Product Description
The profit on ticket sales for our Nextdoorganics party will go towards our ‘New Farmer Fund’. The ‘New Farmer Fund’ will help start-up farming, foraging, & food making projects with pre-paid orders, processing space, & business mentorship.
ABOUT
The campaign is to raise $12k total to create a “New Farmer Fund” which will be a pool of cash for new farming, foraging, and food making projects to use. We will commit to:
- support small-scale, sustainable projects,
- pre-pay for products under development (like a small-batch condiment, foraged tea herbs, or urban farmed produce) in order to get capital into the hands of food makers early in the season,
- offer storage and food processing space as necessary for these projects,
- provide product and business development tips from our team of local food experts.
Nextdoorganics will replenish the fund when the products are ready and received throughout the season.
IMPACT
We’d say we were offering a 0% interest credit line, but really the ‘New Farmer Fund’ will have a social return in that it adds stability and diversity to the local food system.
In the past, Nextdoorganics has offered this same type of service to two different food projects, but from our own cash flow. The ‘New Farmer Fund’ will make it possible forNextdoorganics to fund more projects and on a recurring basis.
If we raise our stretch goal of $12k, we will be able to stimulate 4-5 local food projects per year.
Examples from the past:
ECOSTATION:NY
Each Summer during 2012, 2013, and 2014, Nextdoorganics pre-paid for micro-greens and salad greens grown at the Bushwick Campus Farm and the Farm in the Sky operated by ECOSTATION:NY, a food justice non-profit working to train high schoolers to be urban farmers, provide access to affordable food from local farmers, and grow food in urban spaces.
Every Thursday throughout the summer, greens were harvested just blocks away from us and arrived in our Brooklyn Hub fridge minutes later. So fresh!
We will be able to regularly commit to their seasonal work and expand our partnership with them into colder seasons with the creation of the ‘New Farmer Fund’.
ARC 38
ARC 38 is an ‘autonomous residential community’ in Wassaic, NY providing space for farmers and foragers to create an intentional community together.
Nextdoorganics paid up-front and each Monday morning throughout the Summer of 2014, we received a load of organic greens, garlic, and wild-foraged dried tea herbs like motherwort, sumac, and stinging nettles.
With the creation of the ‘New Farmer Fund’ we will be able to continue our partnership will them and help them financially to build the infrastructure necessary for them to farm and forage more food.
In addition, if we make our stretch goal of $12k, we will be able to fund 4-5 groups total each year.
FAQ
How will the ‘New Farmer Fund’ determine its recipients?
Nextdoorganics will accept incoming inquiries via [email protected]. We will select projects that create a sustainably grown or sourced food product like produce, foraged herbs, or a small-batch sauce or condiment.
We will prioritize projects that offer a unique or needed product in the local food system at an affordable price point.
Nextdoorganics must be able to offer the product through our CSA-style curated produce membership program or through our web store. Products must fit within our Sourcing guidelines.
How will the ‘New Farmer Fund’ be replenished?
Nextdoorganics will draw from the ‘New Farmer Fund’ to pay recipients 1-6 months in advance. Once their food products are ready and received, Nextdoorganics will replenish the ‘New Farmer Fund’.
How will the ‘New Farmer Fund’ grow?
Nextdoorganics will enable its members to contribute additional funds after our Barnraiser campaign ends to continue to increase the capital pool available for new food projects in the ‘New Farmer Fund’.
Members will be able to add recurring or one-time contributions in any amount to their orders of local groceries (similar to how they contribute to our Local Food Fund supporting food and land access projects in our neighborhood).