This has not been an easy year for farming in the Carolinas. In every season, in most of our region, weather conditions were the opposite of what was needed for successful crops. From a devastating tropical weather system to the extreme drought in the West, this has been a hard year for farmers.

Yet amid the heartbreak there were reasons to be inspired as neighbors and communities banded together to support one another. In phone calls with members affected by Hurricane Matthew, CFSA staff heard again and again stories of people pitching in to help others who had suffered even worse and of courage and resilience as farmers focused on getting back to business.

You have to be an optimist to be a successful sustainable farmer, and this optimism yields not only delicious food and rich soils, but inspiration for others who care about vibrant communities and a healthy environment.

Through their work, CFSA members are changing the trajectory of the food system, and we are proud to be a part of their incredible efforts. By providing educational opportunities through conferences, workshops and the Lomax Incubator Farm; by providing one-on-one help for farmers and food businesses to overcome the challenges of launching and growing their operations; by leading communities to organize themselves and find their voice in public policy, CFSA supports innovators and innovations that bring to reality our shared vision of a sustainable food system in the Carolinas that is good for the consumer, good for the farmer and good for the land.

We hope you found inspiration in the stories about our members that have appeared in the Stew this year. We are proud to share the stories of Spade and Clover Gardens in the Lowcounty of SC and Lyons and Wade Farm in Raeford, NC, the powerful keynote at the Sustainable Agriculture Conference by Clara Coleman, and a supremely comforting recipe for white bean stew in this month’s edition. And we hope that this inspiration will include making a financial contribution to CFSA during our end-of-year annual campaign. Your generous donation to CFSA is a deeply meaningful way to ensure the network of support for local organic farmers in our region stays strong and grows stronger. Working together, we can make it possible for more and more families to have local, organic food on their tables from farmers who share your values. Thank you for being a part of the change we all want to see in the world.

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2017,

Roland McReynolds, Executive Director

P.S. Make your tax-deductive contribution to CFSA by calling us at 919-542-2402 or by donating online. Thank you.