71st SWCS International Annual Conference July 24-27, 2016 Louisville, KY

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From Farm to Table: A Continuum of
Agricultural Evolution and Community
Supported Agriculture
Farm Academy, Farmers Markets, Community
Markets, Farm School, Meals Ready to Go!
Dana York, Green Earth Connection,
Bob Ensor, Howard SCD
The Need for Community Awareness
Leading to Support of Ag
• Minimizing Agricultural-Residential Conflicts
• Situation: The more recent new residents of rural
western Howard County are highly educated but
uninformed and functionally agriculturally illiterate.
confrontations, misunderstandings and community
division that tear at the rural fabric of the area.
• Bikers vs Wagons and Diesels
• Saturday morning sleepers vs Farm work
• Organic vs Conventional, GMO, Pesticide, animal welfare
misinformation
The Farm Academy Birth
• Objective is to provide an opportunities for rural
residents to:
• Interact with local farmers,
• Learn about the basics of the farming business
and the agricultural decisions
• Educate local residents about the business and
environmental regulations that a farming enterprise
must deal with.
Method to the Madness!
• Proposal: A basic curriculum:
• Forums/seminars are offered on Saturday mornings
at farms for 2-3 hours throughout the entire year.
• Experience an entire cycle of farming from
preparation through planting, harvesting and
marketing crops as well as livestock operations, dairy
farms, vegetable and specialty crops.
• Specialists in various areas are utilized
Well Informed, Knowledgeable
Neighbors = Great Customers
“The more you know and understand, the less
concerned and intimidated you are.”
This results in support for agriculture, a
willingness to talk to someone with a different
lifestyle and background and community
support for farming neighbors.
Endorsed by County Executive

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Farm Bureau Supported
Lesson Plans with Objectives, Methodology, expected
Outcomes and Metrics of Success
Right to Farm Overview:
State Law
County Ordinances
Smells/Traffic/Noise
Ag Preservation Programs, how they work
Production/Farm Areas:
Dairy
Daily/Milking/Animal Care
Breeding/Calving/Milking/Drying off
Crop involvement
Equipment
Manure Management
Corn/Soybeans/Wheat (Operation that has all
on one location at once)
Planning/Prep
Planting: Equipment/Fertilizing/NMP/BMPs
Midseason Mgmt: Sidedressing/NM; Scouting/PM
Harvesting: Equipment; Marketing/Sale
Produce
Planning/Prep
Planting:
Equipment/Fertilizing/NMP/BMPs
Midseason Mgmt: NM; Scouting/PM
Harvesting: Equipment; Marketing/
Farmers Market
Equine
Daily Schedule/Animal Care
Manure Management
Beef
Daily Schedule/Animal Care
Breeding/Calving/Weaning/Growing/
Finishing/Butcher
Marketing/Sale
Manure Management
Farm Academy Tours Farm Academy Tours
• Lots of interaction and
questions for the
farmers!
Farm Academy Tours Farm Academy Tours

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Farm Academy Tours
A
local food
story
Jonesborough Locally Grown
Goals…
• To tell about Jonesborough’s local
food story
• To explain why local food matters
• To encourage you to shop local
• To inspire you to become members of
a local food movement!
Farmer Heather Halsey
Neighbor Curtis
Buchanan
It began with a farmers market…
Jonesborough Farmers Market Founders
2008
Year 1: We opened with 10
vendors

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2009
We moved to Courthouse Square. We have had as
many as 37 vendors at a time (average is 28)2010-Now
Uniqueness…
• Our farmers sell only what
they grow &/or raise
themselves
• No reselling is allowed
• We complete farm inspections
every other year to assure this
and provide technical
assistance.
Shopping local
allows you to
know your
farmer!
At a Producer-only Market You Can:
• Learn methods used by your growers,
understand challenges faced.
• Learn about special varieties/heirlooms
• Learn what it takes to grow your food
It is More Fresh!
• Minutes or hours to table, not weeks.
• Average food item travels 1,500 miles to table in the United
States…at our market is it less than 50, or less than 100 at the
store.

