Progress report for FLW24-015
Project Information
The Good Acre (TGA), a nonprofit food hub in Minnesota, addresses critical challenges in the local agricultural landscape through its mission to support specialty crop farmers entering wholesale markets. Over the past decade, TGA has identified key drivers of food waste among its farmer partners, including increased production volumes, overplanting as a risk mitigation strategies, and stringent customer specifications. To combat these issues, TGA employs a multifaceted approach centered on grower support and innovative market strategies.
Central to TGA’s strategy is a dual-focus initiative: providing technical assistance to reduce on-farm food waste and purchasing excess produce to minimize economic losses for farmers. Recently, TGA expanded its efforts to include a grocery retail pilot and develop strategies for marketing 'seconds'—produce that doesn't meet traditional market specifications but is still fresh and high quality. By broadening the definition of acceptable produce ('firsts'), TGA aims to enhance market opportunities while reducing environmental impact and operational costs.
The rationale for these efforts is underscored by staggering statistics: produce accounts for a significant portion of food waste, with strict cosmetic standards contributing to substantial losses. Collaborative efforts with buyers and consumer education are pivotal in expanding market definitions and driving demand for 'seconds'. TGA’s initiatives not only mitigate food waste but also foster economic resilience among farmers, many of whom operate at a loss due to inefficiencies and overproduction exacerbated by a lack of crop insurance.
Through innovative programs like LEAFF, TGA has demonstrated substantial impact, reducing on-farm waste and providing a pathway for culturally significant produce to reach hunger relief organizations. Moreover, TGA’s purchasing programs generate significant revenue for small-scale farmers, catalyzing over $2.5 million in economic activity annually and potentially unlocking $20 million in farm revenue across its network.
Partnerships play a pivotal role in TGA’s success, collaborating extensively with institutions, farm incubators, and governmental agencies to amplify their impact. By integrating feedback from farmer advisory committees and conducting rigorous program evaluations, TGA ensures its initiatives remain responsive and effective.
Looking ahead, TGA aims to establish baselines for food waste reduction, decrease excess food production by 10%, develop new markets for 'seconds' with a target of $200,000 in annual sales, and expand buyer education on flexible produce standards. These objectives are supported by robust outreach efforts, including comprehensive training programs and strategic partnerships aimed at scaling impact regionally and nationally.
Evaluation of TGA’s initiatives will be ongoing, measuring farmer satisfaction, program objectives, and economic impacts. By leveraging data-driven insights and stakeholder collaboration, TGA continues to innovate and lead in sustainable agriculture practices, paving the way for a more resilient and equitable local food system.
In conclusion, TGA’s holistic approach not only addresses immediate challenges in food waste but also cultivates a more sustainable agricultural ecosystem, benefiting farmers, consumers, and the environment alike.
- Establish a baseline of excess food produced by TGA farm partners with annual contracts
- Decrease the volume of excess food being grown by at least 10% based on established baselines
- Develop additional outlets for ‘seconds’ with a goal of $200,000 in annual ‘seconds’ sales
- Provide wholesale buyer education and support in adjusting produce specifications and requirements to expand what is defined as ‘firsts’
Research
Project activities and the growing season are just beginning, so we don’t have established approaches and methods yet. However, our plan is to use internal sales records to measure the extent of the project’s economic and environmental impacts. Upon delivery to TGA or an aggregation partner, invoices are entered into our NetSuite Warehouse Management System, tracking our progress toward goals related to weight of food rescued and revenue generated for farmers. We’ll rely on this sales data to track the amount of produce rescued in addition to the number of farms that have sold us produce and the total dollar value of purchases directed to farmers. We’ll also work with Dr. Lisa K. Johnson to establish baseline estimates of food waste on partner farms. Information about each technical assistance (TA) interaction will be documented in Airtable, which we’ll use to confirm the number of farmers who have received TA, especially related to reducing on-farm food waste.
- Farm
- Distribution
- Storage
- Retail/grocery
- School/institution
- Prevent Wasted Food
- Donate or Upcycle
TGA already has established channels through which to donate excess produce and also has existing wholesale accounts that purchase excess produce to put toward hunger relief efforts. TGA also builds risk mitigation funds into each farm partner’s contract that they can flex to sell excess produce. We will have more information in our next report.
