Author: Good Farm Fund

Good Farm Fund celebrates local food at 6th annual Winter Feast

PUBLISHED: December 2, 2019 | The Willits News 


Farmer and co-founder of Good Farm Fund, Caroline Radice, of Black Dog Farm Catering, is one of four chefs planning the menu for the annual Winter Feast held Dec. 10. Photo submitted

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.

Third annual Mendocino County Homebrew Festival happening Saturday, Nov. 2

By Kate B. Maxwell, Publisher  | November 1, 2019

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/

Good Farm Fund grant and loan applications now open, $50,000 available to local farms

By Kate B. Maxwell, Publisher  | September 20, 2019

The pumpkin and winter squash patch of local farmer Ben Wolff. Hard at work is Otis the dog.

MENDOCINO Co., 9/19/19 — Since 2015, the Good Farm Fund has provided over $100,000 in grants to more than 50 small local farms, and now the non-profit is opening its largest round of grant funding yet: $50,000 available in funding to small farms in Mendocino and Lake counties. The non-profit organization works to support the development of our local “foodshed” in part by providing funds for farmers to improve their infrastructure, implement more sustainable practices, and increase production of affordable, locally-grown food.

Know a small farmer that might need some assistance? The grant applications will be open until October 15, with more details included at this link. There’s also a list of past grant recipients to give a sense of what projects have been funded. This year there will be two different tiers of funding for different size projects, as well as a special grant category for Lake County farms.

Much of the funding for these grants comes from local sponsors, and the Good Farm Fund’s two annual local food feasts, and this year’s winners will be announced at the annual Winter Feast on December 10. The Good Farm Fund will also be holding the third annual Mendocino County Homebrew Festival on November 2, 2019.

Good Farm Fund’s Winter Feast

GOOD FARM FUND’S WINTER FEAST
Tuesday, December 10th  | Barra of Mendocino, Ukiah
Back by popular demand after selling out early the last few years. Attendees proclaimed it a highlight of the holiday season, with plenty of feel-good cheer and an abundance of local food and drink to enjoy at an affordable price. This dinner is about celebrating the hard work that farmers do throughout the year and all who support them. The night will feature a farm-to-table dinner featuring locally raised meat, produce, grain, beer, & wine. Plus a silent auction, live music and of course great company. We will also announce the 2019 Good Farm Fund grant recipients during the evening.

The Mendocino County 2019 Homebrew Festival!

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/

Good Farm Fund benefit raises $40,000 for local farm grants

By Kate B. Maxwell, Mendocino Voice  | August 12, 2019

The crowd contributed another $10,000 in a real-time crowdfunding event

MENDOCINO Co., 8/12/19 — Just as one small farm can provide food for many people, but it takes a community to support our small farms — and that community came out in their finest summer outfits at this year’s Good Farm Fund summer banquet. Thanks to a generous $10,000 matching grant from the Redwood Credit Union and an outpouring of community support, the fifth annual Midsummer’s Night Feast, held at Yokayo Ranch, raised a record amount of nearly $40,000 in one night towards their small farm grants, while providing a bounty of delicious farm-to-fork dishes prepared by local chefs. 

Happy farmers and chefs serving up food to the crowd.

The Good Farm Fund is a non-profit organization which supports the development of a sustainable local “foodshed” (like a watershed) in Mendocino and Lake Counties, primarily through the annual farm grants, and by increasing access for local food through financial support for the CalFresh “market match” program. The organization has awarded nearly 50 grants since 2015, and this year’s dinner, which more than doubled the fundraising amount from 2018, should ensure an even larger amount of grant funding for this upcoming round of awards, which will open in the fall. The organization also holds an annual winter feast fundraiser, set this year for December 10, as well as the third annual Mendocino Homebrew Festival, happening November 2.

The enthusiasm for small farms and community building was palpable at the July dinner, where attendees took a break from enjoying a multitude of locally produced goodies to run around in a “real-time crowdfunding” event led by local auctioneer Rachel Britton, and raised donations from a number of individuals, from $10 to $1,000, to match the $10,000 contribution from the Redwood Credit Union. The credit union, along with Frey Vineyards and Sonoma Clean Power, is one of the Good Farm Fund’s “Foundation Sponsors,” who provide dedicated support for local farm grants. Redwood Credit Union’s Community Programs Manager Peggy Cleary announced the matching grant at the dinner, noting that supporting local farm was a perfect fit for the credit union movement, which was first started to help local farmers.

Emcee Rachel Britton raises her hands in delight as Redwood Credit Union’s Peggy Cleary announces a $10,000 matching grant.

“We’re thrilled to be here because we really believe in the mission of the Good Farm Fund,” Cleary told the crowd, calling the organization’s accomplishments impressive. He continued, “One of the things we love about the Good Farm Fund is that it started as farmers coming together to help farmers.”

He added that the the 70 year old credit union has the same goal, “It’s part of our mission, we’re about people helping people. We’re part of these communities, we care about what you do, and we invest in organizations that really make an impact on critical issues facing our communities. Food security is really important to us, and we’re just so delighted and really honored to partner with you.”

