I’m thrilled to be part of an exciting new opportunity for family farmers: the Mortgage Lifter project. Read on for a chance to win $10,000 for your farm.
In 2013, Beekman 1802 co-founders Josh Kilmer-Purcell & Brent Ridge had a big idea. For years they’d struggled to grow their farm business enough for Josh to leave his job in the city so they could both live happily ever after as full-time farmers.
So they decided to create a line of Pasta Sauces that would use a variety of tomato first bred in the 1930s with a funny, but appropriate name: “The Mortgage Lifter Tomato.” (Find out how the Mortgage Lifter got its name.) If they could just sell enough jars, they could pay off their mortgage and Josh could move upstate permanently.
Then, through a lucky twist of fate, the pair won “The Amazing Race,” a television reality competition. Finally able to pay off their own mortgage, they thought: “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if other small farms could catch a similar break?'”
So they decided they’d pay forward 25% of the profits from their sauces to help promising small farms grow into medium-size farms. In 2013, they raised more than $13,000 for the project and now they’re giving that money away to small farmers with big ideas.
Mortgage Lifter sauces are produced from quality, non-GMO whole ingredients sourced from both small American farms and also larger American farms. They are prepared by a family-owned co-packer with the scale to supply larger grocery chains. This combination of efforts results in sauces that taste as homemade as they are, but can be competitively priced to appear on a grocery store shelf.
But the best part is that 25% of the profits are then returned to small farms to help them grow larger.
Find out more specifics about who is eligible for Mortgage Lifter Lifts and apply today! It’s easy, just tell your story. See if your local farmer has applied for a “lift,” and if not let them know about it! There are four prizes, and the top prize is $10,000. Winners will be announced on April 29.
