After a three-year break, we enjoyed a productive and enriching day sharing ideas, networking, and exploring the challenges and rewards of our local farm community. Among the top topics – what are the strategies to make local farming and ranching viable? Also, round tables on selling to Farms to Schools; farm business check-in, recruiting & maintaining farm labor, medicine & full circle herbalism, restorative yoga, and more!
Thanks to all who helped organize, volunteer, present, and attend. It was a great day!
MENDOCINO COUNTY, 4/06/23 — The Good Farm Fund has awarded over $99,000 in grants to 23 farms in Mendocino and Lake counties.
This year’s grant cycle included funding for general farm projects as well as a category for fire prevention and resilience made possible through a generous grant from the California Fire Foundation. General funds came from community donations, foundation sponsorship from Redwood Credit Union, and proceeds from farm to table events.
“We were so impressed by the breadth and depth of applications this year from new and established farms throughout both counties,” said farm grant committee member Elizabeth Archer. She and her husband own and operate Carson and Bees, a past grant recipient. Archer added, “These grants are funded by our community and help our small food-producing farms flourish, which in turn strengthens our local foodshed. It’s full-circle and a win for everyone. Each year the farm grant cycle sees trends in applications. This year included a lot of projects focused on animal husbandry, including chickens, goats, sheep, and cows.”
Since 2015, the Good Farm Fund has granted over $450,000 to small farms and ranches for critical infrastructure projects. The Good Farm Fund also supports the Market Match Program at Mendocino and Lake County farmers markets.
Good Farm Fund co-founder Caroline Radice said, “The Good Farm Fund’s emphasis is on providing direct support to farmers. Food producers in our area are a foundational piece of our community, providing nutrient dense fruits and vegetables, whole grains, pastured meats, dairy, and more. Small farms support local food security and food access, and the farmers who run them are thoughtful land stewards in a time where it is critically important. Our main focus is fundraising to continue supporting this grant program. We know it works and that it creates positive change in our community. We also know that we’re only scratching the surface of what we can accomplish.”
Simon Avery and Melinda Price of Peace & Plenty Farm. Photo by Tim Carl
One of this year’s grant recipients, Melinda Price of Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville, explained, “We are a bootstrap operation, without a lot of capital to build up our operation. This year’s Good Farm Fund grant will allow us to speed up the process of adding much-needed infrastructure to our business, including a new propagation house for all our seasonal starts.” She added, “We love feeding our community and look forward to providing even more fresh veggies year-round with the new equipment.” The Good Farm Fund is a community organization dedicated to providing direct support to small farmers in Mendocino and Lake counties, as well as increasing local food access for underserved members of the community. The Good Farm Fund is a fiscally sponsored program of North Coast Opportunities, Inc., a Community Action Agency serving Lake and Mendocino counties as well as parts of Humboldt, Sonoma, Del Norte, and Solano counties. NCO reacts and adjusts to community needs, including disaster response and recovery.
Farms Receiving Grants for the 2022-2023 Funding Cycle
Farm Grants: Good Things Farm, Cerra Negro, Beach Front Farm, Folk Life Farm, Peace & Plenty Farm, Wavelength Farm, Powicana Farm, Mulligan Farm, Wildheart Farm, Golden Rule Garden, Fairall’s Farm, Big Mesa Farm, School of Adaptive Agriculture, Forest People, Irene’s Garden
Fire Prevention Grants: Logan Produce, Mancinelli Farm, Oz Farm, Mountain Seoul Farm, Benmore Valley, Happy Day Farm, Ridgewood Ranch, Covelo Farm, Big Mesa
We are excited to announce that the California Fire Foundation has awarded $50,000 to the Good Farm Fund for fire relief and prevention farm grants. This generous donation will be used to help local farms mitigate and/or prevent damage from wildfires in Mendocino and Lake counties.
The funds will be included in the Good Farm Fund grant cycle for 2022-2023. Stay tuned for details of that timeline.
Thank you to the California Fire Foundation! We are grateful for this incredible support of local farms!
This pandemic changes everything about how we live daily life – how we work, learn, shop, and eat. It’s a challenging time, calling us to evolve and think and do differently in the midst of much loss, suffering, illness, and inconvenience. It is testing the fabric of our society and all of the safety nets that support vulnerable populations from the elderly to the children who depend on their school lunch to get vital nutrition.
To me, the rainbow in all of this is the way our local food system has responded with remarkable agility to find new ways to feed us. I’m awed at how organizations like the Mendo Lake Food Hub and FEED Sonoma introduced home delivery of local produce within weeks of the Coronavirus outbreak. By the time we were sheltering in place, our local food infrastructure has pivoted from a wholesale oriented system to set up consumer-direct purchasing and delivery.
In the face of devastation, local food miracles are happening all around us. Getting food to people is what local economies are good at when they are in their natural state. This is a golden moment where the local food system is better able to respond to crisis than our industrial food system. The upside of sheltering in place is that we have never been better set up to eat in place.
