We Owe These Farmers …

Dear Cornucopia members and supporters,

Pat Slattery of Middle Ridge, Wisconsin is the self-professed Brussels Sprout King of the Midwest. Pat has long been dedicated to high-quality wholesale and retail organics, as the photo indicates, and supportive of the community of farmers. We have been friends for over two decades—thank you to the Slattery family for your important work!

Thanksgiving is a time to especially acknowledge our connection to the earth and the cornucopia of wonderful food it provides. It’s also a time to remember the efforts of the farmers, ranchers, and fisher families who make Thanksgiving feasts across the country possible.

I hope you’ll join me in remembering their crucial, life-sustaining work during this festive season. In 2018 many conventional and organic farmers are economically hurting.

If you don’t have a farmer in the family, or in the neighborhood, you can thank a farmer directly at the farmers market, or through your CSA, or at your local co-op. Supporting our country’s best farmers with your patronage is the ultimate pat on the back!

If you feel like doing more in this season of giving, you can dedicate a Cornucopia donation to a farmer. When you make a donation online, you can select “gift in honor of” and then fill in the name of your favorite farmer, and we will send them a hand-written acknowledgement card.

If you don’t have a direct relationship with an organic farmer to thank, we will select one for you, in your home state. Please let us know whether you would like your thank you card to be anonymous or if you would like to be identified (we will only share your personal contact information with permission).

Now here’s my chance to thank every one of the farmers receiving this email who stand together with Cornucopia, not only getting their hands dirty raising crops and livestock every day, but also fighting for authentic food. Factory farms are driving down prices for legitimate organic dairy and egg farmers, and cheap imports are tightening the screws on grain producers. And hydroponics, grown in liquid fertilizer instead of rich organic soil, is watering down the flavor and nutrition of organic produce.

As I write this I’ve recently returned from the National Organic Standards Board Meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota. We do this work for you, the organic community of organic family farmers and their urban allies, and we can’t thank you enough. I am truly humbled and honored to stand with you in fighting for food justice.

In appreciation,

Mark Kastel Codirector The Cornucopia Institute