California Farm2Food Program

The California Farm2Food Program supports Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and women small-scale farmers and food entrepreneurs by providing practical tools and knowledge to increase income stability and resilience to unpredictable market events.

Research shows that value-added production, the act of processing raw agricultural goods into finished products such as food or beverage products, can increase farmers’ profitability, increase shelf stability of products, expand the market season, increase farm visibility, and allow them to enter new markets.

The Farm2Food California Program immerses participants in a community of experts and peers while working through modules that take the uncertainty out of diversifying  production. Best of all: all the tools and knowledge can apply to your current production.

“EVERY DETAIL of this course was top notch.”

“To hear from and talk directly with well information experts in their designated areas of the sales process was precious.”

- Cetta Barnhart, Seed Time Harvest Farms, Florida 2022 Farm2Food Graduate

Participants can Expect

  • To be connected to a community of farmers, entrepreneurs, and food experts

  • A unique opportunity to learn how to launch a food or beverage product

  • To ask questions and get answers from experts and peers through an online discussion forum and 1-on-1 consultations

  • To participate in live weekly discussions with experts and guest speakers

  • Hands-on experience in researching and understanding the commercial opportunity of your product

  • To gain knowledge on how to prepare and preserve specialty crops

  • To learn about prevention, detection, control, and intervention food safety practices and increase your food safety skills and knowledge by establishing or improving your food safety plan

  • To gain new skill sets and knowledge related to lab testing, packaging, pitching to buyers and more!

“The Farm2Food Accelerator was a space that managed to feel both professional and personal. Each week I felt inspired to innovate and better the products that I have been working on.”

- Crystal Leon, The Radish Hotel, Nevada 2022 Farm2Food Graduate

program STRUCTURE

Participants will complete 15 weeks of coursework, including:

  • Weekly online topic-based modules. Modules include introductory information on the topic for that week, an activity to help you apply the information to your business and any relevant resources. Participants should anticipate dedicating 2 – 6 hours per week depending on the module topic.

  • Weekly 75-minute live, online, lunchtime discussion with experts, guest speakers and fellow participants on the week’s module topic.

  • 1-on-1 consultations with food experts based on your product/business needs.

  • Attendance at an in-person educational and networking event for highly engaged participants

All weekly live discussions will take place on Wednesday at 12 - 1:15 PM PST from November 1, 2023 to March 20, 2024 with breaks for the holidays.

For details on module topics, please visit the curriculum page.


Interested?

Applications closed October 9th, 2023 at midnight PST. Thank you to all that applied and congratulations to our California 2023-2024 Farm2Food cohort!


Cost

Cost: Free (registration fees generously provided through our funding - see below)




ELIGIBILITY

We ask participants to focus their application on one value-added food or beverage product for human consumption and must have that recipe ready before the start of the program. Ideal participants are currently selling through farm stands, farmers markets or direct-to-consumer. Participants will continue to refine the recipe throughout the program, but this way the participants can immediately apply the curriculum and get the most out of the program.

Selection will prioritize the following eligibility criteria; although, all California-based farmers and/or food entrepreneurs who are interested are encouraged to apply. 

California-based farmers and/or food entrepreneurs:

  • Refining or developing a food or beverage product that includes specialty crop ingredients grown in California as defined by USDA (i.e., fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts). Your product must be 51% or more specialty crop ingredients as measured by weight.

  • Own or help manage a small-scale farm or food business with less than $500,000 in annual gross sales and less than 20 part-time and/or full-time employees annually.

  • Identify as a female and/or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color)




QUESTIONS

Email Chris Jones at chris.jones@nasda.org. 




Partners

Thank you to our partners!

 
 
 

Funding

Funding for the Farm2Food Accelerator: Energizing Growth for California’s Socially Disadvantaged Specialty Crop Producers project was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant 21-0001-066-SF. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.