How to get local food
Direct from local farms
Local farms and have organically become first responders and many have been ahead of the curve in terms of public health and safety precautions. In record time, they have launched or expanded their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes (offering delivery or minimal contact pickup), opened their farm stands for additional days, and many are using social media to keep the community informed of real-time availability of food. Some are still attending weekly farmers markets. And of course, this all comes during Spring, the busiest – and cruelest – time of year for our farmers, when they are hustling to plant their crops for the season ahead. This is a working list of farms that are open to the public for direct sales. With availability & schedules changing day by day, we’ve linked to their websites and social media accounts so that you can follow them real-time. If you know of any farms missing from this list, please email us at goodfarmfund@gmail.com
While grocery store shelves are bare, we have an abundance of local food options available through the Mendo Lake Food Hub. The food Hub is a network of local farmers and producers that has rolled out home delivery in Ukiah and Willits, and is offering pickup locations in Redwood Valley, Willits, Lakeport, and Caspar.
Need eggs, flour, bread, beans, or rice? Or fancy mushrooms and the most beautiful salad mix you’ve ever seen? Order from the Food Hub! Options go way beyond local fruits and veggies – even including spices, olive oil, kombucha, and walnuts. This is like the Amazon of local food for our region, and it’s an incredible resource. You can view availability and order online. Go to www.mendolakefoodhub.com for more info and to sign up.
Additionally, the Food Hub has helped supply local produce like tangerines and sugar snap peas for school lunches to ensure that kids are receiving fresh, healthy options when the usual industrial suppliers could only meet a percentage of the schools’ needs. This is the power of regional food systems!
Shop at Local Farmers Markets
Our weekly farmers markets remain open. Shop at the farmers market to support local farmers and makers if you are 100% healthy, and consider picking up items for neighbors who may not be able to attend. Our farmers markets all offer EBT Food Stamp matching to help subsidize the cost of local food, which is one of the programs that Good Farm Fund supports.
Choose Local at the Grocery Store
Shopping for locally produced items like wine, beer, bread, cheese, olive oil, meats, and apple juice all help support our local business survive this economic downturn. Every single purchase matters. And be sure to show appreciation for all the measures our local grocers have taken to make shopping as safe as they can, including delivery and curbside pickup.
Support Local Restaurants
Add some variety to your quarantine routine and show your support for local restaurants so that they will be around when the shelter in place order lifts. Many restaurants are offering to go service for meals and even cocktails! Call them to see what their current offerings are.
Forage Wild Edibles
Use this time to get familiar with the nutrient-packed wild edibles that may be growing in your yard to add to salads, cook with, or make tea with. A quick and by no means complete list of things to look for right now:
Dandelion
Fir tips
Miner’s lettuce
Mint
Nasturtium flowers and leaves
Rosemary
Wild fennel
Wild mustard
Wild nettle
Wild onion
Wild radish flowers
Grow your own!
Now is literally the best time to plant your victory garden. Start where you are, with what you have. Swap seeds with neighbors, pick up some starts at the Farmers Market. Start a compost pile. Check out the Gardens Project online order form for seeds & starts, with home delivery. Contact the local nurseries and see if you can place your order for starts, seeds, and amendments and pay over the phone and do curbside pickup to minimize contact. Some may even provide home delivery options. This is a time to get creative and enjoy having some time to tend our own gardens.
How to Support Low-Income Community Members
At Good Farm Fund, we have always been dedicated to two primary goals: Supporting local farms to increase the supply of locally produced food, and making local food more accessible for low-income community members, especially through the EBT Food Stamp matching program at farmers markets. Even as we shelter in place, there are many ways to support low income and vulnerable populations through time, care, and monetary contributions.
Offer to do grocery shopping, farmers market trips, or meal pick-up for community members if you are 100% healthy.
Become a community volunteer: Are you a retired or active healthcare worker? If so, please consider volunteering to help your community face the impact of COVID-19. You can register with the California Disaster Healthcare Volunteer website. Or contact NCO Volunteer Network for questions or assistance (707) 462-1959
Be mindful of when you shop. Some stores are having limited access hours for elderly/at-risk populations. Keep in mind that there are certain times of the month that food benefits are issued to them. For the rest of us, let’s avoid shopping at those peak times so that WIC users can purchase qualifying items first.
Contribute to a local organization that helps feed our community such as:
Community Foundation of Mendocino County: Has raised close to $300,000 so far and have just released $65,000 from their COVID-19 Relief and Hunger Express Poverty Funds to countywide nonprofits to support food relief.
Fort Bragg Food Bank: Provides emergency groceries to low-income residents of Mendocino County, California.
Gardens Project: A network of 56 school and community gardens. Now providing home delivery of seeds & plant starts (order online here) and fundraising to build victory gardens for elders.
Good Farm Fund: Providing emergency funding to local farms and providing support for the EBT Food Stamp Matching program in Mendocino & Lake Counties.
Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund: Providing crucial support to children and other vulnerable populations on the coast in the form of books, food, gas, masks, diapers and other essential items.
North Coast Opportunities: Parent organization to so many important community initiatives including the Gardens Project, Caring Kitchen, School of Adaptive Agriculture, and the Volunteer Network
Plowshares: Community Dining Room and Meals on Wheels
Technical Assistance
Disaster Payments for Agricultural Losses
Loans/Credit
Insurance & Risk Management
Conservation and Land Management
Household & Community Water Supplies
