Red Tomato Cultivates a Livelihood for Small Farmers
This Massachusetts-based non-profit is uniting growers, trade buyers, and consumers around one thing they all feel passionately about: great produce.
For many of us, the weekly farmers' market or the seasonal roadside stand is a novelty. We don't get there often, but we go when we can, because we enjoy picking through the bins of fresh produce, and we know the inside of that tomato is sure to be juicy and red.
What may be our whimsy is crucial for a small farmer's existence. With large agribusinesses monopolizing mainstream markets, small farmers are being squeezed out of vital market access - and squeezed out of a livelihood in the process.
Oxfam partner Red Tomato is helping small farmers survive the squeeze and restore a livelihood that, many would argue, is essential to top-quality produce. This savvy Massachusetts-based non-profit works both sides of the supply-demand equation: gaining market access for and distributing small farmer produce, while generating consumer awareness. For certain, Red Tomato's marketing campaign is as fresh as the produce - and values - it espouses.
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Fair trade: Low in calories. High in moral fiber.*
Red Tomato is as much about values - namely that of making trade fair for small farmers - as it is about sweet corn and strawberries. Founder Michael Rozyne, who also co-founded Equal Exchange Fair Trade coffee roaster, discovered his mission nearly two decades ago, while working on farms and for a food cooperative. "It's not satisfying to do business knowing that the whole formula ultimately is driving the suppliers out of business," Rozyne explains.
Be it coffee or produce, the fair trade mission to keep small suppliers in business is fundamentally the same. However, unlike Fair Trade coffee - which secures a set price for farmers - Rozyne maintains that fair trade for produce is more about establishing the systems and networks that enable small farmers to compete in today's marketplace.
Red Tomato is doing just that. Working with disadvantaged growers and growers without access to capital, in five short years, Red Tomato has secured spots for small farmer produce in Stop & Shop, Whole Foods Market, and other food markets. To achieve these gains, Red Tomato is uniting growers, trade buyers, and consumers around one thing they all feel passionately about: great produce.
Delivering quality and freshness: Our peaches ripen on the tree. Not on the truck.*
Perhaps the key ingredient to Red Tomato's success is its focus on quality. Rozyne believes that no one is capable of growing higher quality produce than small family farmers. The challenge is to enable those small farmers to understand - and meet - trade buyer demands for quality and service. To this end, Red Tomato and growers engage in two-way learning, merging critical-market information with top agricultural expertise.
One of Red Tomato's greatest challenges is getting fresh produce to market. Red Tomato works with farmers to keep produce on the branch or vine as long as possible and to get it to the store while still in peak condition. To this end, Red Tomato continues to revise its strategy. "We are very committed to figuring it out," Rozyne says.
Cultivating connections: Fresh produce. Fresh thinking.*
Red Tomato has made inroads with supermarket trade buyers, who see opportunity in the top-quality produce small farmers can provide. At the same time, through a flavorful marketing campaign, Red Tomato connects consumers with small farmers. While Red Tomato uses a logo to further brand recognition, its advertising gives prominence to farm names and locations, helping consumers understand the role they are playing in the fair trade equation.
Fostering partnerships: Seedless watermelons from southern family farmers.*
Not only does Red Tomato unite northeast farmers under the Red Tomato brand, but it has expanded its farmer network through a groundbreaking partnership with another Oxfam partner, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. Red Tomato worked with Federation growers in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia to introduce the seedless watermelon into their product lines and to build their skills for growing and marketing watermelons on a commercial scale.
The gains were tremendous. In 2002, Red Tomato marketed 13 truckloads of seedless watermelons from the south to Stop & Shop in the northeast - an endeavor that realized $67, 540 in much-needed income for southern minority farmers and enabled Red Tomato to market watermelons before local watermelons were ready. What's more, the Federation was able to market an additional 130 truckloads of seeded watermelons in the southeast for a total gain of $450,000 dollars.
Where Oxfam comes into play
Oxfam has sponsored Red Tomato from its inception. In addition to making the connection between Red Tomato and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Oxfam has offered critical - and timely - financial support.
"One story [of Oxfam's impact] that stands out for me is that when we made the radical shift from broker to distributor, we had very little time. We made our decision in January, and we needed to open shop in June. We hadn't raised the money. We had our plan, but we had five months to get to the starting line, because when the strawberries were in, the strawberries were in. Oxfam was one of the funders who responded to our request very quickly, and knew that we needed that cooler. They cut us a check for $25 thousand and paid for a good chunk of the transition." - Michael Rozyne
What you can do
Summertime is the perfect time to support local farmers. In the Boston area, look for Red Tomato produce in Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, and other local markets. Outside Massachusetts, visit your local farm stand or farmers' market and have yourself a fabulous red tomato.
*Taglines taken from Red Tomato marketing.
Read an interview with Red Tomato's Michael Rozyne in the Oxfam Exchange.