Sunapple Gardens Proposal - DRAFT

Sunapple Gardens Proposal - DRAFT

Executive Summary

For over 50 years, ARC Industries and Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities have been working together to create employment and training opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. By installing and maintaining a market garden, transition youth and adults with developmental disabilities will be receiving training and education; be equipped with real skills to enter the labor force; offered real jobs in the local food industry, and be paid real wages for real work.

Throughout Central Ohio, there is an increasing interest in local, sustainable food production. According to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s (MORPC) “Central Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan,” research by the Social Responsibility Initiative at The Ohio State University found that Ohio consumers consistently support local food. Ninety-eight percent of Ohioans said it is “very important” for state and local governments to develop food systems throughout Ohio. Further, MORPC points out that our 12-county region lost over 230,000 acres of farmland in the past 10 years, and experienced a net loss of 760 farms.

The number one goal established by MORPC was to increase the supply of local foods by preparing the next generation of food farmers. Another recommendation of MORPC: ensure that resources are available for urban food production. MORPC also discusses the importance of making this food and these opportunities accessible to all.

The proposed project will do just this. We will be “growing growers.” We will also be growing local, sustainable food, and the economy. Sunapple and the related projects were created to connect people with sustainable skills and marketable talents (who just happen to have disabilities) with the greater community, enabling both to flourish and grow. Sunapple is not just about improving the lives of people with disabilities; it is also about working with the community to improve the lives of everyone in it.

As proposed, Sunapple Gardens will be a vegetable market garden located in Gahanna, Ohio. We will truly be a “local” market garden, servicing the Central Ohio market which is directly adjacent to our property. Our intention is to apply for Certified Organic status in our first year of production. This will enable us to provide the highest quality specialty vegetables to chefs, consumers, and grocers. Sunapple Gardens will produce consistent quantities of nutrient dense vegetables. Additionally, we will establish sales relationships as a potential supplier to local restaurants and wholesalers. We also have strong mentoring relationships with industry leaders like Wayward Seed Farm, the central Ohio leader in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) with more than 250 members in the 2012 season, thus allowing individuals with disabilities to get the best, hands-on training available.

Mechanizing our production system will greatly increases yields and create new sales opportunities. Moreover, our relationship with local professional vegetable farmers will allow us to build upon their years of experience in organic production. It is our current analysis that infrastructure such as a production greenhouse and high tunnels could extend our growing season to a year-around platform.

Both the FCBDD and ARC Industries are dedicated to fiscal responsibility and sustainable planning. Both have a proven track record within the community of accountability, transparency and partnership. The business plan around this project focuses on its feasibility and sustainability. We have invested resources and engaged in significant planning to ensure the success of Sunapple Gardens and its benefit to the people we serve and the community. We are certain that our sales will grow consistently in the next decade. It is an absolute necessity that we manage our prosperity through intelligent investment and finance. We are a passionate team that can foster many years of success. Our lasting intention is to become a pillar of the Central Ohio agricultural community – known more for our food than the fact that we have disabilities.

Sunapple Gardens Proposal

Business Plan

Mission

To grow the finest quality vegetables in a manner that consistently builds soil and mimics natural systems, while providing employment and training opportunities to individuals with developmental disabilities.

Values

At Sunapple Gardens, we strive to be an example of Ohio agriculture at its finest. We measure our decisions based on the following list of Guiding Principles:

·  Provide inclusive employment and training opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities;

·  Embrace methods and technologies developed well before petroleum based agriculture;

·  Bridge the gap between urban and rural cultures through community outreach;

·  Inspire new and modern food traditions while reclaiming Ohio food heritage;

·  Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success;

·  Commit to sustainable farming practices that mimic natural systems;

·  Commit to operator-owned distribution direct to consumers;

·  Work cooperatively within our community of producers and consumers.

Business Model

Sunapple Gardens will clearly be identified in the marketplace for three distinct reasons:

1.  Sunapple Gardens intends to pursue Certified Organic accreditation by the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA), a USDA National Organic Program accredited certifier.

