Farms

Contract Purchasing Program

Community FarmShare believes in fair pricing for farmers. We contract purchase the crops we need for the year which offers farmers several advantages:

  • Farmers can plan their crops according to agreed volumes and pricing that works for both them.

  • Farmers know they have a guaranteed sales channel and can plan their cashflow needs accordingly.

We also offer advance payment options to pay farmers upfront in the spring because cash outflow for farms is highest early in the season (labor, seeds, inputs) before the harvest brings in cash inflow.

Produce Aggregation Hub

Aggregating produce in a central location enables small farmers to sell to medium and large institutional buyers that they otherwise would have difficulty accessing.

  1. Community FarmShare’s aggregation hub is set up to dually support farmers and meet the needs of our core Food Is Medicine and Farm to School programs. By purchasing culturally valued produce from many farmers, we are able to ensure the quality and that desired items reach the community.

  2. The aggregation hub serves as a procurement point for nonprofit, educational and social services organizations that intentionally want to support our local food system by buying from local farmers. We currently facilitate local produce procurement for:

    1. Capital Area Food Bank’s LFPA program (Local Food Purchasing Assistance, a USDA grant program)

    2. Community Schools and SNAP-Ed classroom tasting program

    3. Food Assistance Providers that raise their own funds to purchase fresh produce and participate in the True Cost of Food Matching Grant program

As larger agricultural infrastructure projects in the region are built out, Community FarmShare’s local aggregation hub will tie into the larger local food system including the network of regional food hubs and future additional needed agricultural infrastructure projects on a county and regional level.

If you are a FARMER looking to sell through Community FarmShare, or a COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION that wishes to purchase local farm produce for the communities you serve, please Contact Us.

All of our initiatives benefit both farmers and eaters. Check out the other ways we help: