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Produce Safety education from Soil to Sale

Produce Safety! Risks and Regulations! Where does my farm fit in?!

Confused about Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), the Produce Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), or the Produce Safety Rule? CAIC can help! We offer FREE, GAP aligned, Produce Safety workshops and individualized consultations to farmers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

ABOUT
SERVICES
RESOURCES
Sign Up Here for Produce Safety Information, Education and Assistance

Our FREE services for farmers throughout the Mid-Atlantic include:

  • Workshops for Food Safety beginners
  • On-farm risk assessments
  • One-on-one consultations
  • Access to USDA GAP training materials
  • Food Safety Plan templates
  • Mid-Altantic. We can also go to NY and NJ.

If you have GAP phobia, we highly recommend that you work with the Chesapeake Produce Safety Educationteam. They will give you the resources and confidence to move forward and get certified.

Arnold Farms, Chestertown, MD

Sign Up Here for Produce Safety Information, Education and Assistance

Our Produce Safety Educator Team

Lindsay is the owner of Organic Planet LLC. She plays two roles professionally, as a personal chef specializing in sustainable and healing food, and as a produce safety consultant. Lindsay works as an educator regionally and nationally to provide technical assistance and resources to family farmers and food hubs, helping them overcome their confusion and trepidation and develop produce safety programs that make sense for them, and assisting them in meeting the requirements of diverse wholesale customers. Lindsay is trained in Produce GAPs Harmonized Food Safety Standards, is a qualified internal auditor for USDA GroupGAP, and an internal auditor for ISO 9001 quality management systems for agricultural enterprises. She is a lead trainer for the PSA Grower Training and is a “qualified individual” under the FDA Preventative Controls regulation. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 215-696-9780 (please leave a detailed message).
Lindsay GilmourLead Produce Safety Educator
Lindsay Gilmour
Aleya is the principal consultant at ACRES Consulting Services. The mission of ACRES Consulting is to contribute to the future of regenerative food systems by connecting resources, developing programming, and providing food sovereignty expertise to organizations and individuals. She has over 5 years of organic farming experience and exposure to many strong networks of farmers and organizers in the region and internationally. Aleya began organizing farmers and food activists of color in the region in 2013 by inviting people to the black-owned 5 Seeds Farm in Sparks, MD on weekends. Eventually that evolved into 3-day agroecology trainings on the farm she co-founded on the eastern shore of Maryland. Aleya has worked regionally as the Delmarva Program Manager for Future Harvest CASA and has traveled the region to speak at conferences and facilitate workshops throughout the Chesapeake Foodshed. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 443-915-2340 (please leave a detailed message).
Aleya FraserProduce Safety Educator
Aleya Fraser
Crystal L. Forman, MPH, MHA is the owner and educator of Holistic Wellness and Health were they make healthy living easy, nutritious, delicious and fun with a focus on plant-based foods and meditation to help you live a healthier, compassionate and more vibrant life. Holistic Wellness and Health offers farm and garden consultations including farm risk assessments and food safety plans. They also offer healthy plant-based cooking classes, wellness workshops, and health coaching. Crystal also works to improve food justice and sustainable food access. In addition to her public health and health administration degrees, Crystal is a certified Permaculture designer, a certified Baltimore City Master Gardener and a farm Food Safety Educator. She is currently taking the Resilient Land Management advanced Permaculture course and she has a certification in Holistic Foundation Management for farms and ranches from the Holistic Management Institute. Crystal is also on the Board of Advisors for the Baltimore City Master Gardeners as the Community Liaison.
Crystal is in the Mid-Atlantic/Eastern region. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 410-929-0264 (please leave a detailed message).
Crystal FormanProduce Safety Educator
Crystal Forman
