CREATING A PATHWAY FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMS

Ranchito Milkyway Farm

Over the last few months, the Foodshed Resource Hub team has been hard at work on our Climate Smart Incentive Program. Made possible through a USDA Climate Smart Commodities grant, "CSIP" has a dual focus on building farm resilience through regenerative farming practices and establishing market channels that prioritize sourcing local produce to communities in need. We've partnered with Zero Foodprint to offer participating farms free compost, a vital resource for soil health and carbon sequestration. We are also collaborating with service providers throughout San Diego County to help farms develop Carbon Farm Plans: comprehensive strategies to enhance their regenerative agriculture practices. We get to provide all this as part of the program - plus provide bonus incentive payments to farmers who direct their produce to underserved populations.

Behneman Farm

With the recent completion of our enrollment period, we're excited to kick off our inaugural cohort, surpassing our target with 27 farms—encompassing nearly 200 acres of farmland!  We will re-open our enrollment in Fall 2024 to add even more farms to the program. We can't wait to see the impact this will have; check our website for quarterly updates!