Toolkit for Farmers

Presently, there are over 35,000 CalFresh users in Sonoma County. Every month, over $5.3 million CalFresh dollars flow into Sonoma County and at most, only $3,800 of that goes to farmer’s markets, CSAs or farmstands. That’s 0.07% monthly (as of March, 2014)!

Why shouldn’t our local farmers capture more of this money?

Why shouldn’t all of our residents eat more locally grown, healthy food?

Please help make our local community, food system, and economy healthier by encouraging more farms to accept CalFresh (food stamps)! From now until September 30, 2014, farms can take advantage of a State program that provides certified farms with a FREE wireless EBT device valued at $1000.

-If you’re a farmer, check out the attached toolkit to see if getting a wireless EBT device makes sense for you.

-If you’re a farm and food advocate, please help us inspire our local farmers to sign up to accept CalFresh (food stamps).

-If you’re a community based organization involved or interested in food access, health and food system work, read our case studies about how you could play a role in food security and consider distributing to your contacts.

Click here to download the CalFresh toolkit for farmers, a two page toolkit to facilitate the process for interested farmers. Although the statistics and case studies emphasize Sonoma County, the concepts, funding and contacts are relevant to direct marketing farmers in all of California.

Please cross-post on your website, Facebook page, and disseminate widely. 

Petaluma Bounty’s Suzi Grady worked with Melita Love of Farm to Pantry, Elizabeth Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm, and Maggie Fleming of Transition US to create the CalFresh toolkit for Farmers as their final project for the Fellows Program of the Leadership Institute for the Ecology and Economy. To learn more about the process of creating the toolkit, go to their Prezi.

A big thank you to Angela Wooton of the Foodies Project, Dianne Padilla-Bates from the Department of Human Services, and the Sonoma County Department of Human Services for your unwavering support in making this idea a reality.

En Español-Recursos para la jardinería

iGROW Sonoma – iGROW es un programa que busca mejorar la salud de los residentes del Condado de Sonoma incrementando el acceso a alimentos saludables.  Con el programa iGROW, nosotros esperamos…

• Alentar a personas en todas partes del condado para que crezcan sus propias frutas y hortalizas
• Alentar  a personas para crear nuevos grupos y jardines comunitarios en su vecindario
• Conectar jardineros experimentados con aquellos que apenas comienzan
• Reforzar  nuestras comunidades, compartiendo los alimentos y nuestra habilidades de vida
• Ayudar a la gente para encontrar fuentes locales de alimentos saludables

El Condado de Los Angeles – Extensión Cooperativa