By Daniel Blottenberger
A duo of farmers began changing the regional food system in Western Pennsylvania in 2007. They used USDA Rural Development programs to help them stay in their local markets and maintain the vitality of the food system.
Greg Boulos and Jennifer Montgomery of Blackberry Meadows Farm in Natrona Heights, about 25 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, opened their farm with an idea to bring organic local healthy food options back to their local community.
“This has already been kind of a long-standing community farm,” Boulos said.
The duo operates one of the most progressive farms in the region. Their approach begins with the values that come from a hands-on connection with their customers their local community.
The farm has experimented with several different community-based methods such as the purchase of seeds rather than crops. It costs significantly less to finance. They also allow members of the community farm to pay in advance but can choose what they want at the market or at the farm. It gives the farmers the same preseason financial benefit and the consumer the flexibility to skip a week or get extra tomatoes. For those who prefer the traditional community farming model, Boulos says, “we’ve upped the amount of produce in their baskets because they are the most eager to use it,” The Pittsburgh Magazine reported.
They have also been very resourceful reaching out to local, state and federal funding agencies to help expand their markets. Boulos credits this resourcefulness for his time spent working with Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture or PASA.
Enter USDA Rural Development.
In September 2021, he Boulos partnered with USDA for a Value-Added Producer Grant that was used as working capital. At the time, the primary revenue for the farm was earned from cooking and selling hand-made food from meat and certified organic produce that was produced on the farm and sold at local farmers markets. The funds were utilized primarily for processing and marketing the pork and mixed vegetable products being sold at the markets. This project was anticipated to increase the agricultural producer's customer base by 75 per week and increase its revenue by approximately $270,000 over a 3-year period.
They didn’t stop there.
In May 2024, the farm received a Rural Energy for America grant to install a high efficiency, top-mount, self-contained evaporator and condensing walk-in freezer. This project is expected to save the business approximately $250 per year and will decrease its energy consumption by 27 percent.
All of these funding projects are helping the farm keep their operation in their region and feed their local community members.
“We are putting money back in the pockets of our local rural communities, USDA Senior Advisor Cindy Axne said, during a visit to the farm in July 2024. “We are focusing on individuals to help make entire communities successful. These programs not only provide additional income for the farmer, but it also drives down food costs in the local economy because transportation and refrigeration costs are reduced.”
Source : usda.gov