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Economic & Environmental Impact
• Economic impact of buying local - 3 X’s that of big
box purchases.
• Real improvement for farmers: Retain 80-100 cents
of each food dollar vs. 7 cents!
• Keeps farmland in farm use
• Small farm runoff far less than large farm
What Else Makes Us Unique?
• Community spirit within the market:
• Mostly volunteer run. Volunteer board, Vendors help each other set up
& break down. Only introduced paid managers in 2013.
• Community Volunteers: help with set-up and break-down, staff information
booth, organize music each week.
• Community Support: Town, Main Street Café & Catering
Because of All This Help…
We Make a Little Go a Long Way.
• Weekly live music
• Cooking demonstrations
• Weekly kids feature
• EBT/Debit/Credit
• Weekly prize drawings
• Mural
• T-shirts
• Farm to Table Dinner
• Online Market
• School garden
Local
musicians
add to the
ambiance!
2014: $12,000 ---- $2000 EBT---- $500/vendor
EBT/Food Stamps/Tokens
Kids learn about chiles
&
turn the roaster at
Chapo’s Chile Patch

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South Side School Garden 2012 Farm to
Table
Dinner
The Inspiration… “Outstanding in the Field” The first dinner… August 27th, 2011
Beautiful…

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The farm fresh spread…
In 2015, served 216 guests
Raised $9,000 for Jonesborough Locally Grown
and purchased $2,000 of local food from our farmers.
More about the dinner and ticket waiting list at:
jonesboroughfarmtotable.blogspot.com
Volunteer Serving Staff
An Aerial View down Main Street Jonesborough
Online
Market
2009-
2014
Leads
to
Boone
Street
Market

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Online Sales History
Year Weeks
Open
Total Sales Avg. Sales
Per Week
Aug-Dec
2009
21 $3,894 $185
Winter 2010-
11
21 $2,630 $125
2011-12 25 $13,785 $551
2012-13 25 $30,280 $1211
2013-14 23 $34,840 $1514
The growth in online sales is what convinced us the year-round market was
strong for local food.
These sales are to folks who can order online and pick up in an one-hour window once a week, so we
projected demand would be at least 2-3 times bigger if available all week long.
We set our sights on the old “Bob’s Exxon”station…
to become Boone Street Market
Why A Local Grocery?
• Demonstrated growth in local food interest
• Farmers need opportunities outside of the farmers market
to expand sales
• A great opportunity in a highly visible location
• Town partnership - help with grants ($50,000) and labor for
construction
• We felt we could raise $$ locally ($90k)
• Success stories elsewhere – Wild Ramp in Huntington, WV
• Why not?
1st Stop:
Photos from our visit to‘The
Wild Ramp’, Huntington, WV
- Opened July 2012
New Building!

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Huntington, WV Johnson City, TN
City population 49,000 65,000
County population 140,000 123,000
Metro area population 364,101 200,000/500,000
Open Monday – Saturday!
Before…
After…

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A place for farmers to
bring produce and for
consumers to shop…
year round!
A lot of fresh, local,
whole foods!
Then…
Now!
Boone Street Market Store – November 2014
Photo by Montanti
Boone Street Market Statistics
• Vendors at Startup: 42 (October 27th 2014)
• Currently: Total of 94 different vendors
• 48 Wholesale Food Producers
- Most are value added food producers
- Three are wholesalers of farm products
- Under wholesale 21 farms supported
• 46 Consignment vendors
- 36 farms
- 6 bakers
- 4 value added suppliers (jellies, pickles, sauces, granolas, coffee)
• 226 customer members and 52 vendor members. Members pay
$50 for the year and receive a 5% discount on all purchases.
Online Sales History + BSM
Year Weeks
Open
Total Sales Avg. Sales
Per Week
Aug-Dec 2009 21 $3,894 $185
Winter
2010-11
21 $2,630 $125
2011-12 25 $13,785 $551
2012-13 25 $30,280 $1,211
2013-14 23 $34,840 $1,514
Store opening thru
Sept 17, 2015
46 $225,935 $4,911

