GOSHEN — Goshen’s Clay Bottom Farm is among the 17 farms being awarded a grant through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program.
Clay Bottom Farm will receive funding that will expand their abilities to deliver and provide fresh and organic produce to local establishments, and anticipates the farm will make efforts to remain affordable and more accessible than ever before.
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, issued a total of $6,174,042 in grants to 17 projects.
Clay Bottom Farm has served Elkhart County for 19 years, when they built their farm in 2006. Ben Hartman, one of the founders of the farm said that the grant money will go to better servicing the nine establishments they already work with but now hoping to serve up to 15, and provide more of the produce once granted the extra vehicle, that also led them to opening job positions at the farm.
“Delivery is a key part of our business,” he said. “We also do some aggregation of food, meaning that we distribute some food to these restaurants from other farms.
“So having an auxiliary vehicle for this purpose will help us better serve our customers and strengthen the local food shed by making food from our farm and other farms more easily available.”
The overall purpose of the grant is to build resilience in the supply chain, as well as strengthen local, and regional food systems.
Hartman explained that the process took time and the application had been sent months ago but then recently received news that they had been awarded the grant money.
Now moving forward and when the funding is made available they can begin their work with new hires, continue to partner with other local farmers, and reach their goals, which they are hoping will start this summer.
“The whole idea here is to strengthen local feed sheds and we pride ourselves in that we keep our food close to home,” he said.
“A lot of food is growing within Elkhart County and our vision is that more of it should stay inside the county. It’s great food, higher quality, fresher, and oftentimes lower cost.”
An example that Hartman gave as to why the delivery vehicle will enhance their services is the partnership they already have with establishments, such as Goshen Brewing Company.
“We deliver food twice a week to the Goshen Brewing Company,” he said. “We send what we call a fresh list to their chef. We list all the items that we have available from our farm.
“We send that list to him twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays. He can choose what he wants from the list just like ordering off a menu and then we would start the harvest at 8 o’clock in the morning and usually have food to him by noon.”
Hartman joked by saying their same day, four hour turnaround, is faster than an Amazon truck. As they already have such a quick ability to harvest, prepare, and deliver, he can only imagine how much quicker the process will become with the new delivery vehicle.
Jokes aside, Hartman is certain there will be benefit to not just the establishments who they work with but also the community that consume local produce.
“There’s a health benefit in that eaters in Elkhart County get better and fresher food,” Hartman said. “There’s an environmental benefit in that our food travels just a couple miles from field to plate when most food in the U.S. travels hundreds to thousands of miles.
“And well, there’s some social benefit when people know where their food is growing. It tastes better and it strengthens the community.”
Among all the reasons given to source locally when it comes to produce, Hartman is dedicated to working with the community to provide fresh produce to those who are unable to afford fresh food, or food at all.
“My wife Rachel actually works as a chef at The Window three mornings a week and it’s important for us to get our food into the hands of those who couldn’t normally afford it,” Hartman said. “The use of organic grade methods in our food can be more expensive than other sources and so this delivery vehicle will help us to get food into the hands of those who need it.”
The million dollar question, as Hartman put it, that many ask … will they stay affordable as the economy changes?
Hartman said that in their 19 years of growing seasons, prices always fluctuate as they consider both the pricing of the produce while still providing workers a living wage. Hartman said changes in price, even on a local level, can go up but the product will remain the same.