Visit our Events page to register for our upcoming Post Harvest Handling virtual and on-farm workshops in June!

410.690.7348

 

Our Services

Produce Safety Education & Training

Produce Safety Education & Training

One-on-One Coaching

One-on-One Coaching

Community-Based Produce Safety Educator Program

Community-Based Produce Safety Educator Program

Produce Safety Education and Training

Chesapeake Harvest offers virtual webinars and on-farm workshops throughout the year. We schedule all events with farmers’ schedules in mind. Topics we cover are aligned with requirements in the Produce Safety Rule and GAP standards, but we also personalize offerings based on the farm we visit and the target audience.

See the Calendar for upcoming events.

Archived webinars and training videos can be found here.

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

group op people meeting in a greenhouse

One-on-One Coaching

We work with individual growers to understand their specific needs and provide support 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 handy tools to get all employees and volunteers on the same page. We will help you write SOPs specific to your farm.
  3. Supporting the creation of a Food Safety Plan – If you want to write a food safety plan to get better organized or get ready for a GAP certification audit, we can help. Starting with templates for SOPs, risk assessments, and records, we will co-create a customized plan for your operation with you.
  4. Consulting on requirements for food 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.

workshop held in from of a garden

Community-Based Produce Safety Educator Program

Using a train-the-trainer model, we recruit respected and successful farmers and agricultural service providers from diverse communities to serve as a resource for their respective communities and promote produce safety best practices. Chesapeake Harvest creates many learning opportunities for trainees so they can confidently support fellow farmers in their communities. To learn more about, and connect directly with, our Food Safety Educators, visit our About Us page.

What are people saying about us?

  • Lindsay, from Chesapeake Harvest, came to our farm before the busy season had started to sit down with us to discuss different aspects of what our farm was required to do for the ever-changing food safety regulations. She had examined our previous food safety plan (written by a third party) and realized it was more in-depth than we needed for our operation. She went section by section and told us what was and was not required of us both in our food safety manual itself and around the farm. We requested a USDA audit for our first crop of the season, once the plan was completed and passed on the first try. Without the help from Lindsay, we would have still been lost and probably would not have completed an audit this year. Not only did Chesapeake Harvest help with informing us of what requirements we were to adhere to, but they also followed up with us. Chesapeake Harvest is an overall great company and service to individuals and farmers alike.

    Anna Wicks, Food Safety Manager, Lazy Boy Farm, Middletown, DE