The FruitGuys Community Fund Fuels Small Farm Sustainability

SAN FRANCISCO, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The FruitGuys Community Fund today announced the 10 recipients of their 2016 small farm sustainability grants. More than $40,000 was awarded to farm projects that will help save bees, conserve water and energy, improve soil health, train future farmers, and feed and nurture the hungry. The FruitGuys Community Fund, a non-profit fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, supports farms, non-profits and policies that practice and promote sustainable agriculture.

This year, The FruitGuys Community Fund received a record 110 sustainable agriculture grant applications, a 55 percent increase from 2015.  The 2016 grant recipients will use the funds for projects ranging from organic cover crops and urban orchards to owl box and beehive installations. The winners include family-owned farms that produce certified organic meat and crops to farmers who donate produce to low-income and homeless individuals.

"Small sustainable farms are essential to today's changing agricultural landscape, where there is an increasing consumer demand for humanely-raised food," said Chris Mittelstaedt, Founder and Project Director of The FruitGuys Community Fund and CEO of The FruitGuys. "We are committed to supporting these farmers who are the catalysts for environmental and economic sufficiency, sustainability, food safety and food access."

The 2016 winners of The FruitGuys Community Fund Sustainable Agriculture Grants are:

• Buffalo Street Farm, Detroit, MI – an urban farm that supports the City Commons CSA.
• Butterbee Farm, Pikesville, MD – grows flowers, edibles and herbs.
• Canvas Ranch, Petaluma, CA – producers of heritage grains, fruits, vegetables, and wool.
• Casa Rosa Farms, Woodland, CA – produces certified-organic, pastured, and grass-fed beef, lamb, pork, and chicken; eggs, olives and specialty fruit.
• FARM Davis, Davis, CA – grows fruit and vegetables to be turned into meals for local low income and homeless people, who can also learn to farm.
• From The Ground Up Farms, Inc., Chico, CA – a nonprofit organization that operates 10 community garden farms located on the sites of homeless shelters, residential treatment facilities, women's shelters, youth homes and daycare facilities.
• Sunnyside Farm, Dover, PA – Pasture-raised beef, pork, and Thanksgiving turkeys; eggs, heirloom vegetables and edible flowers.
• Troy Community Farm, Madison, WI – runs a beginning farmer-training program and produces certified organic herbs, and cut flowers.
• Turtle Creek Gardens, Delavan, WI – growers of certified, organic vegetables.
• Two Boots Farm, Hampstead, MD - grows fruits and vegetables.

Please visit The FruitGuys Community Fund website for complete descriptions of the 2016 grantees and their projects. The FruitGuys Community Fund will issue its call for applicants for the 2017 grant cycle in December 2016.

About The FruitGuys Community Fund
The Community Fund evolved from The FruitGuys Farm Steward Program, which supported small farms' sustainability projects from 2008-2011 to aid small farms to remain competitive among large, corporate-run farms. The FruitGuys, is a South San Francisco-based private, family-owned and operated business that pioneered office fruit delivery.

Media Contact:
Tracy Rubin / Jill Fox
JCUTLER media group
[email protected] / [email protected]

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SOURCE The FruitGuys

Related Links

http://www.fruitguyscommunityfund.org