Access to profitable retail and wholesale markets is a challenge for small- to mid-scale family farmers. “The days of showing up with your cantaloupes in the back of the pickup are no longer a way to make a living,” says Diana Endicott of Kansas City, Mo. “So you have to be willing to make a change.” A SARE grant helped Endicott and other area farmers launch a marketing cooperative that secured access for their all-natural beef products in 19 local supermarkets. A second SARE grant explored consumer demand for natural beef at the retail level, contributing to a 33 percent increase in sales.
In this new video, learn how Good Natured Family Farms (GNFF) has grown into a network of more than 100 farms that sells a range of products through 30 area supermarkets and which generated $4.5 million in sales in 2015.
Dig Deeper into Local Foods
Visit the Farm to Table: Building Local and Regional Food Systems Topic Room to learn more about farmers, ranchers, ag professionals, community organizers who are reconfiguring the nation's food system to retain more value in food-producing communities.