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Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association hasn't added a story.
Help us!
By donating to this campaign you are supporting certified organic farms to offer half price Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares to low-income families in their communities. In the video, you can hear one of the farms participating in this project, Hatchet Cove Farm, talk about the role they play in food security in their region. For the past 5 years, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) has done fundraising to enable farmers to offer reduced price shares while the farmers still receive the full share value.
This program helps struggling Maine families to eat local, healthy, and organic food, generates new customers for farmers, and keeps federal SNAP funds in local economies. Your donation will:
70%: go directly to farmers so they can offer these half-price CSA shares to low-income families
20%: create scholarships for certified organic farmers that are new to the program to pay for equipment and fees to process Supplemental Nutrition Access Program (SNAP) funds, formerly known as food stamps
10%: support staff time that makes these low-income CSA shares possible!
Please support this amazing program that contributes to all Maine families having access to healthy, Maine-grown, certified organic food! We hope to exceed our funding goal so we can expand the number of participating farms more quickly, fund additional discounted shares for struggling Maine families that don't qualify for SNAP, and support resource sharing with other national programs that are trying similar programs!
And have an impact right here, in Maine.
MOFGA and MOFGA certified organic farmers have been leaders in low-income access CSA programs; between all of the farmers involved we have been offering reduced price CSA shares to low income families for almost 10 years and in 7 different counties. While incentives for low-income consumers are common at farmers' markets, MOFGA was one of the first non-profits in the country to seek funding for the CSA incentives. The program allows low-income families to pay monthly and to pay as little as half the price of a CSA share over the course of a season, while the farm still receives the full share price. This creates a new customer base for farmers, keeps federal SNAP money in Maine, and opens up another method of access to local, organic food for low-income families.
New opportunities...
In 2014, for the first time ever, largely due to advocacy by organizations such as Wholesome Wave (who funded MOFGA for the past 5 years), the federal government invitied grant proposals to support incentive programs for families that received SNAP funds. MOFGA, in conjunction with the statewide Maine Local Foods Access Network, applied for those funds to support and expand the half price CSA share program across the state. We will find out if we receive those funds in April and if our grant proposal is approved, the money will come in sometime around June.
... and new challenges.
This creates a challenge, as most CSA farmers are registering and recruiting CSA customers in February and March. The farmers who offer half price shares to low-income families are taking a significant risk; if we do not receive federal funding they face the terrible choice of either offering half price shares to those consumers any way (a signficant threat to the financial viability of their farm) or telling those consumers they can no longer access healthy, organic food on their farm. If we are federally funded, this fundraising effort will support early season shares for low-income consumers before federal money is available. If we are not funded by the USDA, the money will be split among all the farms in our program to offer some kind of incentive, even if the full 50% discount is no longer a possibility. This fundraiser will also be used to leverage more grant monies for the program in the future!
Thank YOU!
Thank you for your consideration and support!! For more information, or to find a CSA farm near you offering reduced price shares to low-income families, please contact Heather Omand at MOFGA at homand@mofga.org
All pictures on this page taken by Prairie Stuart-Wolff, at cultivateddays.com, except the MOFGA logo.
*PLEASE NOTE: All perks with an asterisk are only specific "donation levels" and do not actually include any tangible benefit of any kind; just the intangible benefit of doing something wonderful for your local community!
Perks
- 7 claimed
Both Little Ridge Farm in Lisbon Falls and Village Farm in Freedom offer 5 low-income families in their local community half price CSA shares. These farmers have been offering these shares for the past few years. They are so thankful for your help in supporting their efforts! Village Farm: http://www.villagefarmfreedom.com/ Little Ridge Farm: http://littleridgefarm.com/
- 1 claimed
This will be Full Circle Farm's first year coming in to the SNAP/CSA program. They are located in Vassalboro and hope to support 5 to 7 low-income families in their first year. They need help accessing equipment to process SNAP payments and are so thankful you are willing to support them in this!
