Our Services

Produce Safety Education and Training

Chesapeake Harvest offers virtual webinars and on-farm workshops throughout the year. We try to schedule all events with farmers’ schedules in mind. Topics that we cover dig into requirements in the Produce Safety Rule and GAP standards but are personalized based on the farms we visit and the audience. 

 

Our past webinars and training videos can be found at this link.

Check out our Resources section for produce safety templates, tools, guides, fact sheets, and links to other great websites.

One-on-One Coaching

We work with individual growers to understand their specific needs. We support them in the following ways:

  1. Conducting on farm risk assessments – We come to your farm and walk you through a risk assessment based on your operation and practices. This will help you identify issues and where you should focus your time and resources.
  2. Helping create practical SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) – SOPs are extremely useful tools to get all of your employees and volunteers on the same page. We will help you create SOPs specific to your farm. 
  3. Help writing a Produce Safety Plan – If you want to write a Produce Safety plan, either to get better organized or to get ready for a GAP certification audit, we can help. Starting with templates for SOP’s, risk assessments, and records, together we will create a customized plan for your operation.
  4. Consulting on requirements for Produce Safety regulations and GAP certification – we can help clear up confusion about FSMA regulations vs GAP certification, what you need to do to comply with regulations (the Produce Safety Rule), or which GAP certification you should apply for.

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.

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.