USDA grant fuels local food resilience in Goshen
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A federal grant program aimed at strengthening the middle of the food supply chain is helping small farms and local restaurants in Goshen build a more resilient, locally focused food network.
Ben Hartman, owner of Clay Bottom Farm, recently received a Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Indiana State Department of Agriculture to purchase a second delivery vehicle.
The grant will allow the micro-scale urban farm to expand distribution of local produce, improve delivery efficiency and deepen partnerships with other regional farms.
“It means that we have better capacity to deliver food in a more timely fashion to our customers, and to increase the amount of food that we aggregate from other local farms,” Hartman said. “From when we start harvest to when it’s in the hands of our customers is about four hours. So our food is very fresh.”
Hartman speaks about the impact a second delivery vehicle will have on the food supply chain in Goshen and Elkhart County.
The RFSI program is designed to strengthen the often overlooked middle link in the food supply chain—processing, aggregation, and distribution—especially for small and mid-sized producers. In rural Indiana, that infrastructure gap has often limited growth for producers and increased costs for restaurants aiming to source produce locally.
“It keeps more dollars inside Elkhart County and it helps keep food that’s grown in Elkhart County, inside Elkhart County,” he added. “We have two employees right now and as we grow our farm, we project to be able to expand and hire at least one more person this year.”
Hartman’s new delivery van will support at least 10 farms, including Sycamore Farms and Horn of Plenty, an Amish cooperative. Wholesale outlets benefiting from the expanded distribution include Maple City Market, Goshen Brewing Co., Venturi and Lakeside.
For farm-to-table outlets, freshness is key. So businesses like Goshen Brewing Co. place a premium on sourcing produce and meat that’s been harvested or butchered within a day or two—often from farms just miles away.
“With almost all the local stuff, the quality is just usually so much better. If we’re getting salad greens from one of our local places, it’s been picked within the last day or two and can probably last in our fridge for weeks and still be just great,” Goshen Brewing Co. co-owner and Head Chef Jesse Shoemaker said. “As opposed to buying something through a conventional supplier, where it’s coming from Mexico, it’s already weeks old by the time it even gets to you.”
This level of freshness not only enhances flavor and nutritional value, but also strengthens community ties and gives chefs greater flexibility to craft menus around seasonal harvests. Shoemaker believes the RFSI grant is a step in the right direction.
“One of the largest challenges of trying to do local food stuff is that there isn’t any central hub where all those farmers are getting their food to,” he said. “The more farms that have the ability to deliver, the easier it would be to use their stuff.”
Both Shoemaker and Hartman say building resilience in the local food economy depends on expanding access, infrastructure and scale.
Small-scale farming plays a vital role in promoting community health by increasing access to fresh, nutrient-dense foods while reducing the environmental impact of long-distance food transport.
When residents have the opportunity to purchase produce and proteins that are harvested nearby and grown with sustainable practices, the result is not just better-tasting meals but also improved public health outcomes.
“We are producers, so our role is to grow food that the community wants. That involves listening to our customers,” Hartman said. “It feels good because we’re providing healthy food and, in theory, lowering the cancer rate in Goshen, making people healthier.”
Hartman also noted that the new vehicle will help bring fresh, organic produce to underserved populations. Currently, Clay Bottom supplies food to The Window, a nonprofit that caters to people experiencing homelessness. Hartman hopes to reach even more charities with the new vehicle.
“A lot of our food ends up on the lunch line at The Window,” he said. “We hope to be able to expand the amount of our food that gets into places like The Window where people who can’t normally afford organic food have access to it.”
While the RFSI grant is helping fill gaps, Shoemaker believes further investment is needed in shared infrastructure.
“What would be more helpful is if there was one place dealing wholesale to restaurants,” Shoemaker suggested. “A central hub where there is a big warehouse, refrigeration and dry storage.”
Shoemaker and his other co-owners are preparing to open a new restaurant on Main Street in May called The Fold, a New York-style, pizza-by-the-slice tavern. The venture repurposes the former Constant Spring bar and will offer an expanded wine list.
Continued investment in food hubs, cooperatives and processing facilities for the middle of the food supply chain is essential for strengthening local food systems. These infrastructure elements connect small producers to broader markets, increase efficiency and allow more communities to benefit from regionally grown food.
“In many ways, we’ve created these markets. When we started, no one was growing these foods and these local food networks did not exist,” Hartman said. “I hope that by year 30, there will be even more established markets for other growers who want to do what we’re doing.”