The dinner itself was a living example of community involvement, including more than 20 different local farms paired with local chefs, coordinated by more than 32 volunteers who helped with organization, parking, set-up, and more, as well as a variety of local sponsors from local businesses and community organizations, all contributing towards a community feast. Guests enjoyed sampling a wide array of different dishes created by local chefs, paired with local farmers, as well as refreshments ranging from kombucha to coffee to locally distilled liquors, and many lingered as the sun set to ensure all the treats were eaten before heading home.

Local farmer Alex Nielson of Cinnamon bear Farms spoke about how his three grants have helped him grow his business.

Alex Nielson, of Cinnamon Bear Farms, a three time grant recipient and local farmer, gave a brief speech about how important the grants have been for his farm: “The Good Farm Fund has been instrumental for our farm…having us backed by the community, it’s been amazing. They’ve provided us tools that have helped us grow, and provide more food for the community. It’s amazing to see all the faces, and see a lot of people that I see at the market, coming up and tasting our food, and thanking us, it’s really a blessing to see. This is a business that’s not easy to move up in, and having the capital backing from the Good Farm Fund has been immense….without it, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

More photos of the event are included below. You can learn more about the Good Farm Fund’s work at their website, and the next round of small farm grants will open in the fall. The organization’s next events are the annual Mendocino Homebrew Festival, on November 2, and you can check out a video for interested brewers here, and the winter feast, scheduled for December 10.

Over $100,000 in farm grants to Mendocino and Lake county farms have been given out.

A Midsummer Night’s Feast – 5th Annual Benefit Dinner

A Midsummer Night’s Feast
5th Annual Good Farm Fund Benefit
Tuesday, July 23rd | 7-9 PM | Yokayo Ranch, Ukiah

This event has become the most beloved farm-to-table experience of the summer! A Midsummer Night’s Feast is a fabulous showcase of our region’s best food & culinary talent, featuring the people who feed our community, from shovel to fork.

Local food doesn’t get better than this. In one summer evening we bring together about 20 of the area’s “local-food-forward” chefs and pair them up with our best local farms and ranches to collaborate on one of a kind seasonal plates.

Libations will include local beer, wines, designer mocktails, and the crowd-favorite craft cocktails made with locally distilled spirits from American Craft Whiskey Distillery.

Hosted outdoors at the beautiful & historic Yokayo Ranch, the evening also includes live music, a farm tour, and a silent auction.

Tickets: $125 – includes all food & beverages. We expect to sell out, but if tickets are available at the door they will be $150. Courtesy note: no dogs or other pets, please.

Onsite lodging is available at Yokayo Ranch for the night of the event. However camping spots are extremely limited so place your reservation via Brown Paper Tickets today before they are gone.

Eat Well. Do Good.

Event proceeds directly support our Farm Grant Program that provide crucial funding for infrastructure development projects on local farms, and helps support the EBT/Food Stamp Match program to ensure access to healthy food for all members of our community.

Our event sponsors’ generous support is humbling. Their help and encouragement ensures that the funds raised through ticket sales, silent auctions, etc. goes to funding our important work. Thank you.

– FOUNDATION SPONSORS –

– EVENT SPONSORS –

We would also like to send our deep appreciation to the many the local chefs, farmers, ranchers, restaurants, caterers, food producers, wineries, breweries, distillers, other beverage sponsors, and volunteers who add their special magic that make our events sparkle. Thank you.


Photo by Lauren Steury 2018

Good Farm Fund: Everybody Eats! Article in Real Estate Magazine

Good Farm Fund aims to help make local
food more affordable for everyone, and to
supply capital for needed equipment and
projects on small farms

 

The Fate of the Small Farmer
The American dream of forty acres and a mule has perhaps
never been more unattainable—or more necessary—
than it is today. Here in Mendocino, farmers are certainly better off
than in many parts of the country with our clean air, largely
uncontaminated soils, ample water supply, a relatively temperate climate with a long growing season, and a strong ethos of support for the small farm. We also have a uniquely varied climate suitable for producing a range of crops.

 

REM_GFF_Article_10_2018

Good Farm Fund’s Winter Feast

Good Farm Fund’s Winter Feast

Tuesday, December 4th, 2018 from 5 – 9 pm
Barra of Mendocino Event Center at 7051 North State Street in Redwood Valley
Meal by Black Dog Farm & Catering
Advance Tickets are $30-50 sliding scale.
This is always a sell out event, get your tickets now >> https://winterfeast.bpt.me

The Winter Feast is proudly presented by Good Farm Fund & Mendo Lake Food Hub

Second Annual Mendocino County Homebrew Festival!

Second Annual Mendocino County Homebrew Festival!

Support your local brewers to benefit Good Farm Fund 🍻
Saturday, November 3rd, 2018 from 3 – 6pm
Downtown Ukiah at the Ukiah Valley Convention Center
Advance Tickets are $30 General Admission/ $45 VIT “Very Important Taster”
Purchase online or at Westside Renaissance Market or Mendocino Book Company

Still accepting homebrew submissions and event sponsors!
For tickets and more info visit >> www.mendohomebrewfest.com