Sweet Beet Farm Stand Upgrades

Sweet Beet Farm & Farm Stand has been upgrading all sorts of things for this coming season, including: doors and shutters to close up the stand, a new vegetable display, a small greenhouse and many raised beds. All of these projects are helping to increase the efficiency of our operation but we need to raise some money to complete a few more projects that will make all the difference for this season and those to come! Firstly, we would like to build an extension off the back of the stand to make space for a new display cooler, our chest freezer and to extend our storage space at the stand. We need funds for the extension as well as for a new display cooler. We are also looking to raise money for a more adequate packing station.  This station will allow us to more easily apply good agricultural and handling practices in our existing operation. In the past year we have learned a lot about on-farm food safety and we are looking forward to applying this new knowledge, and setting a good example for our food-growing community. We have started distributing food to restaurants and are moving an increasingly larger volume of vegetables - and our walk-in cooler needs to match that volume. As such, we are looking to expand our walk-in cooler space. Having two separate rooms set at different temperatures will allow us to keep vegetables happier for longer periods of time. Lastly, we are looking to raise funds for one more thing: a wood chipper. A wood chipper will allow us to shred and chip leaves and small pieces of wood into mulching material. Mulching is primarily good for soil health but it also helps vegetables to grow better by keeping in moisture and deterring pests. 

With your help, we can make all of this happen!

Once the funds are raised, the first thing we will build is the extension off of the back of the building. We have two team members who have ample carpentry skills. We estimate that it should take 3 full days of work for them to complete this job. During this time the rest of the team members will finalize the purchase of the new display cooler and materials for the packing station. While the builders build the packing station (2 full days of work), the rest of the team will outfit the new extension with the cooler and freezer and storage space (1-2 full days of work). Because we are in the throws of the high season, it is reasonable to expect the project to be worked on in half day increments; therefore, the project is expected to be completed in 2 weeks time. Our next goal will be to build the walk-in cooler expansion - we will need it to be built by the the end of August and know that it will take 1 full day of work to be completed. Lastly, we will finally purchase the wood chipper that all of us at the Sweet Beet Farm Stand have been dreaming of - and we will put it to extensive use this fall as we lay our fields to rest and get our beds ready for the following season.

Sweet Beet Farm and Farm Stand is in it’s second season. We are a part of the umbrella organization, the Kearsarge Food Hub, whose mission is to increase access to local foods. Our aim is to do this by engaging our community at every turn. We are reaching out to our local schools, building curriculums with teachers, and involving students from the 1^st grade all the way up to college students. We have formed close partnerships with local food pantries and together are working to expand access to fresh local produce for our low income neighbors. We are opening the lines of communication between producers as well as between producers and consumers (both individuals and institutions). By doing this we are facilitating greater cooperation and increased efficiency – the end result being greater access to local food for all. By helping us to renovate the Farm Stand you are helping us systemize the food distribution part of our organization so that we can spend more time on the other aspects of our organization, which aim to build a restorative and engaged community based around fresh local food!