The 3 Myths Holton Farms Dispels About the Food Industry

The concept is simple; they bring food from the farms and deliver it to the people who live in the city.

But when you take a look at how Holton Farms stands to contradict several basic assumptions that we, especially as Americans hold to be true of the food industry, you begin to realize the potential for this adaptive agricultural company. It’s safe to say eating is a big part of our lives; it’s only a matter of time before we start paying more attention to it.

Holton Farms, which offers a variety of community supported agriculture programs, or CSAs, is a company that facilitates the transaction between farmer and customer. You decide how much ‘farm credit’ you wish to use, and they deliver it to a location of your choosing.

But what lies under the surface of this small New York City start-up is what should begin to attract the attention of people everywhere; A rebuttal to long-standing myths about the agriculture business in this country.

MYTH #1: That it will be the public sector that will provide the catalyst for changing the deteriorating and embarrassing health statistics of Americans. Not to say the government isn’t concerned about the well being of the citizenry, they just have a few more pressing issues on their plate right now.

People want to eat healthier. There is an ever-growing market of people who are waking up to the realization that what they eat really matters, and companies have proven that it is they who are going to step up and provide this service for them. There is no reason why we shouldn’t see a proliferation of these businesses that are willing to meet the demand for organic food; because if anyone can manage to conduct this service without hassle or extravagant fees, they will soon find themselves enjoying the rare occasion of when profit and progress occur simultaneously. This type of effort exemplifies what seems to be a growing trend so far in the 21^st century, that of merging business and philanthropy.

MYTH #2: That only the rich can afford to eat organically. A service like Holton Farms enables low-income communities to also partake in choosing from the freshest farm-grown produce for their daily meals. It’s not hard to comprehend; they have established a vastly more direct link between the customer and the source of the product.

You are left paying for the only things you should pay for; the actual growing of food by the farmer and the service of getting that food to your doorstep. As the middlemen have all but been taken out of the situation, the price you normally would pay at the grocery store is here able to purchase products of considerably higher quality from the farmers.

But infiltrating the poor communities is more complex than simply lowering prices; factors like internet-access and a lack of publicity are still keeping Holton Farms from accessing swaths of underprivileged and malnourished neighborhoods all over the city. Yet this is not a fight they are going to give up easily. By incessantly delivering organic produce each week to churches, schools, and community rooms; its clear that the small team at Holton Farms is dedicated to providing a previously-exclusive service to all income categories.

MYTH #3: That the far-reaching hands of food conglomerates have terminated local farms. Are they on the brink of becoming legitimately endangered? Maybe. But the local farm industry seems to carry with it enough deep-seeded American sentiment to have some convinced it’s worth saving from the often crushing blow of the invisible hand of the market.

We were farmers from the beginning. A massive portion of our country is farmland. If people believe and buy into the idea behind Holton Farms and companies like it, then we will see a rare and truly organic shift back to the local level. A more sustainable level.

When concepts like ecological responsibility and personal well-being are the main motivators behind a company, it won’t take long before it catches on in a big way.

Also on Holton Farms:

• New York Times
• Entrepreneur
• Huffington Post