2.  We're passionate about selecting the vegetable varieties that not only promote Ohio's farming heritage, but bring the very best flavor to your table.

3.  Sunapple Gardens seeks to provide products and sales opportunities beyond farmers’ markets, including Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), wholesale and restaurant accounts.

In addition to our product and service offerings, Sunapple Gardens is moving forward with plans to increase cash flow and revenue through season extension, value added products, and new cooperative distribution models.

We are also distinctive in our partnership with the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities – affording education, training, and employment opportunities for transition youth and adults with disabilities in an inclusive environment.

Strategy

Short term:

1.  Increase access of our products through local sales models

2.  Increase the production of Certified Organic specialty crops.

3.  Provide consistent work hours for ARC consumers 130 to 160 hours per week

4.  Sell our products for at least 30 weeks a year.

5.  Help develop cooperative distribution model for local farms

Long term:

1.  Increase the number of skilled growers (who happen to have disabilities) in the workforce.

2.  Increase capacity (production and sales) to 52 weeks a year.

3.  Work cooperatively with growers who respect similar practices.

4.  Diversify the business to include value-added products.

Strategic Relationships

Edible Columbus

Edible Columbus is a quarterly publication celebrating the abundance of local food in our community. Through engaging stories, enticing photography and thoughtful conversation they tell the story of how Columbus eats.

Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA)

For more than 30 years OEFFA has used education, advocacy, and grassroots organizing to promote local and organic food systems, helping farmers and consumers reconnect and together build a sustainable food system, one meal at a time.

Richard de Wilde, Harmony Valley Farm

Harmony Valley Farm reaps the benefits of over 30 years farming experience from Richard de Wilde, who has been growing organic vegetables since 1973. Richard goes above and beyond organics, placing great value on soil fertility and on an integrated, healthy, natural growing environment.

Local Matters

Local Matters is a not-for-profit based in Central Ohio whose mission is to transform the food system to be more secure, prosperous, just and delicious.

Toad Hill Farm

Growing high quality nutritious fresh vegetables and fruits thatcomply with the National Organic Program since 1993. Toad Hill Farm is a mentoring farm and resource in season extension, CSA and value-added production.

Stonefield Naturals

Our vegetables are grown with solid basic principles of organic production, and you will taste the superior quality in each of our offerings. Stonefield Naturals is a cooperative partner is both season extension and value-added products.

Oakvale Farmstead

Oakvale is a 5th generation dairy farm located in London, OH.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

·  College-educated team

·  Certified organic

·  Specialty crops rare in the Ohio marketplace

·  Use of advanced technology on site and off

·  Well-defined crop selection

·  Advanced soil fertility and organic matter

·  Detailed procedures relating to food safety and traceability

Weakness:

·  Need necessary infrastructure for continued growth

·  Complications based on certified organic status including sourcing compliant materials and seeds

Opportunities:

·  Commitment to making market garden and food movement “accessible to all”

·  Trends in employment and educational opportunities for people with disabilities

·  Trends in “local”

·  Trends in certified organic and sustainable farming practices

·  Demand for value-added farmstead products

·  Increased commitment to local products by national retailers such as Kroger

·  Advanced technology in farm equipment

·  Extensive research on organics such as soil science, fertilizers, and ecology

·  Community activism

·  Successful examples of certified organic farms such as Harmony Valley Farm

Threats:

·  Lack of funding opportunities for certified organic agriculture

·  Weather

·  Lack of agriculturally skilled laborers

·  Highly competitive marketplace

·  Rising input costs

Products and Services

Sunapple Gardens will focus on high demand products such as salad greens or heirloom tomatoes. Sunapple will serve our clients through farmers’ markets and wholesale opportunities, and perhaps a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in the near future. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a community of individuals who share both the responsibility and reward of a local farm. The farmers receive the benefit of a stable market, and its members receive the benefit of clean, safe, locally grown food. A true CSA has the value of community-building at its core. Members receive more than a share in the farm’s bounty—they receive a renewed connection with their food and the peace of mind that comes with knowing its origin. There are a myriad of marketing possibilities in the Columbus marketplace, our opportunities will solidify in relation to our stable, reliable production systems.

