Ownership of the land is a key tenement of the American Dream. There is a movement throughout the country to take back ownership of land with a huge focus on owning the food systems. Today we are highlighting an urban farm in North Charleston, SC doing just that. Fresh Future Farm is a nonprofit urban farm and grocery store providing access to healthy, affordable groceries for the Chicora/Cherokee neighborhood. This week their Kickstarter went live with the goal of owning the land they have sowed and developed for the past couple of years. Here is a link to support their cause: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/freshfuturefarm/claim-our-roots-help-us-build-a-community-food-operation
If you want to learn more about why to support your local farm, Germaine Jenkins, Chief Farm Officer of Fresh Future Farm gave us some compelling reasons and we have shared them below. Be sure to share images of you supporting your local farms and farmers markets using the hashtag #blacksouthernbelle
Reasons to Support Your Local Farm and the Fresh Future Farm
Photo of Germain Jenkins
1) FFF cares for people through neighborhood employment opportunities, grocery services, gardening classes, and farm camps, and public art.
2) FFF cares for the planet through its use of natural and dry farming techniques. We use fruit trees and discarded materials to grow minimize water use and grow the best tasting produce and eggs in the Lowcountry.
3) FFF shares the surplus by offering sliding scale pricing at our USDA certified grocery store. Our customers pay what they can afford for the same high quality selection of groceries.
4) FFF supports black entrepreneurship. Not only does the farm source products from Black businesses but we also hosted the first Black Farmers Conference for farmers and food entrepreneurs in SC. Our hope is to attract more young people into farming field and create a buying network with established farms.
5) FFF is developing a community food operation that will eventually sustain itself but also be a replicable model that other underserved communities can use to nourish themselves.
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Michiel is a Black Southern Belle living a lowcountry life. I love all things fashion, home decor and southern! When I am not running around doing fun stuff for Black Southern Belle, I live in antique stores and have a minor obsession with historic homes :)
