October Newsletter

Written By Bethany Lee
 
 

Alumni Receive $5.3M in Grant Awards

Join us in congratulating the farmers chosen by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for the Farm to Community Food Hubs Grant Program. Our alumni made up 3 of the 12 farms selected for the grant: Anna Knight of Old Grove Orange, Mariela Buenrostro of Raul & Family Farms, and Veronica Mazariegos-Anastassiou of Brisa Ranch.

This seismic success is entirely due to the brilliance, resilience and ingenuity of the participating farmers, each of whom was able to workshop these projects during the 2025 Strategic Sprints.

2026 Strategic Sprints: Entrepreneurial Workshops for Regenerative Farmers

We received more applications than ever for our 2026 Strategic Sprints. 140+ farmers applied to our four workshops: more than double the amount from last year and even more evidence that farmers are equipping themselves to become food system change-makers.

The quality of experience, ambition, vision, and tenacity in the farming projects that have applied is astounding. These farmers are the stewards of the systems that keep us alive, and we’re endlessly grateful that they’ve chosen to share their bounty with us.

Celebrations of the Summer

Glynwood Center for Regional Food & Farming will build a Granary on site

Thanks to a Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grant, Glynwood will build a vital piece of infrastructure that will provide aggregation, storage, co-packing, distribution, and educational services to grain producers throughout the region. The Granary will facilitate grain distribution from at least 44 regional organic farms to over 30 markets.




Healing Soils Foundation is advocating for a food system that works for people, planet, and producers

Huge shout-out to Sarah Franz from Healing Soils Foundation, who is speaking at RFSI Forum and Bridge2Food this month, raising the mic for Midwestern farmers and spotlighting why regenerative agriculture is essential infrastructure for our food future.




Pie Ranch celebrated its 20th anniversary in Pescadero, CA

Last Saturday, we joined Pie Ranch to celebrate two decades of systems-level communication and partnership to build resilience, equity, and resources in support of our families and communities. We’ll be partnering with Pie Ranch for our monolingual Spanish program in the fall of 2026.




Meet our new Program Director!

Faith Shaeffer comes to us from nearly a decade of work in agriculture and sustainability programming. She recently served as the Farmer Leadership & Advocacy Manager at National Young Farmers Coalition, a farmer-led, grassroots network shifting power and changing policy to equitably resource the new generation of working farmers.




Art Farm has officially opened its doors

Saturday, September 27th marked the official launch of Art Farm at West Dry Creek, a non-profit retreat and residency program in Healdsburg, CA, offering artists, regenerative farmers, and community members a space to create, connect, and innovate around ecosystem health and climate solutions, as well as the site of a Strategic Sprint in 2026. Learn more about Art Farm’s commitment to the health of humanity and the planet on their website.




Vera Fabian at Ten Mothers Farm

Alumni Highlight




Vera and her partner, Gordon, came to farming from a love of food and cooking. Vera attended the Strategic Sprint in 2020, and since then their farm has grown from 120 CSA shares to 310 shares, using compost, cover crops, beneficial habitats, and high tunnel upgrades to improve their yields.

“FARMpreneurs gave me the confidence to get beyond the start-up years and to take our business more seriously. This program marked a turning point in our farming career where we were able to grow the farm in ways we hadn't originally thought possible.”

—Vera Fabian




This month, we invite you to:

  • Attend a Climate Farm School course to experience on-farm learning, locally-sourced food, and a community of reciprocity

  • Follow the Food Policy Debrief to stay up-to-date on policy changes

  • Read…

    • The Republic of Tea, a story about the challenges of launching a business rooted in meaning, not just profit

    • You Are Amazing Like a Rocket, which invites readers to reclaim hope through the eyes of young people

    • The Farmer’s Office, a hands-on guide for farm-entrepreneurs seeking financial clarity and sustainability

    • Hospicing Modernity, a radical call to unlearn entitlement, confront complicity, and respond more humbly to profound systemic crises

  • Buy from a local farmer, sign up for a CSA, or put your hands in the soil to stay nourished and connected

Bethany Lee