Tag Archives: Agritourism

Marietta Square Farmers Market Has Grown From 8 Vendors to a Georgia Institution in Twenty Years

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Marietta, GA |

Every Saturday morning, Marietta Square becomes a melting pot of local farmers, chefs, and small business owners — and hundreds of visitors who come to shop, sample, and connect with the people behind their food. What started more than two decades ago as a vision inspired by a trip to the Green Market in New York City has grown into one of Georgia’s most celebrated farmers markets.

“On the way home from New York, my wife Suzy said, ‘Let’s see if we can do something like this on Saturday mornings in Marietta.’ We already had a business on the square, but we thought this would be a real community enhancement,” said Johnny Fulmer, Marketing Director for the Marietta Square Farmers Market. “We started out with eight vendors and it grew from there. Now we have approximately sixty-five to seventy vendors every Saturday with local products.”

YOU KNOW THE FARMER, YOU KNOW THE FOOD

The market has earned the title of Best Farmers Market in Georgia from multiple publications — and the reason comes down to more than just the produce. It’s the relationships built across a folding table that keep people coming back week after week.

“You’re building a relationship with a local farmer. Hopefully you’ll know his practices, how he’s growing the product. And at the end of the day, on the consumer side, it’s the freshness,” said John Gerald of Mama J’s Produce. “Picked Friday, brought here Saturday — versus the grocery store, where it might be three days old, a week old. You just never know.”

That freshness is something Lynn Teddlie of Straight from the Backyard Farm takes seriously. For her crops, even a day makes a difference.

“Okra, cucumbers, and squash — you have to pick every other day or they’re going to be too big. We never refrigerate anything or put it in a cooler. We always pick the day before,” Teddlie said. “Not only does it taste better and have more nutrients, it’s going to last a month or longer in your fridge.”

“You can talk to the farmers, understand the seasonality of your produce, how it was harvested, understand the herbs and their seasons,” added Brittany Woodard of Planet Wellness Co. “You can support local in your community instead of the big box retailers — and it’s often much fresher.”

A HEALTH BENEFIT FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY

Beyond the freshness and the relationships, access to this kind of variety has real implications for public health. Registered Dietician Sherry Coleman Collins says markets like this one play an important role in closing a significant nutritional gap.

“Fruits and vegetables are so important for health, of course. We know that eighty percent of Americans don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables — and that’s true across the country,” Collins said. “In an area like Marietta, having easy access to a variety of fruits and vegetables ensures that our population has a healthy diet.”

A WEEK OF WORK, ONE MORNING TO SHARE IT

For the farmers who set up their tables each Saturday, the market represents far more than a sales opportunity. It’s the payoff for a full week of early mornings, long days, and physical labor — and the gratitude of customers who understand what went into it makes it worth every bit of that effort.

“I think a lot of folks are aware of where we’re coming from and how it’s not that easy — and they appreciate it,” said Jody Kaufman of Jody’s Farms. “I just want to say thank you to everybody that is now understanding it.”

For the Marietta Square Farmers Market, Saturday morning isn’t just a shopping trip. It’s where community and agriculture meet — and after more than twenty years, the line to get in is still just as long as it’s ever been.

By: Damon Jones

Tunnel Hill Farm Camp Is Teaching Kids Where Their Food Really Comes From

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Tunnel Hill, GA |

It started simply enough — a few friends visiting the farm, playing with the cows, and asking if they could come back and do it again. For Lyla Beckler, that was all the inspiration she needed. What grew out of those visits is a summer farm camp in Tunnel Hill built around one core idea: showing kids what agriculture really looks like up close.

“We wanted to show kids what it’s like to live on a farm and why agriculture is so important. We have a couple of farm animals on our farm, so we talk about each type of animal — plus a few others we may not have — and we do a lot of garden activities, just trying to get the majority of agriculture in its entirety,” Beckler said.

CHANGING THE WAY KIDS THINK

The lessons Beckler and her family put together are intentionally hands-on. The goal isn’t just to teach kids facts about farming — it’s to shift the way they think about the everyday things they may never have questioned before.

