To access new markets, veteran and beginning farmers alike can benefit from training, technical assistance, and other direct support to keep abreast of new opportunities, rules and regulations, etc. Food hubs play a role in linking their farmers to educational resources and organizations, in addition to providing their own training and education resources.
BUILDING FARMER CAPACITY
Member Spotlight
High Country Food Hub’s Blue Ridge CRAFT program: Blue Ridge Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program cultivates meaningful mentor relationships between aspiring and experienced farmers. Blue Ridge CRAFT connects aspiring farmers with experienced farmers and encourages innovative on-farm educational and professional experiences. Developed in 2014, the program has served over 100 farmers each year!
In addition to one-on-one mentorship, the CRAFT program organizes regular workshops, from biochar to pest management to grant writing to bookkeeping, and everything in between.
Member Spotlight
Feast Down East’s Farmer Scholarship Program
Feast Down East runs its own Farmer Scholarship Program, awarding up to $500 to support farm operations within 100 miles of FDE’s hub. The program specifically focuses on supporting beginner, first-generational, minority, and veteran farmers, and farms that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship. The program uniquely provides direct support to farmers and demonstrates how FDE is more than just another market to local producers.
