Orcas Food Co-op Announces $10K Available for this Year’s FARM Fund Grants

— from Susannah Weaver for Orcas Food Co-op —

The San Juan County FARM Fund is a grant program started by the Orcas Food Co-op as a vehicle for increasing local food production and developing sustainable agriculture in San Juan County. “FARM” stands for Food Agriculture Relationships and Markets. Applications are now being accepted for the 2019 cycle. Producers throughout San Juan County are eligible to apply for grants up to $2,500. A total of up to $10,000 is available.

The San Juan Islands have a rich agricultural history and are experiencing a resurgence of local food and farming in recent years, with both the number of farms and total farm revenue on an upward trajectory. As the newly adopted Vision Statement for San Juan County states “Agricultural activities are essential to the health and well-being of our community, contributing to the social, economic and environmental fabric of our islands.” Despite recent gains, local food still accounts for only an estimated 2-3% of total food consumed in the islands, and many barriers exist that are holding producers back from meeting the demand.

One of the primary barriers to increasing production on farms is access to capital. In a 2017 survey conducted to assess Agricultural Viability in San Juan County, 80% of respondents reported “Cost of On-Farm Infrastructure” as a challenge and 64% reported “Access to Capital” as a challenge. (Agricultural Viability in San Juan County, San Juan Islands Conservation District)

Currently FARM Fund grants are funded by a combination of 0.5% of all Orcas Food Co-op Produce Department Sales, funds raised as part of the Orcas Food Co-op Community Hero Program and other community donations. 

Created in 2015, the fund awarded over $5,000 to six projects on Orcas Island in its first two years. 2018 was used as a development year in order to grow the fund and make it countywide. Learner Limbach, Orcas Food Co-op’s GM says, “This is the first time the FARM Fund will be available for producers throughout the county, and we are hoping to receive applications for projects on all the islands.”

Past recipient, Marta Nielson of Rainbow Chicken Ranch used the funds to successfully increase organic egg production. “We are grateful to have received a grant two years ago which helped us to improve our water storage system, enabling us to be a supplier of local organic eggs for the co-op.”

The grant submission process is simple, being only a few pages long with minimal reporting. Farmers need only describe their project and commit to an update about how the funding helped them.

In 2018 a relationship was established between the Orcas Food Co-op, Orcas Island Community Foundation, and Island Stewards, an Orcas-based non-profit, in order to make tax deductible contributions to the FARM Fund possible. The Co-op is calling on partners that support local agriculture such as nonprofits and businesses that sell local food to help grow the FARM Fund to reach the 5-year goal of 100k in grant distribution.

“We recognize that there is a much greater need in our islands than the fund can currently meet. We are really grateful to all the partners that have made this step possible including the Orcas Island Community Foundation, Island Stewards, the Orcas Island Chapter of the San Juan Island Rotary Club, and Rosario Resort,” said Limbach. “Our islands are enriched by a thriving local food system. The FARM Fund is one way we can all give back and ensure the ongoing viability of our farms.”

While the FARM Fund began as a project of the Orcas Food Co-op the ultimate goal is to have the fund managed independently of the co-op as the fund grows in size and garners additional sustainable funding sources. Limbach articulates that, “the partnership with OICF and Island Stewards at this stage is important because it means the fund can receive tax-deductible contributions. It’s also important to us that the funds be housed in a neutral third-party organization because we want the process to be fair and transparent for everyone involved. Our hope is that eventually the Orcas Food Co-op becomes just one of many partners in our community contributing to the fund year after year.”

The deadline to submit a grant application for the 2019 cycle is March 4. To apply for a FARM Fund grant or to learn more about the program, go to www.orcasfood.coop/farm_fund

To inquire about becoming a Sustainable FARM Fund Partner please email learner@orcasfood.coop.