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Wild Ramp avg. monthly sales during their 1st year, Dec-Feb: $20,405/month
Boone Street Market: $21,915/month
Memberships!
• Annual members support locally grown with a $50
donation.
• In return, members receive a 5% discount at store,
and credit card fees are waived at farmers market.
• Helps balance cash flow for store.
• $750 lifetime memberships also available
• Donations of any size gratefully accepted!
• We HAVE our 501c3 status as of June 2016!!
TDA Certified Community Kitchen
• Rents at $10.00 an hour
• Anyone can use it and sell product at BSM or outside
of BSM
• May need to seek other licenses/certifications
depending on product
• Currently, we are focusing on ready to heat/to-go
meals – of coarse locally sourced!
100 Mile Dinners
100 Mile Dinners
• Monthly Fundraiser
• Held at BSM
• Ticket price - $30-$40
• Prepared by a volunteer guest cook
• All food is sourced from within 100 miles

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The Beginning
Farmer Field
School of East
Tennessee
Appalachian RC&D, Jonesborough Locally Grown
and Green Earth Connection designed a
Field School for those who wanted to take their
passion for farming to the next level!!
Field School Objectives: SPONSORS
We Asked for Local Support:
• BECOME A SPONSOR: $200-$500
• SPONSOR A Meal
• SPONSOR A Farmer
• SPONSOR Educational Materials
• PROVIDE SOME LAND FOR A
BEGINNING FARMER- LAND LINK
• BE A PRESENTOR at a COURSE
• BECOME A MENTOR
• PROMOTE the FIELD SCHOOL
Classroom and Field Sessions had a mix of
Agricultural Experts and Farmers who can give real
life examples of how to be successful.

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Field
School
Schedule
One day a
month for
9 months!
Dinner was Provided by:
Example Agenda for Marketing
Class
• 6:15-7:10 --Aubrey Depelteau, E.D. of the ETSU
Innovation Lab –
• Visioning your Marketing Approach - hands on
exercise
• 7:10- 8:15-- "Experiences in Marketing Our Farm
Products" Panel:
• Adam and Abby Borden- Sunset View Farm
• Chris Wilson- Clover Creek Farm
• Aubrey and Linda Raper- Rogue Harbor Farm,
• 8:15-8:50-- Class Participation and Discussion- "What
is your biggest Marketing Challenge?”
• 8:50-9:00-- Class Homework - Developing a One Page
Business Plan for a Future Venture...this is what will
be presented at our August 18th "Graduation" Party
at Dana York's farm.
Aubrey and Linda Raper- Rogue Harbor Farm,
Produce and Christmas Wreaths
Jimmy
McAlister,
Greenville,
TN

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Tony Slaughter
Farms
Matt Dobson
PRESERVATION FARMS
Field Trips
First Graduating Class!
Roving Radish Mobile Market
What is the Roving Radish?
The Roving Radish is a Howard County program
dedicated to promoting healthy farm to table eating
habits to our community, while creating sustainable
markets for our local and regional farms. We achieve
this by selling healthy meal kits, sourced from local and
regional farms, to our community. The meal kits are
made available to all Howard County residents, and are
offered at a discounted price to those in need.

