Farmer Support Organizations
Building a better food system for Oklahomans.
The OKC Food Hub is working hard to build a better food system centered around the needs and challenges faced by our small-midsize farmers here in Oklahoma.
Collaboration
We know that collaborating with external support agencies is the only way to be able to fully support the myriad obstacles we face in ensuring the resiliency and viability of our food system.
If you have a service you offer to farmers, please reach out. We love integrating as many services as possible directly into the onboarding process with our producers, and continuing to see how we can work together to make it easier for farmers to find and access services.
Photo courtesy of Keisha Scott, Emanuel Farm.
Integrating Producer Services
Some examples of how The OKC Food Hub has integrated or is working to integrate services from external agencies are:
Partnering with OSU extension to assist producers in accessing capital through a grant writing workshop once per quarter (grants are available to farmers quarterly through the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry).
Working with the Oklahoma Local Agriculture Collaborative (OLAC), NRCS, FSA & other to share resources and information as it becomes available related to trainings and infrastructure funding.
Referring to Potlikker Capital to assist BIPOC producers in accessing larger loans and business planning services
Referring to Food & Flowers to offer contract labor and infrastructure support to farmers who need it
Future Partners
If you have other ideas about how we can partner to create a more supportive environment for producers, please reach out. Some partners we are currently looking for are:
We would love to find a research partner from a university to collaborate around field testing of various food growing methods in various settings with our farmers
We would love to partner with area clinics/hospitals/health science centers to pilot/supply prescription produce programs
We would love to partner with a university to offer a beginning farmer mentorship/apprenticeship program to new producers
We would love to partner with an advocacy agency to continue to advocate for policies that make small-midsize producers and their supply networks more viable
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