Welcome to the Northeast Georgia Area Locally Grown!

Locally Grown is a brand new internet based market that creates a unique way to make fresh, local and sustainable foods more accessible to citizens of Northeast Georgia. As a result we hope to encourage more producers to make a living from farming and food production.

All the products you find on this site are produced right here in Rabun, Habersham and adjacent counties. All of the growers are committed to chemical free farming and follow strict standards to ensure that all the vegetables, herbs, milled products, dairy, eggs, meats, flowers, and transplants are produced using sustainable production practices.

History
The Northeast Georgia Locally Grown network was started by growers in Rabun and Habersham counties, and though not a true cooperative, we use cooperative efforts to increase the availability of local foods to consumers throughout the North Georgia Mountains. The market builds on the significant success of the Athens Locally Grown market. After seeing the success of an internet based market in Athens, growers in Rabun County sought to collaborate with Habersham County growers to increase the accessibility of local food to rural mountain residents. By working together we can increase both the consumer base and the grower base.

Benefits of buying Locally Grown
While each individual will have their own reasons for enjoying buying locally grown foods, here are just a few of the reasons that motivated us:

Builds local economy – land based small farm businesses are a great way to build the economy with relatively low capital costs. This market encourages people to “grow to sell” because anyone who produces chemical free food can become a vendor.

Conserves natural resources – Sustainable farming considerably reduces the environmental impact of producing food. Buying sustainable local foods reduces fuel use, packaging materials, and chemicals.

Building Relationships – Buying local food will put you closer to the people and the landscapes right here in the mountains. You’ll gain a deeper sense of community as you meet other consumers and growers.

Learning sustainability – Sustainability is more of a process than a goal and its something that we have to do together. Understanding where your food comes from and how it was grown in a “low impact” way may influence other behaviors that have a positive impact on the environment.

How the Market Works
Locally Grown is an internet based market that works a lot like a farmers market. Each farmer and food producer posts their products in a kind of “virtual farmers market” on this website. Just click on “The Market” link above to see what is currently available.

Membership
The Locally Grown market does have a very small membership fee to help us pay for resources such as coolers, paperwork, transportation costs, extra labor and eventually some educational programs and field days. However, the first three times you buy from the market we offer a free trial to make sure you like it. After that a $15 fee per household per calendar year is automatically applied to your fourth order. We tried to keep this fee as low as possible, and it should go a long way in making sure it’s easy for us to grow as the market increases in size.

Ordering
The best part about Locally Grown is you get to order exactly what you want, the amounts that you want, and from the farms you want, just like a Saturday morning market (only without having to get up early). The ordering system works just like a shopping cart you’ve seen on other internet sites, including photos and descriptions of items and the farms they come from.

On Sunday evenings all the items for the week will be posted for ordering and you’ll receive an e-mail reminder to look at the week’s availability. You can place your order anytime after that, until 9pm on Monday night when the market closes. After the ordering ends the farmers will receive their orders so they know what to harvest on Tuesday and Wednesday for delivery Wednesday night. You’ll receive a confirmation e-mail of your order.

Picking Up Orders
Pick up of your orders is on Wednesday from 5:00pm until 7:00pm in both Rabun and Habersham County.

The pick up sites are:

Rabun County site is at Scott Creek Nursery – 290 South Main Street in Clayton.

Habersham County site is at the Market Cafe on Water Street just off the square in Clarkesville (its a red barn and we’re on the side of the building).

If for some reason you aren’t able to make the pickup you can arrange for someone else to pickup your order so that your account won’t be charged. About a half hour before we pack up to go home, we’ll call you. If we aren’t able to reach you, your items will be donated or given away! We do not have a means to keep items until the next week, or to deliver them to you. If we were able to reach you on the phone, we may be able to work out an arrangement, but otherwise, your items will be donated or given away!

Since the growers harvested just for you, and we paid the growers on your behalf you are still responsible for paying for items, even if you do not pick them up. Your charges will be put on your account, and that amount will get added to your next order.

That’s the basics!

We hope you enjoy the Northeast Georgia Locally Grown market and thanks for supporting local efforts to produce fresh, sustainable food.

Still have Questions?
For Rabun County contact:
Chuck Mashburn
chuckandamym@windstream.net
706-490-4243

For Habersham County contact:
Justin Ellis
soque@windstream.net

Sponsor A Membership!
We’d really like to encourage participation from a broad audience and all income levels. If you would like to sponsor a membership for an individual or family, please contact us.

Additional Benefits
A small percentage of the sales from the Locally Grown market benefit the Soque River Watershed Association (the organization that manages the Clarkesville market ) and will be used for their programs that promote the re-building of a sustainable land based economy. Current projects include an organic community garden, organic gardening classes, quarterly sustainability tours and of course this market. For more information visit the website at www.soque.org (slightly out of date) or e-mail soque@windstream.net to request being added to their e-bulletins.