2023: a year in review

As we all start to cozy up for the holiday season and pick up our first winter share CSA boxes, I wanted to take some time to reflect on all that’s happened at FairShare in 2023!

I joined the organization in April of this year and hit the ground running, learning about all the awesome work FairShare is doing day-to-day to support small-scale organic diversified vegetable farmers across the Midwest.

One of the highlights of this year was continuing to provide a high level of cost assistance to our Partner Shares program participants. With food insecurity climbing 44% in the last two years, ensuring access to fresh, nutrient-dense food is more important than ever.

While we raised record funds to support Partner Shares during Bike the Barns - thanks to our awesome fundraiser riders and donors! - we continue to have a waiting list for people requesting assistance. In 2023, we were able to assist over 200 households in purchasing fresh veggies from a farmer in their community!

We also provided our network of farmers with a ton of direct support throughout the year. Our work with HMoob farmers to increase market access continued to evolve, and we hosted several farmer education field days in Wisconsin and Ohio. The apprenticeship and labor management training programs provided farmers with important leadership development and labor support.

And with our involvement in coordinating the Midwest Vegetable Growers Network - providing production, labor and sales support to farmers, along with peer-to-peer connection - and the CSA Innovation Network - a coalition of CSA organizations that form a national advocacy group for CSA - we collaborated with other partners to directly support farmers spanning the Midwest and across the country. We've been busy!

As we head into 2024, we are excited to continue working on some big initiatives at FairShare. Our staff and board will collaborate on revisiting our mission and vision and building out a new strategic plan to reflect all the amazing work we do. We are writing several new grant proposals and investing in our development program to support our work. And we’re working on building administrative systems on the back end to support our new size and scope. There’s no shortage of things to do, but it’s amazing what we can get done with our small and mighty team!

If you ever want to get in touch to learn more about what we do every day, I’m always up for connecting and hearing from you how we can best support local, small-scale vegetable farms. Keep warm and toasty this holiday season, and may your cheese boards be filled with an abundance of local delights!

~ Clare, clare@csacoalition.org

Saddled up for bike the barns

I arrived at Badger Prairie County Park at just past 6 AM on Sunday morning, September 17th. It was chilly and the sun hadn't risen yet; I found everyone working quietly in the dark.

I had spent my summer helping to plan logistics for the event - permits, music, bus activities, etc. - and was apprehensive about the day ahead of me, worried about all the different pieces that could go wrong. The sunrise lit up the foggy sky, and after helping with some of the initial set-up, I departed, bleary eyed, to Crossroads Community Farm.

As I ran around the farm with my lovely co-captain Jill, doing our checks, I was overwhelmed with joy at how well things had come together. I felt so connected to everyone. Julie, who ran the bouquet-making bus activity, and whom I spent many weeks communicating with about logistics; our volunteers, Maggie, Joe, and Nicole, who worked energetically to make sure things ran smoothly on site; our famers, Cassie and Mike, who ran engaging tours and were kind enough to let us use their space and resources; and Amanda Jane Hoffman, who set the tone beautifully with her music. Every person on-site - the mechanic, the food vendors, the HAM operator, the bus drivers (who happily navigated tricky terrain), contributed to making the Crossroads stop a success. The FairShare community felt limitless.

Over the months leading up to the event, I had the privilege of watching Sadie navigate with patience and expertise to ensure that each stop had delicious meals from local vendors that utilized produce sourced from local FairShare network farms. The result of this labor at the Crossroads farm stop was Vibrant Veg's Farm Girl Caviar Tostadas and Rude Brew kombucha, which I savored as I sat amidst the bikers and admired the view.

I found that I did not tire in the way I had expected that day. 20,000 steps later I still felt alert and excited as I began work at the after-party, helping the lovely folks at Just Veggiez serve their tasty vegan dishes to enthusiastic riders. Although I was sad about not being able to see every stop come to life, I was grateful that I was able to see the beginning and end. Despite the long day and effort, I went home that evening grateful, feeling content with a day well spent.

Summer Grower Team Updates

Throughout the month of July, we were excited to both introduce and update you on a few of the new and expanding projects FairShare is spearheading!

With assistance from multiple funding opportunities, including several grants supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), FairShare has been working to expand and deepen our services to specific geographies and communities.

Below, you'll find an introduction to a few members of our team engaged in this work, and they'll be telling you all about what they've been up to.

• We'll hear from Chiang Rai about his work with Hmong (HMoob) growers throughout Wisconsin, and FairShare's efforts to support HMoob growers in becoming more resilient in the face of climate and market disruptions - including the development of alternative markets beyond farmers' markets.

• Then, Sam will take us through his work to expand and deepen FairShare's relationships with growers in the Milwaukee area.

• Finally, Beth will talk about her role in developing a grower network to serve diversified vegetable growers in Ohio.

As we share these exciting projects, we invite you to engage with and support our efforts in areas that resonate with you. And while these projects are new and in expanding locations, FairShare's core mission of connecting farmers and eaters is a constant.

