GoFarm’s Local Food Share Director, Ge’Von Martin-Collins, is excited to bring his expertise to GoFarm for the coming season. He joined GoFarm's team last fall. Enjoy this Question&Answer-style interview about his background, his passion for local food and farmers, and his ideas for exciting changes to GoFarm's Local Food Share program for this year.
1. What is your background in local food / farming? What are you excited to bring to GoFarm?
"I've been around gardening since I was a little kid. My great grandmother would have me help her in her garden in the summer. I would help hoe the soil, water the crops (which was me moving around the sprinkler from one side of the plot to the other). When the vegetables were ready, she would have me load them into a grocery bag and give them to our neighbors. In return, our neighbor would give me a bag of her own vegetables to give to my great grandmother. At the time, I thought it was a busy task, that my great grandmother was putting me to work. After college, I was serving as an Americorps member for United Way and spent my year working on an urban garden in Flint, Michigan. The organization was called "Edible Flint". It clicked that what my Great grandmother all those years ago was being a part of a community. It was a real sense of being a part of something for the community, by the community. Since then, I've been looking for something that gave me a similar feeling, so when I learned about GoFarm, I felt compelled to be a part of their mission.Â
"I'm excited to bring new collaboration efforts with other organizations. I believe that no effort of a large magnitude can be achieved without a collective." - Ge'Von Martin-Collins
2. What will be different in this upcoming season for GoFarm LFS?
"One of LFS goals is to continue efforts that bridge the gaps between farmers and our shareholders. In the past, we have done farm tours, displayed information on where our produce grew from, etc. At the end of 2024, we introduced local pop-ups for producers to sell their items to our shareholders. With the two successful ones we had (Chase bread & KREAM Kimchi) we wanted to continue this effort in the summer season! Additionally, we want to add some educational pop-ups to give a more enriching experience.Â
"LFS is also continuing with "bundle" deals for our shareholders, as we did in the Fall 2024. There will be a Grocery Bundle (Bread, Eggs, Veggies, and Fruit), a "Get it all" bundle (all of our shares) and a plant protein share that rotates between; tofu, tempeh, mushrooms, and pre-seasoned tempeh protein strips."
3. What are you most excited about for the 2025 LFS season? or What are you most excited about for being part of your first full LFS season at GoFarm?
"I've been enjoying the process of planning for our seasons. I really would like our pop-ups to be a cool experience for everyone and I'm looking forward to meeting producers and our shareholders more. Last year I didn't fully immerse myself into the work, and was solely trying to learn and play catch up. I feel that this upcoming season, I can enjoy engaging more with folks."
4. Why should people join LFS in 2025?
"People should consider joining LFS because you will get that feeling of community with every share. Those once prized specialty markets and storefronts that I remember going to as a child, are these small farmers and producers we work with now. When you support Gofarm , you are supporting those small storefronts, businesses and people who love their community as much as you do." - Ge'Von Martin-Collins
Questions or Want to Learn More?
Check out our Local Food Share information page, or go straight to the shareholder signup page to get more info! Email us at localfoodshare@gofarm.org if you have any questions or issues registering. We look forward to seeing you this upcoming season!
GoFarm TeamÂ
720.580.FARM (3276)