- 5 claimed
Happy Town Farm in Orland and Tide Mill Farm in Washington County will both offer 10 half price shares to low-income families in their community. Both of these farms operate in regions with high levels of poverty and are dedicated to playing their role in alleviating that struggle as much as possible. Thank you for your support from Tide Mill and Happy Town Farms!! Tide Mill Farm: http://www.tidemillorganicfarm.com/
- 1 claimed
Hatchet Cove Farm in Warren has been offering around 30+ low income families discounted CSA shares for 7+ years. They are committed to lifting up those in their community who need a little extra help and even do some of their own fundraising to help families who do not receive SNAP, but still struggle. They are so committed to this and are so thankful you are too!
- 1 claimed
Wolf Pine Farm in Alfred has been offering 35+ low-income families in their community discounted CSA shares for almost a decade. This is their first year working with MOFGA and had done all their own fundraising in the past. They are so excited to have additional help raising money for this valuable program, and thank you from their hearts for your support!
- 4 claimed
- 8 remaining
Get one delicious jar of jam, handmade by Keena, farmer at Little Ridge Farm in Lisbon Falls and get an opportunity to talk with her in person! Pick up your jam on farm only sometime in July - October any Tuesday or Friday from 3pm to 7pm.
- 1 claimed
- 24 remaining
Come to beautiful Midcoast Maine to tour Hatchet Cove Farm, meet farmers Bill and Reba, and enjoy some cookies and lemonade under the shade of the huge silver maple tree! They'd love the chance to tell you in person just how thankful the community is for your support. Please note, to redeem this perk you will need to go to Hatchet Cove Farm for the tour on a to-be-determined Saturday afternoon in summer, 2015. The specific tour date will be determined by a poll of the winners (the date that is available to the most people will be chosen).
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Please help low-income Maine families eat local! Community
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Copy- 7 claimed
Both Little Ridge Farm in Lisbon Falls and Village Farm in Freedom offer 5 low-income families in their local community half price CSA shares. These farmers have been offering these shares for the past few years. They are so thankful for your help in supporting their efforts! Village Farm: http://www.villagefarmfreedom.com/ Little Ridge Farm: http://littleridgefarm.com/
- 1 claimed
This will be Full Circle Farm's first year coming in to the SNAP/CSA program. They are located in Vassalboro and hope to support 5 to 7 low-income families in their first year. They need help accessing equipment to process SNAP payments and are so thankful you are willing to support them in this!
- 5 claimed
Happy Town Farm in Orland and Tide Mill Farm in Washington County will both offer 10 half price shares to low-income families in their community. Both of these farms operate in regions with high levels of poverty and are dedicated to playing their role in alleviating that struggle as much as possible. Thank you for your support from Tide Mill and Happy Town Farms!! Tide Mill Farm: http://www.tidemillorganicfarm.com/
- 1 claimed
Hatchet Cove Farm in Warren has been offering around 30+ low income families discounted CSA shares for 7+ years. They are committed to lifting up those in their community who need a little extra help and even do some of their own fundraising to help families who do not receive SNAP, but still struggle. They are so committed to this and are so thankful you are too!
- 1 claimed
Wolf Pine Farm in Alfred has been offering 35+ low-income families in their community discounted CSA shares for almost a decade. This is their first year working with MOFGA and had done all their own fundraising in the past. They are so excited to have additional help raising money for this valuable program, and thank you from their hearts for your support!
- 4 claimed
- 8 remaining
Get one delicious jar of jam, handmade by Keena, farmer at Little Ridge Farm in Lisbon Falls and get an opportunity to talk with her in person! Pick up your jam on farm only sometime in July - October any Tuesday or Friday from 3pm to 7pm.
- 1 claimed
- 24 remaining
Come to beautiful Midcoast Maine to tour Hatchet Cove Farm, meet farmers Bill and Reba, and enjoy some cookies and lemonade under the shade of the huge silver maple tree! They'd love the chance to tell you in person just how thankful the community is for your support. Please note, to redeem this perk you will need to go to Hatchet Cove Farm for the tour on a to-be-determined Saturday afternoon in summer, 2015. The specific tour date will be determined by a poll of the winners (the date that is available to the most people will be chosen).
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