Starbuck Learning Farm shows Georgia National Fair-goers how they can grow their own food
Starbuck Learning Farm works with the HALO Group of Middle Georgia to provide adults with developmental disabilities hands-on training to teach others about agriculture.
PERRY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – If you’ve tried any of the food at the Georgia National Fair this year, there’s a good chance you’ve eaten something that was grown at the fairgrounds.
The Starbuck Learning Farm at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter serves as an educational resource and also as a practical food source.
According to the nonprofit’s executive director, Fredando Jackson, the farm was founded in 2019 by the Flint River Fresh nonprofit to provide a solution to food insecurity and to teach people about where their food comes from.
“We all have to eat, right?” Jackson said. “I think that the most trusted source for your food should be somebody that you know.”
Jackson says the farm can show people different ways to maximize their space for growing edible plants and alsowhich foods grow best in different seasons and regions across the state.
“So right now we’re in what we call the fall season of growing, and so we have squash that’s planted, collard greens, broccoli, cabbage, strawberries, okra, kale,” Jackson said.
Flint River Fresh also works with the HALO Group of Middle Georgia to help adults with developmental disabilities and autism build skills for the workforce.
The executive director of the HALO Group, Angela Cuti, says teammates from the HALO Group contributed to everything you see at the Starbuck Learning Farm– from weeding and building garden beds to harvesting the crops and serving them up at the Georgia National Fair’s Rocker’s Roost Restaurant.
“It’s been exciting not only to learn hands-on, giving the opportunity to the teammates to get outdoors, garden, learn and inspire others to do the same thing,” Cuti said.
Whether you live in a rural area or in an apartment complex, there’s a way for you to grow something to put on your table.
Jackson says by working with the Halo Group to teach people about agriculture, the Starbuck Learning Farm is helping to promote inclusion and build community.
“If you can find the time for yourself, your family or your community to grow food for your neighbors or the person across the street, this is what it’s about,” Jackson said.
The Starbuck Learning Farm is open all year at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter. You can schedule a tour by contacting the HALO Group of Middle Georgia through its Facebook page or on its website.
