Good Natured Family Farms Brings Together Producers and Local Businesses to Market Local Foods

May 2, 2013
Poster at the grocery store that says "buy fresh buy local" with two strawberries on it.

Good Natured Family Farms is an alliance of more than 150 family farms and small businesses in the Kansas City, MO area.  They sell products under the Good Natured Family Farms’ logo in Balls Food Stores in the Kansas City Area. Their selection of products encompasses all-natural beef, free-range chickens, free-range brown eggs, farmhouse cheeses, milk, eggnog, honey, bison, and in-season fruits and vegetables - from tomatoes to chestnuts. 

In 2008, they received an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant for their Bistro Kids Farm 2 School program, which provides students with healthy school lunches from local farmers and education about sustainable agriculture. This exposure to students, along with school food purchases, has provided farmers and food producers with a market for their products, increased their sales opportunities, and provided an avenue of outreach to communities.

This video provides a brief overview of their work.

 

View Related SARE Grant:

Topics: Community Development, Community Services, Community-Supported Agriculture, Farm Business Management, Farm-to-institution, Farm-to-restaurant, Food Hubs, Local and Regional Food Systems, Marketing Management, Quality of Life, Sustainable Communities
Related Locations: North Central, Northeast, South, West