“We like to really focus on how much work farmers put into stuff that we use every day. We ask kids, ‘Where do we get our fruits and vegetables from?’ — and they’ll say the grocery store or Walmart. And we do, but there’s a lot behind that,” Beckler said. “We want to make sure kids understand what the people are doing behind the scenes when we’re using everyday things.”

YOU CAN SEE IT HAPPENING

Based on what Beckler has seen so far, the message is getting through. By the end of each camp session, she can already see a shift in how the kids talk — and think — about the world around them.

“This morning we were talking about what animals provide for us, and they were able to answer without us even bringing it up,” she said. “Seeing kids at the beginning of the week not really knowing anything about agriculture, to the end loving it and wanting to tell me everything they’ve learned — it’s really cool to see the kids excited about farming.”

WHAT THE KIDS DON’T SEE

What campers experience during their week, however, is only a fraction of what it takes to make it all happen. While camp runs for a short stretch, the farm itself never takes a day off. Long before any camper arrives — and long after they leave — the animals still need feeding, the garden still needs tending, and the work continues just the same.

“We start out planning everything — we try to do things that kids will remember, make snacks that incorporate the animals we’re learning about, and get our gardens ready. We even have to get certain animals sometimes because we like them small for the kids,” Beckler said. “It really takes a lot all year long. Feeding animals in the cold every morning and every night — the kids don’t see that, but we do it. It takes a lot.”

For Beckler, that invisible effort is part of the point. The farm camp isn’t just about one week of fun — it’s about planting something that lasts. And for the kids who leave knowing a little more about where their food comes from, it clearly does.

By: John Holcomb

Unlocking Georgia’s Agritourism Revolution

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Peachtree City, GA |

With the goal of supporting local farms and spreading the story of agriculture, the GFB Certified Farm Markets program has seen their number of participating farms skyrocket over the past few years, providing a snapshot of the diversity of operations that can be found here in the state.

“This year, we have a hundred farms across the state of Georgia that invite you to come and visit them to see what they do. No two are alike. So, we have everything from farms like Alo Farms, who is hydroponic, to row crops, to hog farms, to farms that do both vegetables and beautiful flowers,” says Kelly Henry, GFB Certified Farm Market Coordinator.

To help guide you through all of these different choices is the GFB Farm Passport, which not only provides a detailed description of the more than one hundred operations, but also rewards for paying them a visit.

“You take your farm passport with you and just like if you’re visiting another country, you get stamps. Your stamps earn you prizes at the end of the year. Five is a T-shirt. Ten is Ag swag. Twenty is a farm to table dinner and tour, our signature event of the year. And then, thirty is goodies from the farm,” says Henry.

It’s not just the visitors that benefit from this program, but also the farms that are involved like Alo Farms, a unique operation in Peachtree City.

“We joined a few years ago and it’s just been an amazing partnership. All the participants in the stamp program are just excited to be here. They have great questions. We love being able to share and talk with them about the farm. So, it brings a lot of enthusiastic customers who appreciate agriculture and what it takes to run and operate a farm. It’s brought us a lot of local people who didn’t know we were here,” says Alec Brown – GM of Alo Farms. “So, Alo Farms is a family owned and operated company. My dad, Jefferson, he’s an architect, and he started our farm about 15 years ago on the design and innovation side as a means to address food insecurity on a large scale and specifically in urban environments. So, our commercial farm right now is less than 20 thousand square feet. We’ll out produce about 75-125 acres worth in soil of the same types of crops.”

This is just one of the many agritourism destinations that will be featured in the new, 2024 Farm Passport when it’s released in less than a month.

“Kickoff is exciting every year, March 16th and will run all the way through the year. So, we even get those Christmas tree farms in at the end of the year. So, if you haven’t gotten your passport yet, you can start it at any of the participating farms found at gfb.ag/passport. You can also pick one up at any of your local county Farm Bureau offices,” says Henry.

By: Damon Jones