Guest Authors: Sheila Jennings with support from Yaza Sarieh  Sheila Jennings is the School Nutrition Director for Polk School District. Yaza Sarieh is the Community Collaborations for Georgia Organics.  All Photos courtesy of Polk County School District.  Through the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, the Polk School District has launched three new mini garden projects at Cherokee Elementary School, Northside Elementary School and Van Wert Elementary School to promote healthy eating and wellness. These garden projects will cultivate healthier, lifelong eating habits, by enh ..read more

Georgia Organics’ relationship with U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock goes back to August of 2022, when Warnock staffer Brandon Honeycutt visited Julia Asherman of Rag & Frass Farm in Jeffersonville, Ga. Honeycutt has since moved to the Senate Agriculture Committee, but meetings and communications between Georgia Organics and Warnock’s staff have continued regularly. Photo by Farmer Advocacy Director Michael Wall (Georgia Organics). By Michael Wall Michael Wall is the Director of Advocacy at Georgia Organics. Ever since the Farm Bill expired on Sept. 30, 2023, federal programming for U.S. farmers ..read more

By Alicia Holloway Alicia Holloway is a Farm to School Contractor at Georgia Organics. Registration is open for summer course that teaches educators to grow successful school garden programs! Photo courtesy of University of Georgia. Grow It Know It (GIKI)  immerses educators in three days of hands-on learning centered around garden skills, cooking in the classroom, and school garden best practices. "This training is designed for P-12 educators. All subject areas and grade levels are welcome.” (Office of Service Learning, UGA). The only requirement is that participants already utilize sc ..read more

Guest Authors: Kari Buckindail and Christi Sizemore Behrend with support from Yaza Sarieh  Yaza Sarieh is the Community Collaborations Coordinator at Georgia Organics. Kari Buckindail is the Communications & Fine Arts Center Coordinator for Monroe County Schools. Christi Sizemore Behrend is a Monroe County community member and parent volunteer.  The 2024 Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant program is underway, and we are excited to start sharing some of the wonderful work that awarded school districts have been up to!   We are pleased to spotlight the Monroe County School N ..read more

By: Alicia Holloway is a Farm to School Contractor with the Community Collaborations team at Georgia Organics  Goat eating Parsley at Cosmos Farms October Farm to School Month may be months away, but we are already planning this year’s celebration! Farm to School enthusiasts weighed in with just over 180 submissions to our annual campaign naming contest. Our favorites included “Power to the Parsley”, “Parsley in the USA”, “Come on Parsley, let’s go Party”, and even “Rockin’ the Garden with Elvis Parsley!”.   This year’s theme name is ParSLAY the Day, and we know cafeterias and ..read more

“...together we will find a way to not just be allies but accomplices in the work of anti-racism.” — Alexis Chase After the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, many organizations turned their attention to themselves and asked themselves questions about their motives and actions. Georgia Organics began to ask questions and eventually launched the Anti-Racism Committee. Over time, we recognized that we needed assistance in understanding our current state and what changes we needed to make to truly live our value of being anti-racist. Last May, we contacted several organizations that conduct ..read more

By Lydia Hsu  Lydia Hsu is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics  On a sunny day in early December 2023, Georgia Organics hosted the second of a series of Organic Growers Farmer Field Days. These educational workshops are part of the Farmer Services GO Organic! program to provide a portfolio of services geared specifically towards transitioning and Certified Organic farmers.   The workshop on Dec. 5, 2023, “Building Cooperative Organic System Models,” took place at Global Growers' Rockdale farm, a 23-acre Certified Organic farm that operates a cooperative system ..read more

Written by Kayla Williams, Farmer Champion Senior Coordinator  Big news from Georgia Organics! We're thrilled to share that in 2024, our Farmer Champion program is expanding to colleges and universities. This means we'll be teaming up with higher education institutions that are committed to sustainability, inviting them to join the ranks of "Farmer Champions" – a program designed to celebrate and support members of the food service community committed to promoting local and organic agriculture in Georgia.    Photo credit: The Common Market Southeast This expansion is made ..read more

Written by Ain Chiké and Lauren Cox   Ain is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics  Lauren Cox is the Farmer Services Director at Georgia Organics Attendees at Harvest Kitchen and Market. On October 4, 2023, participants of the Small Engine Repair Farmer Field Day walked into Harvest Kitchen and Market and were greeted by the smell of freshly baked biscuits and coffee prepared by our chefs, farmers, and hosts, Micole and Musa Hasan. After fortifying themselves with various breakfast biscuits, Micole led attendees on a three-block walk highlighting the history of Spa ..read more

By Kimberly Koogler  Kimberly Koogler is Georgia Organics’ Community Collaborations Manager.  The family-owned and operated Berry Farms consists of four generations that collectively work together with produce, cattle, and hay production. Members of the Berry family pictured above from left to right: Tony, Curtis, Aubrey, & Cedric. Photo courtesy of the Berry Family. Farmer prosperity is one of our top priorities at Georgia Organics, and one of the ways we work to support farmer prosperity in Georgia is by providing educational and networking opportunities to growers, as well as ..read more