Help Save Fresh Impact Farms
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Fresh Impact Farms was founded on the principle that we could grow high quality food in densely populated areas while leveraging chefs as key change makers of the food industry. During our two years in operation, we have gone through ups and downs but recently grew to a point where I was finally able to take my first ever paycheck in February of this year. This has been my full time job for four years, so this was a huge milestone. Since our business was solely focused on supporting the local restaurant community, COVID-19 dealt a devastating blow to both our business and the entire restaurant industry. In the course of a weekend, our business went from have a string of our best months ever to zero dollars in sales as a result of all local restaurants being forced to close their doors.
While the closures are absolutely necessary for public health, this poses two challenges for us. The first is that without any revenue coming in, there isn't the necessary funds to continue to pay our employees and our bills for the unknown duration of this crisis. The second is that with all the restaurants closed, they are understandably unable to pay their bills to us since we extend credit terms to most of our customers. These losses equate to over $40,000. Even though we are pivoting hard to begin selling direct to consumers through no-contact delivery and pick-up, those sales are not likely to be enough to keep our operation functioning through this crisis given even the best estimates for how long it is expected to last. More so, if the government puts further restrictions on movement, we will likely not be able to continue those efforts as it is unlikely that they would be deemed essential services. While our only funding thus far has come from an Small Business Association (SBA) loan we took out to build out the farm, we have always run our business as lean as possible and have taken pride in paying all of our workers living wages as we slowly grew the business. Unfortunately, we are now in a position where asking for your support is the best option to save our business, continue growing food, ensure we are able to continue paying our remaining staff, and to survive until restaurants are able to re-open.
Although the government is offering loans for small businesses impacted by the crisis, that would mean our business would be taking on more debt which will make it even harder to climb out of this crisis after restaurants re-open.
The funds from this campaign will go directly to paying our bills and, most importantly, our employees.. In addition to continuing our pivot to selling direct to consumers, we will use these funds to continue growing free greens and herbs for any local restaurant workers who are in need during these times. They supported us and are the reason our business was slowly starting to succeed, so it is the least we can do for them during this challenging time. In order to grow crops that are better suited for using at home, we have already shifted our production to grow lettuce, more micro greens and other crops that can be easily used by the general public and people in need.
Your support will absolutely be the difference in our business surviving this crisis or having to lay off our staff and close our doors. We are incredibly grateful for your consideration and support. We know many households are strapped for cash at the moment and while $25k will only get us an additional 6 weeks of operation, we’re hopeful that combined with product orders and new customers we can far exceed that goal to keep our farm running for 3-6 months. Any amount helps and we will be sure to keep everyone updated both on here and through our social media channels: @freshimpactfarms.
With immense gratitude,
Ryan Pierce
While the closures are absolutely necessary for public health, this poses two challenges for us. The first is that without any revenue coming in, there isn't the necessary funds to continue to pay our employees and our bills for the unknown duration of this crisis. The second is that with all the restaurants closed, they are understandably unable to pay their bills to us since we extend credit terms to most of our customers. These losses equate to over $40,000. Even though we are pivoting hard to begin selling direct to consumers through no-contact delivery and pick-up, those sales are not likely to be enough to keep our operation functioning through this crisis given even the best estimates for how long it is expected to last. More so, if the government puts further restrictions on movement, we will likely not be able to continue those efforts as it is unlikely that they would be deemed essential services. While our only funding thus far has come from an Small Business Association (SBA) loan we took out to build out the farm, we have always run our business as lean as possible and have taken pride in paying all of our workers living wages as we slowly grew the business. Unfortunately, we are now in a position where asking for your support is the best option to save our business, continue growing food, ensure we are able to continue paying our remaining staff, and to survive until restaurants are able to re-open.
Although the government is offering loans for small businesses impacted by the crisis, that would mean our business would be taking on more debt which will make it even harder to climb out of this crisis after restaurants re-open.
The funds from this campaign will go directly to paying our bills and, most importantly, our employees.. In addition to continuing our pivot to selling direct to consumers, we will use these funds to continue growing free greens and herbs for any local restaurant workers who are in need during these times. They supported us and are the reason our business was slowly starting to succeed, so it is the least we can do for them during this challenging time. In order to grow crops that are better suited for using at home, we have already shifted our production to grow lettuce, more micro greens and other crops that can be easily used by the general public and people in need.
Your support will absolutely be the difference in our business surviving this crisis or having to lay off our staff and close our doors. We are incredibly grateful for your consideration and support. We know many households are strapped for cash at the moment and while $25k will only get us an additional 6 weeks of operation, we’re hopeful that combined with product orders and new customers we can far exceed that goal to keep our farm running for 3-6 months. Any amount helps and we will be sure to keep everyone updated both on here and through our social media channels: @freshimpactfarms.
With immense gratitude,
Ryan Pierce
Organizer
RYAN PIERCE
Organizer
Arlington, VA