Southern Soil's stated mission is to provide a platform for the local, sustainable food system in Southeast Georgia. It is our goal to bring together consumers, producers, and purveyors of local food; to celebrate what's good; to endeavor to change what isn't; to learn from different perspectives.
And to join together to grow the local food movement right here at home where sugar sand meets red clay and pine forests morph into marshlands and agriculture abounds, but fresh food can still be ironically hard to come by.
Because of our commitment, we are reinvesting a portion of every dollar we earn back into our local food communities in a two-part process: buying food from local growers and putting that food on the tables of those in need. We believe this is a practical solution to two key problems within our local systems.
Farmers are struggling to survive. The reality is that our small, local farms that are endeavoring to grow and raise food responsibly, with integrity, and concern for the environment and animal welfare are often struggling with financial sustainability.
We believe that by purchasing from our local farms, we can play a small part in helping make ends meet. And as we grow, we will be able to make a bigger impact. The idea being that through regularly scheduled purchases that farmers can bank on and/or purchases of excess produce that would otherwise go to waste and fail to bring income, we can begin to make a real difference in the bottom line for our local farms.
In turn, the provision of healthy, fresh, nutrient dense foods for those who are struggling with food security will positively impact the communities where we live and work. Healthy food should not be a privilege that only the wealthy can afford. By working with existing organizations, food pantries and soup kitchens; we hope to help make these foods more accessible to all our neighbors!
We are a small business with big dreams!
Can we save all the small farms and end hunger? Probably not.
But yesterday, we purchased 25 pounds of premium greens from Better Fresh Farms in Metter and 50 pounds of fresh oranges from Franklin Citrus in Statesboro to be distributed to 50 families in need by Evans County Christian Food Bank in Claxton.
By focusing on what we CAN do, we hope to shine a light of hope, spark similar actions, create meaningful connections around local food, and move one step closer to the ideals that we're striving toward … one product, one farmer, one dollar, one seed, one child, one home, one fork at a time!
Come grow with us! As an advertiser with Southern Soil, you can not only connect with an amazing group of conscientious consumers; but you can help us make a life-changing impact on the communities we call home. Thank you to two of our earliest supporters, Halyards Restaurant Group and the Georgia Sea Grill Collective for making this gift of fresh food possible!