What is GroupGAP?

Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) is an audit certification program created by the USDA and is based on guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration. GAP certification has increasingly become a requirement for retailers, making it difficult for small farmers to be able to sell their goods because of the rigor and cost required of traditional GAP certification.

GroupGAP is a new USDA food safety certification option that will increase opportunities for smaller farms to supply GAP-certified produce.  This robust certification process addresses many challenges that small farms face in complying with food safety audits and meeting the demands of the retail, food service, and institutional buying community.  GroupGAP makes food safety certification accessible for small and middle-sized producers by allowing farmers, food hubs, and other marketing organizations to work together to undergo GAP certification as a group. The program will build a network of farms that share safety, quality standards, and training with the goals of accessing new markets, diversifying revenue streams and increasing production and profitability.

North Shore EVP is the first organization in Hawaii to offer a Group GAP program. North Shore EVP assists farmers in the development of individual farm food safety plans, provides food safety training, and conducts farm audits two times per year at each farm. Upon successful completion of the internal audit the farm becomes Harmonized GAP certified.

You can learn more about GroupGAP at the USDA website or see our FAQ page, and read about our accomplishments below.