Kimberly is a Chesapeake Harvest Produce Safety Educator and the Farm Manager at Whitelock Community Farm in Baltimore, MD. Her farming passion began with a family farm in Fort Mitchell, Virginia. From there, she went on to be the first intern for the oldest Black owned farm in Baltimore City, The Greener Garden Urban Farm. She later became the Black Church Food Security Network Garden Coordinator. She has completed the Weed Warrior and Tree Keeper courses at Baltimore Recreation and Parks as well as the Future Harvest Beginner Farmer Phase I Training and the Master Gardener training from the University of Maryland Extension. In 2017, she made many achievements for the Down South Afro-ecology Encounter in Durham, North Carolina. Kimberly is a Member of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore and a Board Member for both Acres4Change and for Future Harvest CASA. Kimberly is in the Eastern region and can be contacted by email at [email protected] or 410-294-0107 (please leave a message and contact information).
Kimberly RaikesProduce Safety Educators
Kimberly Raikes
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Lindsay is the owner of Organic Planet LLC. She plays two roles professionally, as a personal chef specializing in sustainable and healing food, and as a produce safety consultant. Lindsay works as an educator regionally and nationally to provide technical assistance and resources to family farmers and food hubs, helping them overcome their confusion and trepidation and develop produce safety programs that make sense for them, and assisting them in meeting the requirements of diverse wholesale customers. Lindsay is trained in Produce GAPs Harmonized Food Safety Standards, is a qualified internal auditor for USDA GroupGAP, and an internal auditor for ISO 9001 quality management systems for agricultural enterprises. She is a lead trainer for the PSA Grower Training and is a “qualified individual” under the FDA Preventative Controls regulation. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Crystal is in the Mid-Atlantic/Eastern region. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 410-929-0264 (please leave a detailed message).
Lindsay GilmourLead Produce Safety Educator
Lindsay Gilmour
Aleya is the principal consultant at ACRES Consulting Services. She has several years of organic farming experience and exposure to many strong networks of farmers and organizers in the region and internationally. Crystal is in the Mid-Atlantic/Eastern region. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 410-929-0264 (please leave a detailed message).
Aleya FraserProduce Safety Educator
Aleya Fraser
Crystal L. Forman, MPH, MHA is the owner and educator of Holistic Wellness and Health were they make healthy living easy, nutritious, delicious and fun with a focus on plant-based foods and meditation to help you live a healthier, compassionate and more vibrant life. Holistic Wellness and Health offers farm and garden consultations including farm risk assessments and food safety plans. They also offer healthy plant-based cooking classes, wellness workshops, and health coaching. Crystal also works to improve food justice and sustainable food access. In addition to her public health and health administration degrees, Crystal is a certified Permaculture designer, a certified Baltimore City Master Gardener and a farm Food Safety Educator. She is currently taking the Resilient Land Management advanced Permaculture course and she has a certification in Holistic Foundation Management for farms and ranches from the Holistic Management Institute. Crystal is also on the Board of Advisors for the Baltimore City Master Gardeners as the Community Liaison.
Crystal is in the Mid-Atlantic/Eastern region. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 410-929-0264 (please leave a detailed message).
Crystal FormanProduce Safety Educator
Crystal Forman
Kimberly is a Chesapeake Harvest Produce Safety Educator and the Farm Manager at Whitelock Community Farm in Baltimore, MD. Her farming passion began with a family farm in Fort Mitchell, Virginia. From there, she went on to be the first intern for the oldest Black owned farm in Baltimore City, The Greener Garden Urban Farm. She later became the Black Church Food Security Network Garden Coordinator. She has completed the Weed Warrior and Tree Keeper courses at Baltimore Recreation and Parks as well as the Future Harvest Beginner Farmer Phase I Training and the Master Gardener training from the University of Maryland Extension. In 2017, she made many achievements for the Down South Afro-ecology Encounter in Durham, North Carolina. Kimberly is a Member of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore and a Board Member for both Acres4Change and for Future Harvest CASA. Kimberly is in the Eastern region and can be contacted by email at [email protected] or 410-294-0107 (please leave a message and contact information).
Kimberly RaikesProduce Safety Educators
Kimberly Raikes
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PRODUCE SAFETY! RISKS AND REGULATIONS! WHERE DOES MY FARM FIT IN?!

