Cultivating Community Goals & Objectives:

Cultivating Community is a multifaceted project supported by a 2011 California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Grant and awarded to the CSUC Research Foundation. It aims to increase food security by serving the Specialty Crop food economy and system needs of low-income residents, local growers, and service agencies.  Cultivating Community’s primary partners include GRUB Education Program, OPT for Healthy Living, CSUC’s Organic Vegetable Project, and cChaos, a small farmers market network.

Click here to view a PDF of Cultivating Community’s Brochure

  • Strengthen Local Food Security

    • Increase community education and direct participation in our local farm-to-fork food webs
    • Collaborate with local organizations devoted to food security, with community service-learners, and with experts in organic growing, edible city building, and fresh food preparation
    • Link local growers, under-resourced populations, and help-agencies in a collective effort

  • Support Community Gardens

    • Help expand existing community gardens, and start new ones
    • Enliven derelict and unused urban properties

  • Support Small Farmers

    • Provide outreach to new and young farmers
    • Assist small farmers markets serving low-income growers and areas with up-front operational costs

  • Provide Workshops

    • Offer on-site instruction in high-yield, low-cost organic farming in urban and rural environments
    • Bring culinary exhibitions to urban farming workshops and  to farmers markets to demonstrate low-cost, ethnically rich techniques to prepare and preserve produce

  • Promote Local, Healthy Use of Nutritional Assistance Funds

    • Provide technical assistance to farmers markets and Community-Supported Agriculture businesses (CSA’s) in becoming EBT-enabled (i.e., to accept CalFresh cards)
    • Provide a variety of incentive events and activities to bring CalFresh/EBT recipients to farmers markets and CSA’s

  • Support Lower-Income Residents

    • Creatively increase the availability of locally grown produce
    • Promote participation in Farmers’ Markets and CSA’s
    • Provide nutritious food to those most in need
    • Decrease isolation associated with economic stress