Thomas, 33, has worked on his family's farm since he was 6. Along with his 58-year-old father and four other men, he farms about 200 acres. They sell their goods to the Georgia state prison system and a few other private contractors.
Kathy Ozer, executive director of the National Family Farm Coalition, notes that Thomas's choice to take up direct marketing, bringing the produce straight to customers rather than selling it to a middleman, is a route many farmers are taking.
Michael Paulos, left, gets help with peaches from Ron Curry as Bernard Thomas and Khashoggi Storman, in cap, help Verdia Johnson choose corn in Harvey, Ill.
(John Gress For The Washington Post)
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"When they sell things wholesale, they're getting such a tiny percent of what the consumer pays, that they see there is money in direct marketing," she said. "Even if it means they have to truck food up 1,000 miles and sell it. Ideally, they could find local markets to sell their produce directly."
Leon Crump, a South Carolina farmer and state director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, has participated in programs similar to the Harvey market, driving hundreds of miles to Philadelphia, New York or other cities every week to sell produce from his and neighbors' farms. He said their program with a church in Baltimore ran smoothly for several years, and their profits were worth the transportation costs.
"People like the idea that we're picking something fresh in the South and we can be in their town the next morning," he said. "Northern folks are just not used to tree-ripened and vine-ripened stuff, compared to something that was picked green and shipped."
Thomas figures he only broke even over the weekend in Harvey, considering his travel costs, which were partly reimbursed by the city and township.
He expects to earn more in coming weeks as word of his produce spreads. He said several other farmers he knows are planning to make the trek with him or give him some of their produce to sell. Alexander and Smith said they will be back, with friends.
"They said they'll have greens and crowder peas next week," Smith said. "I'll be waiting."
