We recently connected with Laura Fernandez and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Front Yard Foods is on a mission to teach the community how to grow their food, as well as, how to get it on their table. Whether it is to enjoy a few fresh items from the garden, or to store enough food to sustain a family through the year, FYF wants to help their clients complete the circle of home gardening.

My passion for food first sprouted while building my first garden with my grandfather at the age of 12. Originally from Georgia, I fell in love with the Greenville community in 1997, as a freshman at Furman University. My work in a variety of local restaurants, as well as, managing a local garden center for several years, enabled me to experience food from both the culinary and farming side. Being face to face with the food system from both the consumer side and the agricultural side showed me the vast problems in an unsustainable food system. However, I feel like the answer is rather simple and available to many of us. I wanted to create a company that helped people grow their own food in a reasonable and approachable way. I want build the confidence of each client and equip them with the knowledge to accomplish their unique goals.

Food, farming and community are of the greatest importance to me and I hope through Front Yard Foods to inspire others to find their own connection to the earth and its value.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been interested in food; from growing it to cooking it. I love flavors and textures and the beauty of fresh food. I still have a vivid memory of the first kiwi I watched my mom cut into while I was quite a young girl. I started cooking at a young age and my first real garden was planted when I was around 12. My interest in food exploded in my early 20’s when I spent time in Italy and learned what it was like to buy local food daily from the markets. I have worked in many restaurant kitchens learning about flavor profiles and discovered quickly how much local, seasonal, and fresh food elevates a dish. Growing and preparing food has always been essential to me.

While working in restaurants, I started noticing food shortages and transportation issues in our food system. This was long before Covid and most people showed very little concern. The general disconnection from their own food led people to have an unrealistic expectation on the availability of fresh food. Once Covid did hit, the fractures and small cracks in the system split right open leaving many fearful for the first times in their lives.

This is when I got a phone call from a friend (who in the past had gently teased me about growing food) who asked if I could help her grow tomatoes. Of course I said yes, and one thing led to another and I found myself talking to lots of folks who wanted to find some sort of food security. When we gain even a small amount of knowledge and discover how much we can do for ourselves, it can start to empower us to discover all kinds of new skills.

Front Yard Foods started as a way for me to help with a problem I saw as potentially catastrophic to our current society. The food system is simply not sustainable from a supply and an economic standpoint. While the problem is certainly too big for any one person or any one company, there are ways for individuals to make small changes that can add up. The real problem, in my opinion, is the disconnect they have from their food supply. Less than 100 years ago, the vast majority of people grew their own food or obtained it from a local source. In our current society, we are seeing people with extremely limited access to fresh food and even less understanding of how that food grows. We are flying and transporting food all over the world. The time that it takes food to get to our table and the distance it has traveled depletes the nutritional value of that food. By growing our own – even a small portion of what we consume – we can ease some of the burden of this system.

Through Front Yard Foods, I offer garden consultations, designs and installations. I offer a Veggie Gardening Course twice a year; once in the Spring and once in the Fall. I teach basic canning and preserving skills along with sourdough bread making. In addition, I grow thousands of veggie, herb, and flower plant starts that I make available at local farmers markets for people to grow in their gardens.

While I don’t believe we will ever get to a place where we will all grow our own food, I do believe that we can get to a place that is more community driven and that people can discover how much more they are capable of. I am so proud of the relationships that have formed between my students and the incredible community that is being created.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

While social media and an online presence is certainly essential in today’s world, my best source of new clients has been face to face at my booth at farmer’s markets or word-of-mouth from other students and clients. Person connection in invaluable.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Honestly, I didn’t start my company with much. I took my first job (that I way underbid) for a couple and struggled all the way through it. In the end, I made about $1000. I took that money, ordered business cards, a banner, and what I thought I would need to create a booth at an upcoming local event. I paid the booth fee for that event and crossed my fingers. The event was a success and I slowly started getting the word out. People contacted me and my client roster grew. I want to encourage people, that you don’t necessarily need a large amount to get started. You just need the desire to do it and the willingness to take action,

Contact Info:

• Website: www.FrontYardFoods.com
• Instagram: @frontyard_foods
• Facebook: @frontyardfoodsSC
• Other: [email protected]