The Good Farm Fund Winter Feast was a rich and warm gathering of supporters from across the spectrum – farmers, food businesses, and community partners. A sold-out crowd of 200 people shared the bounty of the very special place we call home. We are grateful for it all!
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!
Mark your calendar for Tuesday, September 20 – the Summer Soiree is back!
Idyllic, historic Yokayo Ranch in Ukiah sets the stage for a celebration of Mendocino and Lake county’s premier food culture. A showcase of farm to table farmers and chefs will nourish and delight guests, with specially concocted libations, local brews and vintages . It’s a party you won’t want to miss!
Event proceeds directly support our Farm Grant Program that provides critical infrastructure projects for local farms. Good Farm Fund also supports the local EBT/Food Stamp match program to ensure access to healthy food for all community members.
Ticket info coming soon!
PUBLISHED: December 2, 2019 | The Willits News
The Good Farm is proud to bring the sixth annual Winter Feast to Barra of Mendocino (7051 N. State St., Ukiah) on Tuesday, Dec. 10 from 5-9 p.m. This always-popular event is one of the highlights of the local holiday season and includes a family-style, farm-to-table dinner developed by a team of top, local chefs including Olan Cox from Mendough’s Catering, Bridget Harrington from Patrona, Nicholas Petti from the Mendocino College Culinary Program, and Caroline Radice from Black Dog Farm Catering. The dinner will feature locally-produced cheeses and locally-raised meats, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and grains. Local beers and wines will also be available for purchase. A silent auction perfect for holiday shopping, live music from Jason Wright, and of course, great company will help make this a memorable event.
According to Chef Petti, Culinary Arts Management Instructor at Mendocino College and Good Farm Fund board member, “Last year’s event was genuinely heartwarming and truly one-of-a-kind. It’s rewarding to be involved in an event that celebrates delicious, locally grown food and invests in the future of the farmers behind the beautiful food highlighted that night.” This year’s one-of-a-kind feast will focus on the theme of reducing food waste. By incorporating ‘seconds’ from local farms, foods that maybe aren’t pretty enough for grocery store shelves, this year’s chefs will wow diners with a creative, top-quality, dining experience.
The Good Farm Fund will also announce their 2019 grant recipients during the evening. With more than $50,000 in funds being distributed, there will be a lot to celebrate. This is the fifth year the Good Farm Fund is awarding capacity-building grants to local, small farms that are made possible by farm-to-table events like this one, as well as from the generous support of this year’s foundation sponsors: Frey Winery, Redwood Credit Union, Sonoma Clean Power, and Flow Kana.
“These grants have a real, tangible impact for local farms,” says Good Farm Fund Co-Founder Caroline Radice, a farmer herself. “As a kid, I used to go berry-picking with my mom, and then she’d come home and make jam, which is how I learned about food preservation. My parents would stop at the farmers’ market or a roadside farm stand to pick up fresh green beans or corn for dinner. So many of us have wonderful memories like that. The Good Farm Fund is about honoring and continuing those traditions. It’s about creating a community with economic opportunities for small farmers, with thriving farmers’ markets, and lots of delicious, nutritious food easily available to all the people who live here.”
Tickets for the annual Winter Feast are now available online via Brown Paper Tickets (gffwinter.brownpapertickets.com), at Mendocino Book Company and Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op (sliding scale $35-$60 for adults and $15 for kids under 12). Tickets historically sell out, however, if a few lucky tickets are available at the door they will be $45.
Proceeds from the evening will support the Good Farm Fund’s farm grant program and market match program. The event is sponsored by Sonoma Clean Power, Frey Winery, Flow Kana, Redwood Credit Union, Surf Market, American Ag Credit, Ukiah Natural Foods Coop, Harvest Market, KOZT Radio, KZYX Community Radio, North Coast Opportunities, and the MendoLake Food Hub. Through fundraising events like the Winter Feast, the Good Farm Fund and those who support it, continue to help local farms thrive in our community.
Northspur Brewery, previous Homebrew festival winners and current festival sponsors, had their opening night in Willits in September — Photo by Steve Eberhard
MENDOCINO Co., 11/01/19 — The third annual Mendocino County Homebrew Festival is taking place this Saturday, November 2, the perfect time to sample the newest concoctions from your neighbors and relax after a long week of power shut-offs and wildfires. Organized by the Good Farm Fund, the event will showcase a around 30 local brewers, live music, food trucks, and vote on for the crowd favorite, and help kick off the county-wide Mushroom Feast Mendocino, which begins this week.