Like it or not, Produce Safety concerns are here to stay. Driven by consumer demand, buyers are beginning to insist that the fruits and vegetables they purchase come with some level of safety assurance, like GAP certification. In 2017, the Food and Drug Administration launched FSMA, a law that applies, in varying degrees, to all farms. Both FSMA and GAP demand attention from the farmer. To support regional growers with these challenges, our educator team can help your farm take the steps needed to be compliant and, ultimately, to achieve GAP certification.

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Testimonials

I can't begin to express how thankful I am for the assistance I received from CH in helping me pursue GAP certification. In particular, Lindsay and Elizabeth were a pleasure to work with. Not only are they both wonderful human beings, but their knowledge and expertise were extremely valuable in helping me construct my food safety plan. Without their assistance, I don't know how else I would have been able to navigate through all the food safety standards and requirements and create a comprehensive plan on my own. Before working with them, I had been a little overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, but they were extremely organized and efficient throughout the process. I found everything valuable, from our initial walk-thru risk assessment on my farm, to each of the online planning and writing sessions. They also supplied me with all of the templates and resource documents I need for my farm, and I am confident that I now have the knowledge and tools to maintain a Harmonized GAP compliant food safety program on my farm.
Thelonius Cook | Mighty Thundercloud Edible Forest Farm | Birds Nest, VA
Lindsay and Elizabeth were both very helpful in the creation of our food safety plan and during our mock audit. You were able to give us insight on what we will be expecting in future audits as well as giving us some advice on how to think safely about our food handling. Your schedule flexibility was very nice given us at Red Acres also having a busy schedule and we greatly appreciated it. Thank you,
Bryan Williams, Red Acres Hydroponics Worton, MD
Lindsay, just wanted to say I heard that yesterday's farm food safety session was fantastic! I heard feedback from the class participants that you made the material really interesting and engaging - and easy to understand too! Great job!!! Thanks again for coming to speak with the group. It was a very successful class.
Niamh Shortt, Delmarva Program Manager, Future Harvest CASA
Lindsay's understanding of GAP policies and guidance on how to apply GAP to our farm is invaluable. Her ability to look at our current systems and make suggestions to streamline the recordkeeping process and to highlight the necessary changes required make the process of applying for GAP certification much less intimidating. I am so appreciative of her time and of the funding offered to share her services to farms like ours.
Lee O'Neill, Radical Roots Farm Keezletown VA
Lindsay, from CH, came to our farm before the busy season had started to sit down with us to discuss different aspects of what our farm was required to do for the ever-changing food safety regulations. She had examined our previous food safety plan (written by a third party) and realized it was more in depth than we needed for our operation. She went section by section and told us what was and was not required of us both in our food safety manual itself and around the farm. I began to write our new manual from scratch, given her thoughts, as well as the USDA GAP audit checklist. We requested an USDA audit; for our first crop of the season, once the plan was completed and passed on the first try. Without the help from Lindsay, we would have still been lost and probably would not have completed an audit this year. Not only did CH help with informing us with what requirements we were to adhere to, but they also followed up with us. CH is an overall great company and service to individuals and farmers alike.
Anna Wicks, Food Safety Manager, Lazy Boy Farm, Middletown, DE
Lindsay, from CH, came to our farm before the busy season had started to sit down with us to discuss different aspects of what our farm was required to do for the ever-changing food safety regulations. She had examined our previous food safety plan (written by a third party) and realized it was more in depth than we needed for our operation. She went section by section and told us what was and was not required of us both in our food safety manual itself and around the farm. I began to write our new manual from scratch, given her thoughts, as well as the USDA GAP audit checklist. We requested an USDA audit; for our first crop of the season, once the plan was completed and passed on the first try. Without the help from Lindsay, we would have still been lost and probably would not have completed an audit this year. Not only did CH help with informing us with what requirements we were to adhere to, but they also followed up with us. CH is an overall great company and service to individuals and farmers alike.
Anna Wicks, Food Safety Manager, Lazy Boy Farm, Middletown, DE
We appreciate the educational opportunity and hands on assistance provided through CH. It certainly helped us obtain our certification.
Jim Reinhart, Nature's Garlic
If you have GAP phobia, we highly recommend that you work with CH. They will give you the resources and confidence to move forward and get certified.
Margaret Frothingham, Arnold Farm
Lindsay, THANK YOU for making the trip down here, and for the special blend of authority and irreverence that you bring to food safety. And style and panache, of course!
Lisa Reeder, Farm and Food Access Coordinator Local food Hub Charlottesville VA
It has been a pleasure to work with Elizabeth Beggins and Lindsay Gilmour at CH. They patiently spent many hours with me to craft Pries Farms’ GAP/GHP compliant food safety plan. Thanks to their assistance, we have been able to pass our USDA audit! Their knowledge of the program has been invaluable.
Jodi Pries, Pries Farm DE
It has been a pleasure to work with Elizabeth Beggins and Lindsay Gilmour at CH. They patiently spent many hours with me to craft Pries Farms’ GAP/GHP compliant food safety plan. Thanks to their assistance, we have been able to pass our USDA audit! Their knowledge of the program has been invaluable.
Jodi Pries, Pries Farm DE
Lindsay Gilmour has been an incredible resource for our farm by helping us to go step by step through the inner workings of the GAP Food Safety protocol. She has spent many hours guiding us in creating and shaping our farm GAP Food Safety Plan, as she has with so many other farms and operations. Helping growers develop their GAP plans which then enables them to open up to larger and more consistent markets is a huge gift and we are incredibly appreciative for the guidance and support we have received from Lindsay. She has demonstrated great patience in working with us and provided so much insight into the process. Without a good guide I don’t know if we would have even tried, meanwhile she has made it a smooth and actually enjoyable process! Thank you, Lindsay.
Sky Ballentine and Monique Milleson, Anthill Farm PA
Lindsay Gilmour worked with my farm to help us write a food safety plan, in order to get Harmonized GAP certified. She went over and above, in any way to help. I feel so fortunate to have been teamed up with her for 8 weeks, to reach our goal. I couldn't have done it without her!! She also teaches the PSA Grower Training, and that I would highly recommend.
Amanda Hines, No Dirt Farm, Fairfield PA
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MINI-GRANTs

Mini-Grants up to $5,000 are available for:
– Market Research and Validation of Target Market
– Customer Acquisition
– Product Development Initiatives
– Food Safety Classes
Eligibility
Value-added producers and companies with traction ($20,000 or more in yearly revenue) in Maryland and Delaware are eligible to apply for Mini-Grants. Participants may apply once for each of the categories. Applicants must demonstrate that they have a unique and differentiated product or service that incorporates an aspect of innovation or technology in its production, processing, distribution, or other element of the food supply system.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Award decisions will be made and funds will be available no later than three weeks following the receipt of a completed application.
Application Process
Applicants must submit Mini-Grant proposals by filling out the form at this link. Copy(ies) of quote(s), proposal(s), estimate(s), or any other supporting documents.

MINI GRANT APPLICATION

ACCESS TO SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS (SMES)

CAIC offers access to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who can offer authoritative advice based on their deep knowledge and experience in a specific area. See the ADVISORS page of this Web site to learn more about the SMEs who are available to CAIC participants.

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