Ghost Island Farm in West Tisbury has received a $6,000 contribution from the Blue Barn Farm Share Program for six at-need Island families to receive farm shares. The funds, which were given to Ghost Island Farm owner Rusty Gordon in late April, will provide six $1,000 farm shares to families who are 200 percent above the federal poverty level, Blue Barn executive director Kaysea Cole Hart said. The funds will also help Gordon manage his annual startup costs ahead of the growing season, she said.
“Starting up is always hard when you’re a farm,” Gordon said. The funds will help buy seeds, organic fertilizer and potting soil — both of which Gordon described as “really expensive” — and irrigation supplies. The money will also fund tractor repairs.
“We didn’t have a tractor last year because it was broken down,” he said.
Gordon will redistribute the contribution with vegetables at his co-op’s market rate, Hart said.
Blue Farm is a privately funded nonprofit that began in 2014, and currently serves the South Shore and the Island with support bent on sustaining small farms and bolstering food security, she said.
The Ghost Island Farm shares are designed for families who make just a little too much money to qualify for SNAP, she said. Blue Barn is currently accepting online applications for the shares.