The event will be held on Saturday, November 2 in Ukiah from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center; you can purchase tickets in advance here, or at the Mendocino Book Company or Westside Renaissance Market. The beer selected as the “Brewer’s Choice” will be brewed at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company, and featured in a Cultivo “pint night.” Right next door, you’ll also get to enjoy sidewalk sales from the Greater Ukiah Business and Tourism Alliance, and additional offerings from local favorites American Craft Whiskey and Willits’ newest brewery, a former winner at previous festivals, Northspur Brewing.
More information is at the Homebrew Festival website, and on the event’s Facebook page, where you can find last minute info. Here’s a few more details from the Good Farm Fund’s Scott Cratty:
“We expect around 30 top home brewers offering over 50 selections including a few ciders and other surprises, plus a range of hard to find bonus taps from our sponsors. The event will feature live music, a rare beer auction and the opportunity for attendees to vote for the people’s choice winners. A panel of local master brewers will be on hand also working to select the Brewer’s Choice champion beer which will be brewed at Anderson Valley Brewing Company and featured in their tap room and in Ukiah at a pint night at Cultivo. This year there will also be a parallel outdoor event put on by the Greater Ukiah Business and
Tourism Alliance that will include sidewalk sales by nearby School Street merchants, games, beer from new brewing company Northspur Brewing of Willits, wine and a tasting opportunity by American Craft Whiskey along with Farm to Table food from local food trucks.”
https://www.mendovoice.com/2019/11/third-annual-mendocino-county-homebrew-festival-happening-saturday-nov-2/
Saturday November 2nd | 3pm – 6pm | Ukiah Valley Conference Center | Ukiah, CA 95482
This legendary event is set for November 2nd, 2019 in the Ukiah Valley Conference Center. It will be a new anchor event of the Mendocino Mushroom, Wine and Beer Festival.
The afternoon will feature brewers from several clubs in Lake and Mendocino county and also from around Northern CA competing to become the people’s choice winner. (The event will also be open to ciders and other fermented beverages.) Local Farm-to-table food will be available for purchase.
Proceeds from the event benefit The Good Farm Fund, which funds food stamp matching at local farmers markets and provides small farm economic development grants. All proceeds will be allocated to local farms for fire relief.
People’s Choice: All attendees get three bottle caps that they can use to vote for their favorite beer by dropping the caps into designated containers. Ribbons and awards will go to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place vote getters.
Brewer’s Choice: A separate tasting & judging will be conducted by professional brewers led by Fal Allen of Anderson Valley Brewing Company to select a top quality beer to be brewed by AVBC! The winning brewer will get to assist on brew day, learning about scaling their recipe and using a commercial brew system
And the winners were:
People’s Choice (beer)
1st Sempervirens DIPA – Matt Brown
2nd Pine Ridge Pale Ale – Jared Chaney
3rd McCray 1C – Randy Girouard
People’s Choice (other)
1st Pinot Perry – Andy Todd
2nd Echo the Stars – Zach Hughes
3rd Where the Cide walk ends – TJ Wilson
Brewer’s Choice
1st Sempervirens DIPA – Matt Brown
Runner up: Where the Cide walk ends – TJ Wilson
Best Local Ingredients
Pine Ridge Pale Ale – Jared Chaney
Fantastic beverages all around – thanks everybody for coming out and making this a great event!
For more information on this event visit the Mendocino Homebrew Festival website -> https://www.mendohomebrewfest.com/
ufm-winter-celebration
UKIAH FARMERS MARKET 2nd ANNUAL WINTER FEAST
Wednesday December 2, 2015, 5pm – 9ish (Dinner served from 6-8)
Ukiah Senior Center | 497 Leslie Street, Ukiah
Farm to Table Dinner featuring locally raised meat, produce, grain, beer, & wine
Plus… a silent auction and LIVE MUSIC from Them Travelin’ Birds!
Tickets $25 adults | $15 youth (<15)
Available at Westside Renaissance Market, the Mendocino Book Company, and Mendocino County Farmers Markets or online here.
We hope you’ll join us! Proceeds support Good Farm Fund in our mission to provide assistance to local farms and fund the Ukiah Farmers Market Food Stamp Matching program, which makes nutritious food affordable to our community.
