GLOBAL GROWERS NETWORK INC
Building and sustaining diverse networks of growers, land, resources, and markets
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
GGN exists because we recognize the unacceptable reality that talented international farmers who arrive in Atlanta as resettled refugees often end up food insecure. Despite being experienced food producers, they are disconnected from land, directed to jobs that offer poverty-level wages, and report difficulties in finding affordable and culturally-familiar foods. GGN has addressed this challenge over the last decade by building and sustaining networks of growers, land, resources, and markets. GGN uniquely works at the intersection of environmental sustainability and social equity to pursue a vision of a more equitable food system that is driven by cultural diversity, inclusive economies, and regenerative ecological practices.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Grower Pathways Program
GGN's Grower Pathways Program is designed to build relationships with diverse growers, facilitate access to quality farmland, and develop and share relevant agriculture resources for growing fresh, culturally familiar food. We prioritize working alongside New American growers with prior farming experience in their home countries. To uplift growers’ wealth of food production knowledge and skills, we create opportunities for collaboration and community leadership, and regularly convene community partners. We facilitate access to land through a network of 10 farm, garden and orchard sites across metro Atlanta that offer shared tools and infrastructure for cooperative organic gardening. The agriculture resources we develop and share include seeds, compost, one-on-one technical assistance, field trips, and workshops on topics prioritized by growers. For growers pursuing commercial production, GGN also provides comprehensive market readiness and sales support.
Organic Farm Program
GGN recently acquired a 23-acre farm in Rockdale County that will provide a permanent home and new opportunities to farmers that have endured transience and limited opportunity. The farm will establish a cooperative system that will reduce costs for talented farmers who face barriers to accessing land and capital; preserve and share the multicultural traditions and foodways of our diverse grower network and metro Atlanta community; support growers in producing fresh food for local consumption and developing new markets for their farm products; and create a vibrant and inclusive agritourism destination and community gathering space that celebrates local agriculture and global food cultures.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Area of land, in hectares, directly controlled by the organization and under sustainable cultivation or sustainable stewardship
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Refugees and displaced people
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Hectares of land across GGN farm and garden sites
Number of people trained
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Refugees and displaced people
Related Program
Grower Pathways Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Growers who have received training and resources in the sustainable production of fresh, culturally familiar foods
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
GGN’s work is rooted in a theory of change to ensure alignment toward our vision of an equitable food system driven by cultural diversity, inclusive economies, and regenerative agriculture practices. GGN has seven goals toward which all network activities contribute:
(1) increase access to and consumption of fresh and culturally relevant food,
(2) increase economic self-sufficiency,
(3) improve capacity to navigate systems to access land, resources, and markets,
(4) increase opportunities to preserve and share cultural traditions,
(5) increase cooperation and collaboration among growers in their production and distribution systems,
(6) increase coalition building among local partners and stakeholders, and
(7) increase biodiversity of land in production managed by GGN.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
First, we use a combination of land acquisition and management, education, advocacy, and market access to break down barriers and to offer pipelines for expanding production capacity for both community growers and commercial farmers, particularly for those who are new Americans and people of color.
Second, our work is largely place-based, seeking to stitch communities back together by providing collaborative growing spaces that address problems at a local level in ways that are safe, inclusive and mindful of cultural differences.
Third, our work is heavily informed by an understanding of the ways in which racial, ethnic, and cultural practices significantly shape how stakeholders experience the food system as consumers, household growers, and commercial actors.
Last, we address the needs of both community growers and commercial farmers, many of who, despite their agricultural expertise, are food insecure due to their economic status.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Global Growers Network team includes 10 staff representing diverse ethnic heritages and work experiences. Strong cultural competency skills enable staff to work effectively alongside refugee, immigration and BIPOC growers. Our work is place-based in Atlanta yet accomplished with a recognition of the ways that public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms can perpetuate inequities. GGN actively works to ensure programming is aligned to growers' priorities. Our approach to food production is through a lens of food sovereignty: a framework that centers the rights of food producers to define their own food and agriculture systems. Our team's capabilities are enhanced through membership and active participation in multiple regional and nation-wide networks of organizations and farmers working on food justice issues.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
GGN’s Grower Network advances leadership opportunities, food justice, and refugee rights initiatives that support the priorities of refugee, BIPOC, and low-wealth growers, a majority of whom came to America with agricultural expertise from their home countries. GGN’s network has expanded to include 175 grower families (representing over 550 people) from 12 culture groups.
GGN's Land Network has similarly grown to include 9 community garden sites across DeKalb County, totaling 10 acres of leased land. These garden sites currently offer 200 individual plots for grower production. On an average plot size of 500 square feet, a productive grower can grow 250 pounds of fresh food a year: a grocery bill savings of $850!
Through the GGN Resource Network, an ecosystem of accessible agricultural resources support a continuum of grower pathways, from household to commercial production. GGN has provided training programs in market readiness, food safety, and business planning for socially disadvantaged farmers across Georgia.
Finally, since 2010 GGN's the sales enterprise has sold more than $1 million worth of fruits and vegetables, committing 75% of each sale to the farmer and retaining 25% to cover distribution, customer service, and marketing costs.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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GLOBAL GROWERS NETWORK INC
Board of directorsas of 04/21/2022
Randy Martin
Randall Martin LLC
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data