Crop Mob Atlanta

It’s time for OUR FIRST MOB! That’s right, folks, mark your calendars for Sunday May 2nd when we’ll be heading to Douglasville, GA for the Mob to begin all Crop Mobs (well, around Atlanta, at least) with The Sun Dog Farmers at Skip’s Garden. What better place to start than at Crop Mob Boss Darby’s flourishing new farm on Skip Glover’s land. It’s going to be a great time with tasks perfect for any skill level. This will be the first of our monthly Mobs which we plan to hold on Sundays.

Miraculously, I think we actually managed to cover all important points at our kickoff…let’s see how a recap goes…

Safety First

Farming is a heck of a lot of fun and a heck of a lot of hard work. Remember to wear a hat, sunscreen, good shoes for working, water you know…all the important stuff. We’ll try and have water available at all our farms as well. Let us know if you can bring a big jug cooler filled with ice water.

It’s pretty simple – if you don’t feel well, just let someone know. We’re all friends here…better to have a sit-down than get overheated. All Mobbers will also sign a waiver. Don’t worry – it’s just to protect the farmers. We don’t anticipate trouble — mostly just fun and good-time-having — but we also need to dot our i’s and cross our t’s.

Getting There, Getting Fed

Now on to the big questions: how do you get to the farm and what kind of delicious food is going to go in your hungry, crop mobbing belly?

As far as getting there, we have setup a group on PickupPal so you can offer a ride or request one. The invite code is “cropmobatl” without quotes.

Regarding food, get excited. Miller Union has graciously offered to provide Mobbers with lunch. We hope to find other local restaurants dedicated to sustainable agriculture as awesome as Miller Union to help us out at future mobs. Remember, though, you have to register to the Mob on Eventbrite if you want lunch. Hey – we gotta know how many people are coming somehow!

Visit the event page on Facebook

Register on Eventbrite (Click Here)

This past Saturday was the Crop Mob Kickoff at the opening of the Peachtree Road Farmer’s Market and we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for it! The sun was out and a cool breeze carried the scents of crepes, pizza, and baked goods across the market. Kids scampered around delighted by the excitement, the tail-waggin’ dogs of all shapes and sizes, and a certain Farmer Darby’s young chicken friends. Most importantly, we had eager Mobbers grabbing their market goods and getting together to really get things started!

Mobbing Moving Forward

While we ultimately want to Mob for other Mobbers, we also want to make sure our first few farms have the right kind of work for a young, growing mob. If you have a farm that needs mobbing, or know someone who does, let us know. We’ll check it out and see if it seems like a good fit for the group. Also, if you have any special skills (construction, etc) and would like to show off a little, let us know. We’ll relay the info to the farmers and see what projects they might need help with.

Be sure to shoot us any questions you have or anything you think we’ve left out. Also be on the lookout for polls we may send to get your opinion on things like additional, off-farm events like educational talks and gatherings or the interest level in an eventual Jr. Mob day for the little ones (little hands are particularly good at harvesting).

Thanks for helping us get this thing off the ground, Mobbers. Now it’s time to recruit and get to know some new friends on the farm!

More information about our first Mob at The Sun Dog Farmers at Skip’s Garden.

Photo Credits – Mike Eastman

Anthony-Masterson Films was in attendance for the Crop Mob Atlanta kickoff meeting. Here is a great little video that they put together about the event.

Crop Mob Kickoff 04/10/10 Atlanta from Anthony-Masterson on Vimeo.

Well, Mobbers, it’s finally time to get the ball rollin’! Let’s all get together to share ideas, plans, and excitement at the opening of the Peachthree Road Farmer’s Market on April 10^th. We’ll be gathering at noon in the courtyard (grassy area in the center of the market with picnic tables). Should we have a very large turnout, we may move to the main lawn for extra room, but we’ll be sure to make that clear. Market opens at 8:30, so feel free to get there early and do a little shopping from your favorite farmers and vendors or grab a snack or two! A big thanks to Lauren Carey, the Market Manager at Peachtree Road, for helping us arrange our kickoff meeting.

We won’t be getting down and dirty just yet, but we do plan to announce the date and location of our first official Crop Mob at the market! So come on out, bring your friends, share your ideas, and get to know some new folks who can’t wait to dig in with you and help support our local sustainable farmers!

Peachtree Road Farmers Market: http://www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com/

Register Now (Click Here)