Local farmland is disappearing at alarming rate.
We are helping to build food resilience in Summerland by providing organic produce, farm products, and homemade baked goods seven days a week. We expect our future Summerland farm and local farm stand to be one of the most important stakes for a town deprived of any healthy food. We have been farming the majority of our crop in Orcutt but believe that the most eco, sustainable and affordable way to farm is in the same community. Our purchase will ensure this 6-acre plot of land remain a community agriculture resource, open preserve, and education center for the children in our community
Video courtesy of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network
During the tragic mudslides of 2018, Summerland was cut off from the county’s food supply chain. Residents were left to fight over the last available food at the gas station and liquor store.
An oasis in a food desert.
A food desert is an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food, meaning a lack of grocery stores and farmer’s markets leave the citizens of Summerland with few options for fresh produce and healthy food.
Our residents median age is 63, double the
county average.
For there to be are local food source for seniors without transportation and medically unstable residents, as well
as Veterans, is unmeasurable.
More than 36% of our community is low-income rentals.
We deliver anonymously to any local that needs food, helping struggling and low-income wage earners. Contact us if you know of someone in need of help.
Local produce will always
be the freshest choice.
If we have no local ground to farm, we know we are less of a resilient community, less of a solution and less of a sustainable plan. A recent lease of the 6-acre plot of farm land in Summerland has helped pave the way for long term solution; however the land is now in peril of development. We have been farming in Orcutt but believe that the most eco, sustainable and affordable way to farm is in the same community.
Food justice is part of who we are.
Social justice is a vital tenet of our farm. The vast majority of us are separated from our food systems, and many of us don’t know the story behind our food. This distance allows violences and harmful production practices to maximize profits while putting communities and our environment at risk. In the Summerland farm’s social justice section, we highlight crops with the most horrific production in terms of environmental harm and human rights violations. While produce in the supermarket may rely on dangerous pesticide use, exploitative farmworker conditions and wages, and even slavery, we prioritize hyper-organic practices and a living wage for our employees. This section of the farm is also dedicated to food education for the local community. The US is one of few countries that does not include learning to grow food in its curriculum. By learning to pollinate, graft, and use other skills involved in the food that reaches their table, children gain confidence in their abilities, an understanding of the benefits of eating organically, and a sense of connection and belonging to their land and its gifts. We highlight on our website areas of food production to create a curriculum for elementary school students, and we look forward to continuing to educate the community about food justice on the farm.
Currently on the Farm:
Dry Farming
We have been part of OS dry farm and soil retention programs. We partnered with UC Davis on our farm in Orcutt for water systems and learned quite a bit for our Summerland Farm system.
Fertile Soil
We partnered with the USDA in soil mapping and attempted to enter their conservation program; but were told that we would need a 3 year lease opposed to the 18 month lease to be eligible for their pollinator and other programs. Purchase of this land (or an extended lease from the Carpinteria School District) would allow us to enter this program.
What we’re growing
After a successful first crop of pineapples and yekoro wheat, we have begun planting Heirloom corn, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, moringa, lettuces, potatoes, tomatillos, beans, herbs (including cumin and basil), squash, zucchini.