Today we’d like to introduce you to Alison Burnett.
Alison, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Zac co-founded FH back in 2012 after a cross country motorcycle trip landed him on an organic farm. I joined the team when my husband and I moved to Clarkston in 2015. Having just returned from farming in Tanzania I was specifically looking to get involved in the farming scene in Atlanta. While the main function of Fresh Harvest is delivery of organic produce from GA organic farmers, I learned that there was the talk of Fresh Harvest starting its own garden space in Clarkston. The idea had potential but needed a lot of investment. There was a family in Clarkston who was letting Fresh Harvest use their land to dump our compost but had dreams of starting a larger garden. So, I joined Fresh Harvest as a customer service rep, while also helping to start the garden. Two and a half years later, my full-time role became managing the garden, which was a really exciting milestone for me. It’s so cool to see how far the garden has come. Last year, we harvested 12,000 lbs of produce that went in baskets for our customers, or to our market for refugee families. Recently, my husband joined the Fresh Harvest team to help manage the garden space. Our 2019 plans include growing vegetable seedlings for a spring plant sale, expanding our cultural offerings to customers and ‘Share the Harvest’ market attendees, working with Clarkston refugee youth through field trips and job development internships, and monthly events. All the while, we’ll be growing on 23 new garden beds!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’re grateful to have had several allies that have helped us get to where we are. That said though, I’d never use the word “smooth” to describe starting an organic garden from the ground up. A family in Clarkston who has a shared vision of community and land renewal has be generous with us to allow us to utilize their family land for growing organic vegetables . Foodwell Alliance has played a huge role in helping us invest in growing both the infrastructure and the garden team. We have customers and friends who have volunteered in the garden. With that said, there are so many things out of anyone’s control when farming. Weather and nature are two of the biggest culprits in the garden. We’ve recently discovered we have coyotes that roam the garden, which isn’t ideal for crops or animals that belong there. In addition to our garden, Fresh Harvest works with over a dozen local farmers who have similar problems. It can be a challenge if you have hundreds or thousands of families expecting a certain item in their basket, and the farmer’s land gets completely flooded – we have to find that item from other farmers on very short notice or sub it out altogether.
Please tell us about Fresh Harvest.
Fresh Harvest delivers local organic produce to families around Atlanta. In some ways, it’s like an online Farmer’s Market, with options to add local grocery items like meat, milk, eggs, bread, coffee, kombucha, and tons of pantry items. Customers create an account within our website and choose a basket size. They get an email every week letting them know what’s coming in from the farms, and then they can choose to either customize the contents of the basket or skip it altogether (at no charge). Then, the following week, farmers deliver their harvest to us, and we pack each customer’s order and deliver it to their house. One thing we’re proud of is that despite continuing to grow, we’ve found ways to stay connected with our customers. We never want to be so big that a customer is just a number. Two ways we do this is through our events and our drivers. We just had our second Artisan Market, where the artisans whose products we sell set up tents and our customers come meet them. This is such a special time for us to connect with our customers. We also have dinners at the garden where we get to know our customers even more. From the delivery perspective, rather than shipping items or outsourcing deliveries, we’ve chosen to have our own team members deliver to the same customers week after week. This has helped us build relationships with our customers, and ultimately give them a better experience. It also allows using reusable packaging, which has diverted so much waste from landfills. We believe the food movement progresses when we work together, so every customer is one more person making that a reality.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
It’s fitting that I ended up in farming because I loved any form of playing outside. I grew up on a floodplain, and as a kid, I loved when we got heavy rains. Every time it flooded, my friend and I would go to the creek and look around for “hidden treasures.” We would think of a creative way to re-purpose these items in our tree house. It’s kind of ironic now that as a farmer, the prospect of flooding is NOT exciting. But, as a kid, I couldn’t wait because it meant more hidden treasures to be found.
Pricing:
- Mini Basket, Feeds 1-2 people – $32.00
- Georgia Grown Basket, Feeds 2-4 people – $39.00
- Standard Basket, Feeds 3-5 people – $45.00
- Family Basket, Feeds 5-7 people – $73.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 735 Park N Blvd #116,
Clarkston, GA 30021 - Website: www.freshharvestga.com
- Phone: (770) 847-6630
- Email: info@freshharvestga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshharvest
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshharvestga
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/freshharvestga
Image Credit:
Joe Spiccia, Joe Spiccia, Lauren Harrison, Alexis Haggerty, David Melton, Alexis Haggerty, Joe Spiccia, Joe Spiccia
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