Fresh Future Farm raising money to purchase North Charleston property

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — She’s a Jefferson Awards winner and an advocate for affordable, fresh produce for all. We first met Germaine Jenkins in 2016 when her community grocery was just budding. She’s now calling on the community to help secure its future.

Fresh Future Farm currently leases the property from the City of North Charleston for $1 a year. But Jenkins wants to plant permanent roots there and is raising money to buy it.

Nestled in the center of the Chicora Cherokee neighborhood, the farm is a vision.

“Chicora Cherokee is just one of 11 food deserts in North Charleston,” Jenkins said. “Usually those neighborhoods don’t get grocery stores until the neighborhood gentrifies.”

Fresh Future Farm first sprouted about five years ago and has now blossomed into a year-round venture with five employees and about 300 volunteers. Jenkins said owning the property would provide security and give them the freedom to expand.

“Right now, we operate a farm and a grocery store, we want to bring a production kitchen here, we also want to put a pavilion in this space. All of those things can happen now and can be funded now because we have an asset,” she said. “Ownership is very important, it opens us up to grants that have matching because now we have an asset that we can put on those grant applications.”

Jenkins said they maintain about 75 regular customers a month, mostly the elderly who don’t have transportation. But, she said young people also come in for vegan options and kombucha. The farm accepts SNAP payment and can save eligible customers up to 35-percent on produce compared to regular grocers.

“We want them to be friendly for people who are living with diabetes, high blood pressure, all these chronic illnesses that can be fixed by changing your diet,” said Jenkins. “We think that everybody deserves access to quality food.”

There’s a Kickstarter campaign to help with fundraising efforts. It started in June and has raised more than $50,000 since. Jenkins became emotional when she talked about all the support for their efforts.

“We came up with a motto that we believed in and [it shows] there are people who are out there, whether they live in Charleston County or not, who are willing to support this work long-term, so we are very appreciative,” she said.

The Kickstarter campaign closes in two weeks.