August 06, 2025
AgGeorgia Farm Credit is proud to announce Habersham County Locally Grown Farmers Market as a 2025 Farmers Market Grant Program recipient. A total of $10,000 in grant funding—$2,000 per market—was awarded to five local farmers markets across the cooperative’s 79-county service area to support advertising, outreach, and promotional efforts. Now in its fifth year, the initiative has provided a total of $44,500 in funding to support the growth and sustainability of rural markets and the farmers they serve.
Habersham County Locally Grown Farmers Market, which has served Habersham, White, Stephens, Banks, and Franklin Counties since 2010, is open Wednesdays from 5:00–6:30 p.m. The market will use its grant to create both digital and printed recipe cards that showcase how to prepare lesser-known seasonal vegetables commonly grown by local farmers.
The initiative aims to educate customers and boost sales of underutilized produce such as kohlrabi, swiss chard, sunchokes, winter squash, ground cherries, horseradish, kiwano melons, and rutabagas. Each recipe card will feature a dish incorporating one of these vegetables and highlight the local farmer or community member who contributed the recipe, fostering stronger connections between growers and consumers.
“Georgia is fortunate to have so many vibrant farmers markets, but many of them operate with limited resources for marketing and outreach,” said Corey Cottle, Chief Marketing Officer for AgGeorgia Farm Credit. “This program is designed to help increase visibility, drive traffic to the markets, and ultimately support the hardworking farmers who keep them going.”
AgGeorgia Farm Credit plans to continue the Farmers Market Grant Program in 2026 and encourages all eligible markets, especially those who have applied previously but not yet been selected, to apply during the next cycle. For more information about AgGeorgia Farm Credit and its community programs, visit www.aggeorgia.com.