Site Management

Adam Welly

Farmer, chef, co-founder and co-owner of Wayward Seed Farm. With an innate passion for food and cooking, Adam found his way to farming through food. As a buyer for a local specialty cheese shop, Adam noticed a real need in the market for fresh, high quality, lesser known vegetable varieties. He soon set out to start a small farm, focused on providing heirloom and Ohio heritage vegetables to local chefs.

In seven years, this self-taught and self-trained farmer not only farms 30 acres of land and leads a CSA program with more than 250 shareholders, but produces more than 40 vegetable varieties, many otherwise unknown to Central Ohio.

Adam is not only passionate about returning rare vegetables to the table, but also returning the fertility to the soil he farms. He is currently in the process of perfecting Wayward Seed's soil-building program.

Adam Utley

Adam Utley is a Farm Strategist with Wayward Seed Farm. Adam not only brings a passion for hands-on learning and hard work to the role, but he also has extensive experience in building communities, education and making fresh foods more accessible. Fluent in Spanish, Adam worked with a Latino community center in Minneapolis, as well as developing school gardens and nutrition programs in Puerto Rican neighborhoods in Philadelphia. In his second season with Wayward Seed, he is an invaluable asset to the farm--both in the field and in the community.

Marketing Plan

Target market

1.  Chefs who seek local heirloom crops that are sustainably raised.

2.  Individuals who seek out local and organic food sources, those who wish to know the origin of their food and desire a level of transparency unattainable through traditional buying (farming practices, worker conditions, etc.).

3.  Wholesale buyers who are committed to building relationships with local producers.

Competition

Green Edge Gardens

Green Edge Gardens is a family owned organic farm in rural Amesville, Ohio. Green Edge is dedicated to producing the highest quality certified organic produce.

Green Edge Gardens is one of the only certified organic farms to offer a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share in the central Ohio. For more than twenty years, Kip and Becky Rondy have worked in agriculture, establishing their operation as a year-round and sustainable alternative.

Green Edge Gardens has a successful greenhouse operation including year round production of greens, micro greens and mushrooms, among other things. Their long-term, organic farming experience on 120 acres of contiguous land in Athens County and well established customer base make Green Edge Gardens a significant competitor.

Green Edge Gardens does have a few disadvantages. For example, they are located well outside the Columbus area and do not participate in Columbus area farmers markets. In addition to limited visibility within our community, they specialize in greens and have very limited crop selection.

Northridge Organic Farm

Northridge is a certified organic farm located between Johnstown and Utica, Ohio, which offers seasonal produce as well as lamb.

Northridge Organic Farm is a farmers market and wholesale operation located near Columbus, OH. Northridge specializes in hot weather crops such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

In addition to long-term organic farming experience, Northridge Organic Farm has well established and loyal wholesale relationships with grocers like Whole Foods Market.

While their products are impeccable in quality, Northridge Organic Farm is limited in their crop selection, and has little brand power within the community. They have no website and only participate in a few markets in the Columbus area.

Market Trends

Consumer:

·  Local

·  Certified organic

·  Low environmental impact

·  Understanding the benefits of locally-produced foods

·  Procurement of nutrient-dense food stuffs

·  Communicating directly with the farmers about their food and its origin

·  Fresh

·  Minimally handled and processed foods

·  Anti-corporate

·  Belonging to a community of individuals who have similar interests

·  Diversity

·  Heirloom and heritage vegetables

·  High quality

·  Alternative diets (vegetarianism, veganism, etc.)

Industry:

·  Direct sales marketing to restaurants, individuals, and institutions

·  Community Supported Agriculture