The TRFM Farmer Fund
The TRFM Farmer Fund was launched in May 2023 as another way for community members to support farmers in the Upstate. The Farmer Fund was established to support two grants: a capacity-building grant and a crisis response grant. Although there are a multitude of federal and corporate grants for farmers, many are competitive and complex due to their national reaches. This presents a hurdle for local farmers as most grants are difficult to apply for and hard to win. The TRFM Farmer Fund provides a simple and local way for TRFM farmers to receive assistance. Especially in the instance of crisis response such as fire or flood, farmers can receive help from TRFM within weeks, while federal or corporate grants may take months or years to process.
Checks can be made out to Travelers Rest Farmers Market and mailed to the following address:
Travelers Rest Farmers Market
P.O. Box 608
Travelers Rest, SC 29690
January 2026 Press Release + Update
The Travelers Rest Farmers Market’s Farmer Fund finishes its third round of grants awarded through the Farmer Fund program. Starting in 2023, TRFM created the Farmer Fund as a way for the community to do their part in supporting the local food system. The program has established a perennial opportunity for farmers at the market to apply for accessible funding for projects on their farms.
A sum of $17,000 was raised throughout the year through fundraisers and donations. At the end of each year, a team of grantees rakes through applications and designates Capacity Building Grants to chosen applicants. The grant process in 2026 allowed for six farms to receive funding for various projects. The 2026 awardees were:
The total funds given by the Farmer Fund in this round were $18,000.
This year, the funds extended their footprint by investing in a livestock farm. This was the first time that a non-produce farm was awarded a Capacity Building Grant. Farming spans many different sectors, well beyond produce. Double Blessing Farm is a local goat farm in Travelers Rest, SC that uses goat milk to create body-friendly soaps. The Capacity Building Grants allow for upstate SC farms of all kinds to apply for funding of new projects, tools, and systems that support the growth of the farm, focusing on quality processes and long-term sustainability.
The market’s website explains that the fund program was established to reduce the barriers associated with applying for national grants. By introducing a local initiative, it creates an opportunity for neighbors to directly support one another, reinforcing the market’s existing commitment to locality and community connection.
January 2025 Press Release + Update
November 2024 Update
Hurricane Helene Response
The Farmer Fund is now in its second year. The Farmer Fund is mainly funded by two fundraiser dinners: a spring dinner at Topsoil, Travelers Rest’s premier farm to table restaurant, and a fall dinner on-location at a local farm. As of October 2024, the Farmer Fund has accumulated $25,000 to give away this year.
While the Fund was originally established for two separate grants, the Crisis Grant and the Capacity Building Grant, the unprecedented nature of Hurricane Helene in September 2024 allowed for a pivot. The TRFM Farmer Fund committee, which is comprised of 4 former TRFM farmers and agricultural systems experts, voted to put all funds together for one grant, called the Rebuilding Capacity Grant.
Our estimates based on our interviews is that these eight farms experienced at least $205,710 worth of damage.
Two of these eight farms experienced total devastation from the hurricane. Others had smaller damages, but still need the assistance that insurance and FEMA won’t cover. There were greenhouse damages, cooler damages, crop losses, equipment losses, irrigation system damage, event cancellations resulting in major sales losses and a major loss of time as many of these farmers had to spend time cleaning and clearing their farm during a transition at the end of the summer season.
There are 41 farmers in the 2024 TRFM vendor pool. Staff at Travelers Rest Farmers Market attempted to contact 26 of these farms. (Some had already verbally assured us they coped okay during the storm and did not need help, some had unaffected operations, and some were outside of the storm area altogether.)
Of the 26 farms, only 8 responded with a request for help. Many of these farms experienced damage but a common refrain we heard as we interviewed was, “I have it bad, but I’ll make it okay. Others have had it so much worse.”
We have just over $25,000 available in the Farmer Fund to give away. We would like to ask the public to consider giving to this fund to help us close the gap between what’s needed and what we can give.
The eight farms who will be receiving grants from the TRFM Farmer Fund are:
Estrada Farms (Pickens, SC)
Charlene’s Garden (Mill Spring, NC)
Broken Oak Organics (Marietta, SC)
Freedom Farm (Easley, SC)
Horseshoe Farms (Travelers Rest, SC)
Double Blessing Farm (Home of Red Clay Soap) (Travelers Rest, SC)
Lyda and Sons Orchard (Hendersonville, NC)
Steel Magnolia Farm (Piedmont, SC)
We will accept donations through the end of the year for these 8 farms. 100% of the funds given (minus processing fees) will go to the farmers. We are hoping over the coming weeks to share their stories so that you can share them with your networks. Some of these farmers are beginning farmers, others have 15+ years of experience. All of them need your help to continue stewarding the land where we live.
Donations can be made online or via check in the mail to:
Travelers Rest Farmers Market
P.O. Box 608
Travelers Rest, SC 29690
TRFM Announces 2023 Recipients
of Farmer Fund Awards
The Travelers Rest Farmers Market awarded $15,000 in grants to 4 local farms, the market announced Feb. 1st. The grant awards are a milestone for the organization, which launched the TRFM Farmer Fund last year to give back to its farmers.
The funds were distributed as part of a Capacity Building Grant designed to help local farmers grow their operations. The market received over $20,000 in donations to establish the TRFM Farmer Fund, which launched at a farm-to-table dinner fundraiser in May 2023.
“The generosity and enthusiasm of the Upstate Community for its local farms is an inspiring thing to be a part of,” says Jessica Mullen, director of development at the Travelers Rest Farmers Market. “The growth in sales and in number of farmers at our market indicate a growing movement in the Upstate to know where one's food comes from and be better connected to our neighbors. We are so grateful to the supporters who gave toward this fund in its first year.”
The grants awarded by the Farmer Fund are intended to help farmers who are a part of the market expand their farming capacity or move toward sustainable growing practices, according to the market’s website. Each grant recipient was carefully selected by a committee of local farmers and food system experts.
The 2024 recipients include:
Common Ground Farm - $4,000
Farm Girl Deliveries - $5,000
Feather Creek Farmstead - $4,000
Wet Knot Farms - $2,000
Each of the four farms’ projects were fully funded, meaning they were able to receive all that they asked for in their applications. The projects include two cold storage projects and two crop expansion projects.