News
Volume 1 of our quarterly PCF Dispatch has gone out! Click here to see the full newsletter and if you are interested in signing up, please visit this page.
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The Journey From Ranch to Plate will be held in downtown Petaluma on October 26, 2024 from 12:30 to 5:30pm. Our workshop spotlights regenerative ranching, butchery, and guidance on how consumers can join the thoughtfully raised meat movement. It concludes with a culinary gathering featuring locally sourced wine, beer, and an assortment of bites from some of the Bay Area’s most celebrated purveyors. Space is limited, so we encourage you to secure your spot! Scholarships are available, please click here to apply!
This event would not be possible without the generous support of:
Martha Stoumen Wines • Lagunitas Brewing Company • Flannery Beef • Marin French Cheese Co. • Laura Chenel • Stemple Creek Ranch • Journeyman Meat Co. • Bonjerk • Cult Crackers • Rustic Bakery • PRICEFILMS
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We are delighted to support the following California-based operations with our 2nd annual Micro-Grant Program:
• Judith and Chanowk Yisrael of @yisraelfamilyfarm in Sacramento •
• Ashley and Travis Vellis of @ashleysseafood in Arcata •
• Miguel Gastelum of @indigenousfarms in Placerville •
• Helena and Matthew Sylvester of @happyacrefarm in Sunol •
• Megan Strom and Juan Gonzalez of @mesaagricola in Carlsbad •
• Erin and Brennan Roscoe of @fox_sparrow_farm_petaluma in Petaluma •
We’ll share additional details about the winners in the new year…stay tuned!
We wish to express our deep appreciation to all who applied, we were humbled and inspired by your stories and the volume of applications. Looking forward to launching the third annual grant application in September of 2024.
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Our Giving Tuesday appeal is live! Donors contributing $75 and up will receive:
• PCF-branded Nalgene 16 oz. water bottle •
• A set of To Market cards by the lovely Bay Area artist, Maria Schoettler •
Please visit our Donate page to make a contribution, and it’s worth noting, all contributions are always used in full for our Micro-Grant Program, so you are directly helping small-scale California-based foodways operations succeed.
This gift package is valued at $45 including shipping and all donations are tax deductible. Our 2023 Giving Tuesday campaign runs from 11/28 to 12/3 and all gift packages will be shipped on 12/7.
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Thanks to all of our grant applicants! We are blown away by the quality and quantity of applications...
The 2nd annual application appeal closed on November 8, 2023. Our next round of applications will be accepted in September of 2024.
Winners will be contacted in late November and publicly announced in early December.
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2022 Highlights
In 2022, three interns were hired through the Pine Cone Foundation Internship Fund: Savannah Hill, Jesse Gonzales, and KP Pondolfino. The funding allowed the students to be hired for Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters at Shone Farm. This stable source of funding was especially appreciated by the students as they were able to work and take classes at Santa Rosa Junior College with a sense of job security. In total, the interns worked 2,160 hours and were paid a living wage of $18+/per hour.
Hukama Produce $3,380 Micro-Grant
The Pine Cone Foundation micro-grant allowed Hukama Produce to purchase a multitude of equipment to increase efficiency at this BIPOC-owned farm. The owner, Byron Nkhoma stated in his recap report, “The salad and kale spinner has been of great help so far, it is efficient and dries the product well. Dryer greens mean longer shelf life which has enabled us to be admitted into the Carlsbad School District for school lunches. Our supply of 160 lbs of kale per week makes 900+ servings for school kids, which we could not have accomplished without your funding.”
Casa Grande High School’s United Anglers $5,000 Grant
With the help of Pine Cone Foundation’s funding, UACG created a Rescue and Rearing Plan for endangered Steelhead Trout. With this strategy, they applied for and received a permit to authorize UACG to execute their conservation effort. The Rescue and Rearing permit allows students to collect/save any stranded Steelhead in the Petaluma watershed, perform tissue sampling, identify and understand rearing habitat, release them into the wild, potentially grant us access to new land, and improve our understanding of the species in our watershed. UACG currently has approximately 900 Adobe Creek Steelhead trout in their facility that would have perished due to the severe drought conditions California continues to face. With the new program, United Anglers students are eagerly taking action and UACG has evolved into a year-round operation, with students volunteering throughout the summer months.
• Leonard Vargas of @pixca.farm in San Diego •
• Zee Husain of @kula.nursery in Berkeley •
• Byron Nkhoma of @hukamaproduce in Ramona •
We will share additional details about the winners in the new year…stay tuned!
We wish to express our deep appreciation to all that applied, we were humbled and inspired by your stories and the volume of applications. Looking forward to launching the second annual grant application in September of 2023.
