ery County farms, making CFS the largest buyer of Montgomery County-produced fruit and vegetables in the county. Serving nearly 1,000 families each week during the local six-month peak agricultural season through their Farm to School and Food is Medicine programs, CFS’ s scalable demand-driven model supports increased local food production, giving farmers confidence to keep land in production.“ Over the winter, we crop-plan with our farm partners based on data gathered from our Mobile Farm Markets, which enables us to use community demand to drive food production and contract-purchase the crops we need for the upcoming market season, so farmers can rely on us as a sales channel,” Freeman said.“ We provide additional sales opportunities through our wholesale work supporting other local food assistance providers.” By being able to diversify income streams, small farms mitigate risks associated with scaling production.
n Challenge Goal # 3 Advance climate and sustainability goals by encouraging procurement of locally grown products
Fresh produce in the U. S. travels an average of 1,500 miles— that’ s about 1,490 miles farther than from local farms! Locally sourcing produce results in lower
CO 2 emissions from long-haul transportation and reduced use of plastic packaging. Many of CFS’ s farm partners also practice regenerative farming practices.
By producing and using compost mulch and cover crops, farmers reduce their reliance on chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and other harmful inputs.
n Challenge Goal # 4 Build supply chain resilience and improve healthy food access during a time of elevated food insecurity
Shortening the supply chain from farm to table reduces the number of potential failure points along the path of getting food from farm to table. Further, the cold storage chain is essential to supply chain resilience. For farmers, cold storage is needed for maintaining the quality of harvested produce; for community partners, cold storage is critical for preserving produce prior to food distributions.
With 26 farms participating, there’ s something for everyone!
l Visit 10 Farms where you can see farm animals up close and even feed them at a couple farms.
l Shop at 9 farms selling farm-fresh produce and farm products, including a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, honey, artisan cheeses, eggs, milk, ice cream and flowers!
l Kick back and relax at your choice of 8 different farms that serve a variety of locally-produced wines, beers, spirits and hard cider.
l Enjoy some family fun with a host of farm activities like veggie car races, horse painting, horse treat making, goat feeding, hayrides and walking tours.
Plan your adventure! Get all the details and a description of each farm’ s offerings on our webpage and online brochure to see what activities each farm is hosting.
For more information: www. montgomerycountymd. gov / farmtour