The Challenge: Engage the community
In other words: How to Grow a Movement
This is Part 7 in my Roadmap to Scale Small Farms series. If you’re joining, start here:
If local farms want to scale, they can’t just grow food—they need to grow a movement.
This is the seventh and final essay in the Roadmap to Scale Small Farms series. We’ve talked land, labor, capital, infrastructure, markets, and policy. But none of it sticks without one last ingredient:
Community.
Not in a soft, vague way. In a strategic, system-building way.
If local food is going to compete with Big Ag, it needs fans, not just customers. It needs Tribes in the Seth Godin sense: people who don’t just buy your product—they spread your story.
The Stakes: Why Community Isn’t Optional
Local farms face hard limits. They can’t ship across the country. They don’t have marketing budgets. Their advantage is relationships.
If the community doesn’t know the farm exists—or worse, doesn’t care—the farm fails.
But when the community shows up? When people bring their friends to the farmstand, share your lettuce box on Instagram, or ask their favorite restaurant why it isn’t sourcing from you?
That’s scale. Not of acreage, but of identity.
In a world of anonymous shopping, choosing local becomes a declaration of values.
It's not just what you buy. It's what that choice says about who you are.
How to Grow Engagement That Lasts
There’s no single recipe. But there is a playbook. Here are three principles that work:
1. Invite, Then Involve
People are curious. They want to know how food is grown.
So invite them in. Offer free workshops. Run open farm days. Tell your story in person. And then: give them a next step.
Try a free sample. Take home a recipe. Come back with a photo of your meal and get 10% off next week.
You could even offer a sticker to any kid who tries a vegetable—and a t-shirt if they post about it.
The hypothetical reward? A loyal advocate who brings others along.
2. Build Participation into the Product
Programs like "volunteer harvest shares" are simple but powerful. People work a few hours on the farm, and in return take home a share of the harvest.
It’s more than barter. It’s ownership. They’ll tell their friends, bring their kids, and post it online.
Engagement creates connection. And connection builds trust.
3. Design for Shared Culture
Think beyond one farm. Build shared experiences:
A Local Food Bingo Card where customers visit different farms to win rewards.
A "Local Food Challenge" month is promoted by the city or school district.
Recognition for restaurants that source 10%, 15%, 25%, or more of ingredients from local farms.
These aren’t gimmicks. They’re systems of shared meaning.
Final Thought: Fans, Not Followers
You don’t need a bigger megaphone. You need better roots.
The goal isn’t to just increase foot traffic. It’s to increase loyalty, pride, and participation.
Because the more someone sees your farm as their story? The more they protect, promote, and grow it.
What have you seen work? What tools have helped you convert a shopper into an advocate?
Let’s build a playbook together. Because no farmer scales alone.
Fantastic series, Adam. Thank you.
Great series!