Contract Growing Pilot with Montgomery County Farmers

Exciting news in the Farm to Food Bank world! Manna Food Center has received funding from the Healthcare Initiative Foundation to pilot Contract Growing with farmers in Montgomery County. This new relationship builds upon our current Farm to Food Bank program, which purchases local produce, meat and eggs from 35 farms in Montgomery County and donates the food to our Community Food Rescue (CFR) network of food assistance providers.

Our Contract Growing pilot elevates local food sourcing to food banks even further. Under the program, participating farms will be paid a lump sum upfront and will deliver produce to designated food hubs on a weekly basis starting in June. This contract will run for about 16 weeks.

Harvested garlic from The Farm At Our House, one of our pilot Contract Grow farms.

After gauging interest from farmers and the eight designated County Food Hubs, we selected two farms and two hubs for this pilot. The Farm at Our House will provide approximately 7,785 pounds of tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, and potatoes to Gaithersburg CARES Hub. Lewis Orchards will deliver approximately 10,000 pounds of summer squash, cabbage, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, sweet corn, and apples to Kingdom Fellowship Community Development Hub.

This fresh, locally grown produce will provide a stable and reliable food source for these two hubs and their participants. Part of what makes this pilot so important is that, unlike the Farm to Food Bank program, which arranges ad-hoc deliveries,  Contract Growing allows farmers to have a predictable income before they harvest. It is Manna’s long-term vision to nurture a sustainable, resilient local food system by supporting local farmers.  Contract Growing is our next step forward in cultivating this vision.

Gaithersburg Cares and Kingdom Fellowship Community Development Hub will receive and distribute fresh produce to their clients.

We are honored to be a part of this project, and we can’t wait to deliver news and updates about the process as the contracts begin. Happy growing!