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Roving Radish
Crew
What does a meal kit include:
Standard meal kit includes ingredients to make two
dinners for a family of four.
Premium meal kit is offered at different times
through out the year and includes one dinner for a
family of four.
Local farms provide all ingredients whenever possible.
Meal kits include a recipe card. Roving Radish
recipes have no more than 750 calories, less than 30%
of calories coming from fat and no more than 1050 mg
of sodium.
How much does a meal kit cost:
Standard Meal Price - $28.00 for a meal kit with two meals
for a family of four.
Premium Meal Kit Price - $28.00 for a meal kit with one
meal for a family of four.
Subsidized Price* - $12.00 for standard or premium meal kit.
*To qualify for the subsidized price you must have participated in any of the
following programs in the last 12 months: Food Stamps/Food Supplement
Program (FSP) or SNAP, Women, Infants and Children (WIC),
Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), Medical Assistance – Medicaid or
Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP), School breakfast or lunch
program. Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). This is not the same
program as Social Security Income.
How does it work?
• May 30, 2016 to November 23, 2016.
• All orders are taken through our website.
• Ordering is simple, select the week you would like to pick up a
meal kit for, choose the meal kit you would like, specify if you
are paying regular price or subsidized price, select the location
you want to pick up your meal kit from and check out.
• At checkout, you can either pay online with your credit card or
pay at pick-up (cash, credit or EBT only).
• All orders for the coming week, must be placed by 11:59 p.m.,
Thursday, the week before.
• Meal kits are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Roving Radish Pick Up
Locations
Monday:
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Old Bushy Park Elementary School, 2670 Roxbury Mills Rd. (Rt.97), Glenwood, MD
21797
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm, George Howard Building, 3430 Old Court House Dr., Ellicott City, MD 21043
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm, Howard County General Hospital, 5755 Cedar Lane, Columbia, MD 21044
Tuesday:
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, The Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia, MD 21044
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Grace Episcopal Church, 6725 Montgomery Rd., Elkridge, MD 21075
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Ascend One Building, 8930 Stanford Blvd., Columbia, MD 21045
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm, Bridgeway Community Church, 9189 Red Branch, Columbia, MD 21045
Wednesday:
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Savage Branch Library, 9525 Durness Lane, Savage, MD 20723
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm, Dancel Family Center Y, 4331 Montgomery Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21043
The Roving Radish has a lot of
volunteer opportunities.
We need volunteers to work in our kitchen Sunday,
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Sunday we need
four to six volunteers from 11 am - 3 pm. On Mondays,
Tuesday and Wednesday we need two to three
volunteers for our two shifts which are from 8 am - 12
noon and 12 noon - 4 pm. We also have other volunteer
opportunities occasionally for marketing and special
events for the Roving Radish.

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We are proud of the farms we buy
from, check them out below:
Breezy Willow Farm, Sykesville MD
Clark Never Sell The Farm, Ellicott
City MD
Gravel Springs Farm, Union Bridge,
MD
Larriland Farm, Woodbine, MD
Lewis Orchard, Cavetown, MD
Love Dove Farm, Woodbine, MD
Nutting Acres, Westminster, MD
Papa's Produce, Woodbine, MD
Richardson Farm, Whitemarsh, MD
Schillinger Farm, Severn MD
Sharp's at Waterford Farm, Woodbine,
MD
TLV Farm, Glenelg, MD
Weber's Cider Mill Farm, Parkville,
MD
Wheeler Farm, Sykesville, MD
Turkey Chipotle Soft Tacos &
Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis
Roasted Vegetable And Ricotto Pizza
& Sesame-Chili Chicken With
Gingered Watermelon Salsa
Chicken Puttanesca With Patty Pan Squash &
Italian Sausage Hoagies With Green Beans
Arroz Con Pollo Chicken & Penne Rigate With
Spicy Sausage And Zucchini In Tomato Cream
Sauce
WEEKLY MEAL CHOICES
Week 1: Ravioli Lasagna & Adobo Chicken With Kale
Week 2: Pesto-Crusted Pork Chops With Sweet And Sour
Collards & Enchilada Casserole
Week 3: Oven Fried Parmesan Crusted Chicken & Thai Beef
Cabbage Cups
Week 4: Turkey Sausage And White Beans & Honey-Sesame
Chicken Cutlets
Week 5: Mushroom Beef Sloppy Joes With Kale & Chicken
And Basil Calzones

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For Information Contact:
Dana York- Green Earth Connection-
dyork818@yahoo.com, 410-708-6794
Robert Ensor- HSCD- District Manager-
bobensor49@gmail.com, 410-313-0680