What is the Sugar Kelp Cooperative?

The Sugar Kelp Cooperative is a farmer led response to all the post-harvest challenges faced by southern new England's seaweed farmers. Kelp farming fights climate change, supports working water-fronts, and offers the community a native and healthy super-food...but it only works if the farmers are able to sell their crops. Southern New England does not have the same infrastructure for harvesting and processing kelp as other regions, so we at the cooperative are joining forces to make these logistical challenges less of a burden. We share the burden so we can all succeed.

• Cofounders Suzie Flores and Jon McGee are both sugar kelp farmers who have been working together to uplift the sugar kelp industry in Southern New England. We can grow the kelp - we just want to make sure it gets to where it needs to be. This seemingly small challenge is a huge road block for kelp farming in this region. The cooperative works as a team to help stabilize supply and demand.
• This campaign is a way to kickstart the cooperative's work for 2022 and add more farmers to our roster. 
• Contributions will help our farmers get onboarded, help us grow our network of buyers, and will help us launch the 2022 Sugar Kelp Harvest Week to include more states in the southern New England region.
• This cooperative will give farmers an outlet to sell their crops at a fair market price, and will also help grow the local demand for kelp by having a stable supply of fresh kelp. 

What We Need & What You Get

• We need funds to support our first annual farmer meeting - this allows us to plan for 2022 keeping the needs of our farmers at the fore-front.
• We need funds to support our operational and marketing efforts. We need people understand the value of locally sourced kelp and how to use it in order to grow our network of buyers.
• Funders will receive fresh kelp, teeshirts, and  a chance to come out and harvest on one of our farms depending on contribution level.

The Impact

• Supporting kelp farmers means you are supporting an industry that actively sequesters carbon and nitrogen from local waterways.
• in 2021, the Sugar Kelp Cooperative held a weeklong celebration of kelp (New England Kelp Harvest) which had over 40 restaurant and breweries participating in the state of CT and delivered 1000 pounds of locally sourced sugar-kelp. This event helped kelp farmers regionally, helped local establishment and most importantly helped the planet.

Other Ways You Can Help

Share this campaign, sign up for the cooperative newsletter, and ask your favortite local establishment to put locally grown sugar-kelp on the menu!