Singer-songwriter Brantley Gilbert, whose latest song “Hard Days” feels especially relevant during our current times, shares how he supports farmers and small business owners while on tour.
How have you implemented responsibly manufactured products into your life via your collaboration with the Farmer Veteran Coalition?
When we were getting ready to head out on our Fire’t Up Tour, we wanted to find a way to make a positive impact on the communities we were passing through, so it just made sense to partner with the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC). Through FVC, we were able to purchase locally sourced meats, dairy, and produce for catering on our tour stops. We fed our crew while supporting our veterans and American farming.
Unfortunately, we’ve had to put our tour on hold, but we were able to support local farmers through the first leg. Even though we didn’t get to see it all the way through this year, we know farmers and American workers need our support now more than ever, and we look forward to continuing our partnership in the future.
Why have you decided to work with local farmers and caterers? And how can people change their daily habits to support small businesses?
I think being from and living in a small town makes you really appreciate working-class Americans and small businesses. While on the tour, we invited the farmers to come to our show and have dinner with us to show our appreciation. Hearing their stories only made it more apparent how important it is to support them.
If folks take the time to think about their own purchases, they’ll see that many items they use every day can be bought from a locally-owned small business. In turn, they’ll know exactly where their products come from, while having the satisfaction of knowing they helped boost their local economy.
How can we change the lives of veterans and small business owners?
When many veterans return home, they’re looking to find a place in their community. Farmer Veteran Coalition understands this and provides them with resources.
Supporting veterans and small business owners means supporting their livelihood, but it goes beyond that. It shows appreciation for the hard-working men and women in your community that provide resources we need to live happily and comfortably. Supporting small business owners helps to provide them with the ability to live happily and comfortably, too.
The United States has the resources to eradicate hunger. How can larger businesses aid in this pursuit?
A good starting point would be to recognize the amount of food and resources that go to waste in larger businesses, and then find a way to give that excess to those who are in need. For example, we also partnered with Musically Fed for our tour. Musically Fed is a nonprofit that takes excess food from tours and big events like the Grammys and redistributes it to organizations who work to feed the hungry.
