Editorial

Well, I don’t know about you, but 2020 has not gone at all as I had planned!

I have a feeling you may be able to relate.

Despite the mayhem and upheaval that have followed in the wake of COVID-19’s trek around the world, there have been some heartening developments.

For years, there has been this important debate between Big Ag and small farms - who is better equipped to feed the world?

And in the wake of COVID, we began to see the answer.

When supply lines to grocery stores faltered, small farms stepped in to fill the need. And our communities noticed.

Businesses sourcing local supply from small farms boomed. Farmers Markets finally got the attention and the business of local customers. Small farms pivoted their business plans from restaurants to direct-to-consumer sales.

It’s been exciting to watch small farms across Southeast Georgia working in cooperation instead of competition with other small farms nearby - joining forces to feed their community and to keep their businesses afloat.

It’s also been good to see that more people are developing an interest in gardening and more families are rediscovering their kitchens and the communal benefits of cooking and eating together.

It hasn’t been painless.

It’s been hard to see the hits the restaurants have taken, some are struggling to recover, some never will.

And while consumers may be taking up some of the slack from the loss of restaurant purchases, some small farms (especially those depending on outside incomes) have struggled financially.

I got artsy with my daily harvest of blueberries this season.

It’s not all sunshine and roses.

But overall, our small localized food systems have shown themselves to be remarkably resilient. And that resiliency is vital to our food security.

I think if there’s one lesson we can learn through this experience, it’s this: our local farmers, growers and producers are willing and able to feed, not the entire world, but their own local communities. And that, my friends, is how the world gets fed - one person, one family, one neighborhood, one city, one community at a time.

LeeAnna Tatum, Editor