Farming
The Foundation is actively involved in creating a demonstration farm where young and established farmers and the community can deepen their relationships to the earth. Our first step was to create a demonstration farm by transforming the existing monocrop of strawberries, which had already been planted when the Foundation began leasing the farm in September of 2000, into row crops suitable to begin a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a direct relationship between the consumer and the farmers. It is an innovative approach to sustainability that connects people to the place they live and to the people in their community. It allows them to share the responsibility for stewardship of the land and its resources Shareholders receive a share of the Farm produce for a predetermined annual payment. Each week the shareholder receives a box full of our seasonal, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) -certified, organic produce direct from the Farm. The Farm distributes most of the produce through the CSA program. The CSA model of food distribution enables the community to partner with the farmers who produce their food, sharing in the risks and rewards of food production, and learning about the importance of healthy soils in producing nutritious foods.
Many members of the CSA group visit the Farm on a regular basis and spend time actually working with the crops and the soil. This involvement with the land and the production of food offers profound cultural, social and psychological benefits to the members of the public who are involved. The beautiful rural environment presents a respite from city life and introduces the young and the not-so-young to the wonders of plant growth and beauty of nature.
The Farm's function is to educate and demonstrate sustainable agriculture. Farm activities have a dual purpose: (a) the production of nutritious organic food, and (b) enhancement and conservation of the soil which demonstrating to the general public and other food producers in the region that farming can be sustainable when conducted using conservation-specific agricultural practices. The farming practices are common to certified organic and biodynamic programs that involve enhancement of the soil through application of prepared compost and herbal preparations, cover crops and maintenance of biodiversity.
The steady income generated by the CSA method of distribution helps protect the farmers against seasonal fluctuations in income resulting from adverse conditions, which have plagued farms from time immemorial. The CSA increased its members in 2002 to an average of 290 shareholders by serving the San Diego, Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange counties. By word of mouth and through our staff presentations to various organizations discussing this new option for purchasing superior organic food, our goal is to grow the CSA membership to 400. Although the majority of the farm produce is distributed to CSA members, the Farm continues to increase contracts for the sale of produce to health food stores, organic restaurants and farmers markets through which educational and outreach opportunities are made possible.