Farm Food Safety Plan Review
Food safety starts on the farm. That’s why it’s important that all farms implement procedures to ensure that the food that leaves the farm will be safe when it reaches the family table. All farms selling fruits and vegetables for human consumption are required to follow appropriate food safety and handling procedures as outlined in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Additionally, many end markets require additional procedures be in place before entering into a purchasing contract. If you have developed a food safety plan for your farm and want to ensure that your procedures are sufficient and efficient, please submit your plan for a free review. Our reviewers will be able to provide you with practical feedback and recommendations for improving and implementing your plan on the farm.
Meet your reviewer!
Rachel Kimpton (she/they) is a farmer and educator in Chicago. Rachel has managed urban diverse vegetable production farms and trained beginner farmers for the last 5 years. As a second year fellow with the National Young Farmers Coalition’s Food Safety Fellowship, Rachel has obtained certifications with the Produce Safety Alliance and USDA to help farmers meet their food safety goals. She has over a decade of facilitation experience across a variety of spaces, including museums, outdoor education institutions, and in communities. Rachel is actively involved in improving food security on the northwest side of the city through Avondale Mutual Aid, the Avondale Gardening Alliance, Chicago Food Sovereignty Network, and most recently their own farm (bricktownfarm.org).
Click here to schedule your review with Rachel
Resources
Please check out our farm food safety resources, below.
Food Safety Incentive Match
Have a solid farm food safety plan and want to go to the next level? The Land Connection has funds available to offset the costs of adding equipment to comply with safety regulations and implementing your plan or achieving a third party food safety certification, such as GAP.
What do I need to do?
- Know about farm food safety plans
- Submit an application for enrollment
- Arrange for your audit / on-farm safety improvement
- Provide The Land Connection with proof of cost, then we match up to $500!
- Provide The Land Connection with documentation of your purchase
- Complete a program evaluation
Questions? Contact Crystal at crystal@thelandconnection.org.
This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number2018-70027-28586. Funding for this project was provided by the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
