* Update: We are still grateful to receive any donations to support this work--it will go towards growing the co-op, & ideally towards one or more full-time positions. See our recent updates below for more details & keep track of us through our website, www.thelocal.coop

** Note:  We have broken the below up into a "Basics" section (including what we've done, where we're going, who we are, & what co-op leaders & businesses we're learning from) & a "More details" section (including how the funds will be spent, more on community-ownership & worker-ownership possibilities, etc.). 

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BASICS:

What we've done: the Local Farm Cooperative just finished our first full year of growing and selling crops in Selma, AL--help us hire Alfonza Greer (known as Greer to many of us) full-time and Brendan O'Connor part-time to move things to the next level! They and other potential worker-owners (who we hope to be able to keep paying through these funds) have worked together to bring the Farm through its first full year of production, selling to a local Mexican restaurant (Mi Tenampa), the Orrville Farmer's Market (pics of both of those and other crops here), and the community (how about those collards ay?). The goal is for both of the two to provide steady guidance, management, and labor as "Co-Farm Managers" (working title) to help expand the number of worker-owners and provide them with a source of income and longer-term wealth creation over time. In terms of diversifying our revenue, we have packaged and sold added value products (eg, pre-cut packaged greens and bottled rosemary basil salt), begun lining up clients for home garden installations (we have 2 pledged clients now!), and even built an outdoor bench from trees downed by Hurricane Zeta, and have been asked about selling them. We have gone through 2 Fall/Winter seasons and are coming up on our 2nd Spring/Summer crop on over an acre of land the Local Farm Co-op owns in the Mill Village neighborhood in Selma, and are distributing a portion of the modest revenue back to all 2020 workers based on hours worked (even though the Worker-Owner process is still being finalized--more on that below). In addition to the compilation of some of those crops and our customers in our main photo above, see some more shots of who we are, some news coverage, and more in the photo below:

Where we're going: It hasn't been easy working to sell produce locally during a pandemic, but we are pushing our way through it one day and season at a time. These funds and the more consistent labor will allow the Local Farm Co-op to better test out ways to diversify our revenue, in ways we've already begun exploring—for example, from growing and selling more produce, to pooling our produce and leveraging online sales and delivery with other farms/potential Producer-Owners of the Local (an app we are almost done developing supports this), to adding to our added value products (eg, creating pepper jellies, canning, etc.), rental of our land and equipment, and other products/services. Diversifying revenue is a key strategy for any small business to succeed. We are also in conversation with local folks who have offered to let us use their land for free to expand our crops, so that is being actively considered as well.

Who we are: Check out the "Our People" section of our website here to learn about our current and some outgoing Board members. In terms of Greer and Brendan, who some of this crowdfunding is focused on bringing on, Mr. Greer grew up with his hands in the dirt and can even “grow rocks,” as his wife ("Mama Callie") puts it; as a Black man growing up in Jim Crow AL, who was formerly incarcerated for over 20 years more than 2 decades ago, he came through with wisdom and grace as one of the hardest working men this side of the Mississippi. He commutes over 100 miles roundtrip to his job at a graveyard, where COVID has brought spikes in burials and overtime work. Hiring him full-time (FT) would allow him to stay home in Selma doing the work he loves, and to be with Mama Callie, who has had some recent health challenges that makes having him here at home that much more important. Brendan grew up in the blue mountains of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. He has good memories of fresh green beans his family grew in their modest garden and applesauce they cranked out from Virginia apples; but he also sees the toxic ways our economy doesn't take care of our people too often, including ways that shows up in the loss of Black land ownership and the general and racial wealth gaps, fueling his interest in co-ops and ways of building community wealth. Brendan, who also works part-time (PT) for the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth & Reconciliation, was one of two (along with Andre Williams) who helped incubate the co-op, which was made possible through the support of the Selma Center and the Educational Foundation of America; he still unofficially supports in that facilitation role, but also helps work the land just about every time work is being done.

What is a co-op & what models are we learning from? There are a variety of types of co-ops, but you can learn a bit about the shared goal of building community businesses and community wealth here , or check out some brief videos summing up some of their general principles here  and here. The NYTimes just wrote about some of how they have helped people cope with the massive economic challenges of the pandemic, both in the U.S. and abroad. We have been learning great lessons from the 50+ years of work the Federation of Southern Cooperatives has done, the powerful leadership and accompaniment of folks like the late giant of Southern movement/co-op work Elandria Williams who came to Selma multiple times to support this work, from the rich food justice and urban agriculture work coming out of the South in general, as well as places like Detroit and Chicago (e.g., Growing Power and one of its successors the Urban Growers Collective); we're also learning from some other farm co-ops like Our Table Cooperative  in Oregon and Our Harvest Cooperative  in Ohio--they have all taken creative approaches to building local food economies and diversifying their revenue, and we've been actively learning lessons from them and others. And if you weren't aware of the rich connection between the Civil Rights Movement and co-ops, take a look at the solid book Collective Courage A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice .

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MORE DETAILS:

If all the funds on here aren't raised, the first $25,000 will be paired with existing funds to hire Greer FT at $40,000, plus some amount more to pay for his family's health care costs and other potential benefits. After the GoFundMe fees are paid, the next $20,000 would be for paying Brendan PT, and the remaining for additional Farm PT support and other costs. This project is a part of an effort to grow two multistakeholder cooperative businesses in Selma, that will be owned by the workers and community members, among other possible groups (see more about both co-ops at www.thelocal.coop); both Greer and Brendan are on the Board for the Local Farm Cooperative , and our aim is to bring them and others on as Worker-Owners and Community-Owners as we build the co-op. If by chance we receive funds from other sources prior to this crowdfunding campaign finishing, all donated funds will go back into support the work and development of the Local Farm Co-op. Any donations beyond the amount in this fundraiser will go towards hiring more local people to be a part of this work, and towards other needs. 

Interested in becoming a Community-Owner of the Local Farm Co-op? Give $40 or more and, if you go through some other basic membership steps, you can become a Community-Owner, with discounts on our produce, land rental, and other products/services (like garden installations!), as well as right to representation* on our Board, and to vote on any all-member decisions! If interested in that, after giving please email us at [email redacted]p The Community-Owner membership path, benefits, and responsibilities are in their final draft stage and can be reviewed here; want to see the final draft for the Worker-Owner membership path, benefits, and responsibilities? Find that here. We're hoping to build a Farm/Producer-Owner category at some point too, get in touch if interested in that...

Have questions? Contact us through GoFundMe or give us a call (our number is on our website below)--you can also stop by the land and get a tour of our work if you'd like to get a better sense before (or after) donating, just let us know and we can meet you there. 

Learn more about our work at our website (www.thelocal.coop) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/theLocalFarmCoop).

* the Local Farm Co-op is currently transitioning from it's Board of 6 people, including 2 workers and 4 community members, with the goal of all Board members becoming either Worker-Owners or Community-Owners. If you become a Community-Owner, you will have the right to either be on the Board or vote on a representative to be on the Board within the next 6-12 months if not before (length of Board terms for the next incoming members are still being finalized).

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