Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1503930
Page 18 | Abby's Magazine | instagram.com/abbyshealthfood FARM MATH FARM MATH It's a fair question to ask, "So if you are teaching all these families how to grow their own food… where's the food, how much do you grow?" Great question and so proud and thrilled to answer. Abby's Farm growing mediums: 86 Personal raised beds (many personal beds have an A & B feature so two families farming); 37 Community beds; 9 row farming gardening areas; over 100 fruit and Moringa trees; 181 blueberry bushes (200 more just started), none of which existed just 8 years ago! Our raised beds (personal and community) represent 4,332 square feet of food producing ground. Our row farm growing areas represent 5,175 square feet of food producing ground. Abby's farm has a total (today, we are always growing and expanding) of 9,507 square feet of lovely, healthy, organic soil that according to most farming metrics produces about 1 pound (of food) per square foot, per season. The significance of that statement "per season", is that most of the country bases all of their farming, growing on one season and in Florida we enjoy the harvest of three distinct seasons. Yep, that's right, your little community farm in Lutz is currently producing approximately 28,501 pounds of fresh, organic food each year, which includes only vegetables. The fruit and Moringa trees represent hundreds of pounds of food that we enjoy but aren't included for this exercise because the metric is different, and the growing areas are vast. Having said that, the financial benefit or value to volunteers is calculated for most veggies with a range from $1-$3 per pound and with inflation over the last couple years, there have been wild fluctuations. However, using the industry standards cited, the value would range from $28,501, divided by 100 families = $285.01 per family… to $85,503, divided by 100 families = $855.03 per family! Keeping in mind, we currently ask for a donation of $14 per month to be a part of the farm, so the value to our members is pretty obvious. In addition, we are doing our part in terms of personal environmental responsibility, by taking 28,501 pounds off of the highways/airways delivering to stores and instead harvesting fresh, healthy food that comes right from the ground to our tables. The purpose of this exercise was to show the incredible dynamics (production/ financial) of growing your own food, but also to give you a guide for calculating the value you can achieve by doing this at home. In today's economy, it would seem we all should at least know and understand the options. The Future of Farming Visit our site to learn, contribute and/or volunteer! Visit our site to learn, contribute and/or volunteer! Visit our site to learn, contribute and/or volunteer! Visit our site to learn, contribute and/or volunteer! abbysfarm.org abbysfarm.org abbysfarm.org abbysfarm.org abbysfarm.org abbysfarm.org FARM MATH FARM MATH Just do the Math!!!