Self-Custody, But for Food

What we talked about.

In this episode, Sunny Ray talks with Chelsea, who leads Shaome Cooperative, an organization working to make Georgia the first food secure state in the nation. Chelsea explains the difference between food access and food security, arguing that most Americans are food insecure because they no longer grow their own food. Her solution is the food forest, a self sustaining planting method built around fruit and nut trees layered with companion plants that requires little upkeep once established. Shaome Cooperative installs these forests in schools, public spaces, businesses and places of worship, prioritizing underserved and Title I communities and never charging schools for the program. Chelsea discusses how her background in association marketing shaped the cooperative's structure and revenue streams, including an online certification platform and two published books, with a third on the way. The conversation covers regulation, land use, AI in education, and why she believes rebuilding local food knowledge and community matters as much as the food itself.

A food forest builder explains how planting self sustaining ecosystems in schools could make Georgia the first food secure state in America.

The questions, and the answers.

What are you building and why should people care?

Shaome Cooperative's mission is to create food security in Georgia first, with a model we can replicate elsewhere. We're doing that through education and by planting food forests in communities.

What is a food forest?

It starts with a central fruit or nut tree, then we plant up to six layers around it, which creates a guild. Once established, usually after about three years, it keeps producing food for generations with no human intervention, so it's the only truly sustainable way to grow food.

What has to be true for Georgia to become food secure, and what's furthest from true today?

Most people think they're food secure because they have food access, but those aren't the same thing, as COVID showed when shelves emptied. We used to have three layers of food security: home, community, and markets. We've lost the first two, and Shaome Cooperative is trying to bring them back, starting with schools because kids are naturally curious about growing food.

Why go after the production side of food insecurity instead of distribution, like food banks or delivery?

Food banks do amazing work feeding people, but if you give someone a meal they eat for a day. If you teach them how to grow food, they can eat for their lifetime. That's why we focus on teaching people to grow instead of just distributing more food.

Are there regulations preventing someone from turning a local forest into a food forest with neighbors?

No, there aren't. Absolutely, someone could get their neighbors together and turn a nearby forest into a food forest.

You came from development and marketing in the association world. What did that teach you about growth?

My work with an association management company, mostly scientific and medical clients, was my training ground for the bag of tricks I use now. What's different with Shaome Cooperative is the revenue streams, which are less conventional, like online food forestry certification and the books I've written.

Who actually says yes when you approach a school district?

We always get the yes from the principals, and we're typically introduced to them by a teacher, often a STEM teacher looking for programs that benefit students. The principals usually go to the superintendent for any buy-in needed, but working with principals is the key, and you generally need a connection to get in the door.

Who owns the unused land you convert, and what makes someone hand it over?

We've got land everywhere that's watered and maintained but growing no food, while plenty of people are food insecure. We don't need new land or new money, just to redesign what already exists, whether it's a corner of a city park, an edge of a golf course, or a patch from a business.