Georgia Organics used money raised through the Farmer Fund to provide financial assistance to three Georgia farms impacted by Hurricane Michael.
 
The Farmer Fund exists to support farmers in the face of natural disaster and help keep farmers farming.  We serve the farmers that feed the state of Georgia primarily through farmers markets, CSAs and restaurant sales. Georgia Organics, a statewide nonprofit, took over management of the fund earlier this year to expand aide to sustainable and organic farmers across the state impacted by natural disasters like hurricanes, floods and tornadoes.
 
Georgia Organics is in the midst of a campaign to raise $100K for The Farmer Fund to provide Hurricane Michael disaster relief. A national seed gift of $50K was made last week by the General Mills Foundation and several of their organic business brands including Cascadian Farm, Annie’s, Muir Glen, and Epic. Local donors and businesses have also been chipping in to the campaign in creative ways. Farm Burger gave a percentage of proceeds from sales at recent Atlanta United and Falcons games and secured a match from Levy Restaurants, who manages the food at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Creature Comforts Brewing Company is teaming up with Lincoln Filling Station in Snellville this Friday to raise funds through food and beer sales.
 
Some farms hit hard in Georgia Organics network include Lola’s Organic Farm, Atlanta Harvest, White Oak Pastures, Farmers Organic, Clark’s Farm & Produce, Heritage Organic Farm, and others. “We know of at least $5 million in damages to roofs, sheds, hoop houses, chicken tractors, and barns, as well as loss of crops and livestock,” said Michael Wall, Georgia Organics Director of Farmer Services.
 
Georgia's agriculture industry suffered over $3 billion in damages from Hurricane Michael in October, but not included in these totals are losses sustained by many smaller sustainable and organic farms. Federal crop insurance policies are built for large commodity farms but are not designed to offer relief for small diversified sustainable and organic growers. Federal funds certainly aren’t distributed in a timely manner when farms of all sizes and production types are most distressed by natural disasters, and most vulnerable to disaster-related trauma. Many of these farmers have no insurance for loss of crops and limited coverage for infrastructure.