Good Food Collective

The GFC has its roots in the strong organizing efforts in Rochester to connect local growers and consumers in effective, creative, and enjoyable ways. Our project is modeled after a traditional CSA program, where people from the community pledge to support local farms by becoming members or “shareholders” of a farm. Members pay in advance and receive a weekly “share” of the harvest and farmers are guaranteed a market.

The Good Food Collective seeks to “scale up” the CSA model and utilize the strengths of such a model to help rebuild a local, sustainable food system.  In order to do that, the GFC is networking local farmers together and creating a multi-farm CSA where farmers work cooperatively to supply the food for the CSA program.  Additionally the GFC is focused on increasingly convenient and accessable distribution methods such as a workplace-based delivery model,  signing up groups of employees at area businesses and organizations.

GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE is a joint venture between Head Water Foods, Inc. and seven local farmers. Each participant in the GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE brings a spirit of collaboration and commitment to the collective with a solid vision of a new food system for the Rochester area.

This collaborative food project was born out of the work that Chris Hartman, founder and manager of the South Wedge Farmers’ Market, and local farmers have been doing to make more effective connections between local farms and Rochester consumers. The GFC represents a step towards a more efficient and convenient local food system and a way for Rochester to build a more durable and ecologically sound economy around food.

Support to pilot the project during the 2008 season has come through the generosity and shared interests of students and faculty at The Geneseo Food Project at SUNY Geneseo.

Headwater Foods, Inc.

Fresh. Local. Fair.

Headwater Foods Inc., owned and operated by Chris Hartman, is an organization committed to the development of sustainable, localized food systems and the associated individual, social, economic, and ecological health of the Rochester community. Using creative business models, Headwater Foods Inc. seeks to promote local, sustainable agriculture; a regional food system; and an enhancement and celebration of Rochester’s food history and culture.