, trying to create a plan that would make partnership with other farms possible. Although not a "perfect" solution, we decided that offering a diverse MoCo Made share could bring farms together and attract a wide audience of customers. We've had countless meetings, invited speakers from other regions who have implement similar models, and have discussed (ad-nauseam) ways we can make it work.
The greatest challenge has been organizing the initiative. We spent the last week writing up a proposal to raise funds so we can really get this idea up and running. It has been submitted to county officials. We are also furiously writing grants to get additional funding. Now we wait.
But, we really wanted to see if creating a diverse share offering would be possible. So that is why we are offering the share now. There is interest with the county government to see this project move forward, so the best way to demonstrate the success of such an idea is simply, start!
Please let us know if you have any questions, support@oneacrefarm.com.