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Connecting with Hmong growers with Chiang Rai:

I'd like to tell you a little bit about Xiong Lo, a HMoob (Hmong) grower in the Wausau area who is interested in entering into Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Xiong owns 80 acres of land, and 30 of these acres have already been organic certified.

As you may know, accessing land (especially for those who wish to grow organically) is extremely challenging and can be a huge barrier to starting farming. Xiong's dream is to provide local HMoob growers with certified organic land to grow on, and then aggregate the produce grown from several farmers into a single market share.

Xiong understands the struggles many farmers face in getting their farms established, and he hopes that by providing a space to grow without having to worry about paperwork, more new farmers can flourish. I'm excited that we will be hosting a field day in August at Xiong's farm, covering topics like weed management and post-harvest handling, and bringing Xiong and other Wausau-area farmers together to collaborate and learn.

In my role as Aggregation Coordinator, I have connected with many HMoob growers like Xiong Lo, as well as with numerous HMoob organizations and professionals throughout Wisconsin working to support the HMoob community.

For instance, in the Madison area, I am currently working with Groundswell, Garden To Be, and Rooted to support Samba and Jerreh, the owners of a new grocery store called Gooh Grocery Store. Samba and Jerreh aim to support local Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities by providing culturally relevant produce to their customers, sourcing from local BIPOC growers. We are also working to gather 3 or 4 HMoob growers to prepare and sell at their new store.

The challenges that face HMoob growers can feel daunting to overcome: language barriers, record-keeping, infrastructure needs like hoophouses and greenhouses, access to land, and weed management techniques are all areas in which HMoob growers need support. Luckily, I have many great partners that I can work closely with to bring resources and training opportunities to HMoob growers.

I look forward to supporting HMoob growers on their journey and helping them flourish.

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Supporting Milwaukee-area growers with Sam:

Did you know the Milwaukee area has a diverse group of vegetable farmers?

This region is full of multi-generational conventional farmers who have been selling at local markets and roadside stands for many years, Hmong farmers with deep experience of traditional farming techniques, newer and experienced first-generation organic farmers, and so many others! It has been a joy to meet and build relationships with such a variety of experiences in my role as Vegetable Educator.

I have been able to share one of my passions (weeding tools) with a group of Milwaukee farmers who grow at the Fondy Farm, just north of Milwaukee. We are working directly with three farmers and introducing them to a suite of weeding machines purchased through a grant award.

I meet with these farmers throughout the season to make sure the mechanized weeding tools are working well with their crops. The other 25 farmers who grow at Fondy Farm are able to learn more by informally joining educational sessions throughout the growing season.

Another exciting project has been working with University of Wisconsin-Madison staff, Milwaukee-area farmers, and the Fondy Food Center to create a farm financials survey. The goal of the survey was to learn about farm profitability and work-life balance to determine long-term farm viability.

After the survey results were compiled, we hosted a conversation with the participants to discuss finances, profitability, and challenges the farmers were facing. The answers to this survey, as well as the discussion after, helps us better design programming and events that will serve growers' needs.

Looking ahead to the fall, I am excited for our upcoming Weeding Tool Field Day, hosted at Fondy Farm in September, and a grower gathering discussing season extension for HMoob growers in October. With so much happening day-to-day in the wonderful world of Milwaukee-area vegetables, I hope you have enjoyed a few highlights!

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Bringing FairShare to Ohio with Beth:

Since establishing a presence in Ohio, I'm excited to announce that we now have 11 FairShare Farms across the state!

This season, I'll be visiting farms and farmers' markets to hear from growers about their technical assistance and educational needs so we can continue to develop programming that will help growers get where they want to go, and encourage their involvement with FairShare.

In the fall of 2022, we hosted grower gatherings in Southwest and Northeast Ohio, drawing 46 farmers across the two events. Robust discussions were held around labor challenges, effectively utilizing high tunnels, and cover cropping for soil fertility and weed suppression. Connecting Ohio growers to BTEC and TEAMS, our labor management training programs, as well as the Organic Vegetable Production Conference have supported a few of the technical assistance needs identified during those gatherings.

I'm particularly excited about working with colleagues and other agriculture professionals to bring the Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day to Wooster, Ohio on September 27. We'll also have a presence at the Black Farming Conference on September 29 & 30, and will be sharing information about the benefits of CSA and how to start one.

I hear from a lot of growers that they're looking for informal opportunities to get together, too, so a couple of casual grower gatherings to foster community and camaraderie are in the works. Additionally, we're working on shaping Workplace CSA programs to increase demand for CSA shares for growers, while supporting direct connections with consumers.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the various ways our mission manifests in our work. Whether it’s in Ohio, in service to HMoob growers, or in Milwaukee, our goal of connecting farmers and eaters guides the projects we develop and tackle.

This work is fundamental to helping farmers succeed. From building connections with peers, to embarking on new sales outlets or honing production skills, our grower team works tirelessly to respond to what growers tell us they need. And by directly supporting our growers, this complements our efforts to educate consumers and connect them to local food, creating fertile ground for robust and resilient food systems across the Midwest.

If our work resonates with you, please support our grower programs here. We hope you've gained a fuller understanding of the breadth and depth of how FairShare supports growers across the Midwest.