TGA has just begun project activities, and the growing season is only just underway. We will have more information on this data in our next report.
TGA has just begun project activities, and the growing season is only just underway. We will have more information on this data in our next report.
- Produce
We anticipate that 100% of the food TGA recovers will be produce. We will have more information in our next report as project activities are just getting underway.
We will have more information in our next report as project activities are just getting underway.
Milestones achieved to date
TGA has assessed its pilot season with local grocery store chain Lunds & Byerlys to explore logistics, customer experience and demand, communications, and impact to generation of ‘seconds.’ We’re happy to report that we will continue our account with Lunds & Byerlys in 2025 and deepen this relationship with increased contracts and the use of certain Lunds & Byerlys locations as CSA pick-up sites.
We have also conducted end-of-season evaluations with farmers through an end-of-season survey and our 1:1 contracting process. Once we establish a process for measuring on-farm food waste, end-of-season evaluations will capture this data. One survey respondent said TGA had a positive impact on their farm business through “less wasted produce,” and other respondents made it clear they’re looking forward to expanded markets as outlets for their produce.
TGA has also conducted contracting meetings with each farm partner. To continue to mitigate farm partners’ risk, TGA has altered the nature of risk mitigation funds in contracts. Last year, each farmer received risk mitigation funds that were 10% of their total annual contract. This year, each farm partner is receiving a flat $5,000 in risk mitigation funds. This creates a tapering of risk mitigation funds with the idea that farmers with higher contracts are more experienced in mitigating their risks with a variety of methods. The more substantial risk mitigation funds for farmers newer to wholesale serves as a cushion.
Education
TGA plans to make training materials as accessible as possible, with materials available in multiple languages and relying heavily on visuals. The visuals are key for illustrating produce that is acceptable based on different standards within TGA’s wholesale readiness program. We also plan to create 3D models of produce that correspond to these different standards to enhance the paper materials.
Our Grower Support team is diligent about offering technical assistance to farm partners, whether in a classroom setting, at the dock when farm partners make deliveries, or during on-farm site visits where farmers can share their work and ask questions. These different modes of feedback and TA aim to reach all farm partners and their learning styles and needs. As always, farm partner feedback guides TGA’s programming and services, so evaluations and conversations will help staff iterate the educational approach of this project. We’ll have more information in our next report.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
To date, TGA has held two in-person orientations for farm partners with an additional option to access the orientation and materials online. One of the in-person orientations was offered in Hmong, and the online training is also available in Hmong, reflecting the identity and requests of our farm partners.
Orientations are for TGA’s contracted farm partners and occur before the grower season. They covered the receiving process at TGA, product standards for all vegetables on our accepted list, invoicing, labels, pallet stacking, and the types of markets TGA services (this way, farmers can see where their produce goes). Our Director of Grower Support and Grower Support Specialist also reviewed common problems farmers may experience or encounter to discuss pitfalls and mitigations. While farmers typically already understand these common problems, TGA aims to be very clear about communicating standards and expectations around produce sizes, appearance, etc. In doing this, TGA staff aimed to represent what the market is looking for, i.e., the why behind such standards. Communicating such expectations helps reduce food waste so that farmers know when to harvest certain crops (based on size/appearance, etc.) and which crops to grow in the first place. For example, TGA has received feedback from hunger relief organizations and buyers that keeping leafy greens fresh poses a challenge. TGA can communicate that to farm partners and also contract for an overall lower amount of leafy greens in favor of other crops that store better. Sharing the why behind this and other decisions is key in building relationships with our farm partners.
Farm partners who attended orientations were primarily produce farmers of color in the 7-county Twin Cities metro area. The majority of TGA’s farm partners are first- or second-generation immigrants. Over 80% of the produce farmers we work with are BIPOC, specifically Hmong, Latine, and East and West African. The average farm size is five acres and for most of our farm partners, their farm business revenue comprises at least 25% of their household’s income.
Project Outcomes
We will have more information in our next report as project activities are just getting underway.
We will have more information in our next report as project activities are just getting underway.