Executive Director, Jessica Ridgeway with Watsonville Mayor, Felipe Hernandez
Farm Discovery launched our 10th year surrounded by friends new and old, family and committed supporters at our annual Fall Feast in the Fields Benefit, Farm to Sea.
The event featured a crew of amazing volunteers including 2008 alumni and educators from our first programs offered as a new non profit, board members new and old, new staff, old staff, Leaders in Training from our summer camp programs, Soquel High AVID students, talented local chefs, Andrea Mollenauer and Stephany Buswell and almost everyone brought along a family member to help as well.
We reached a new height in attendance of the event with about 180 fabulous community members celebrating the transformative impact Farm Discovery field trips, summer programs and events are having on our community.
We are inspired by our generous Farm Discovery Family who helped us meet our ambitions fundraising goal of $40,000. That plus the $23,000 in in kind contributions reflects the true community support given Farm Discovery to empower youth and families to build and sustain healthy food, farming, social and natural systems. Our expenses for the event are almost $0, which means 99+% of what we raised goes directly to pay for our programs.
We leave events like this bolstered and very aware of how interconnected we are as a community to each other and the land that feeds us. As Jessica said, “Together we can transform food, farming and natural systems for the better,” as a community.
We are empowered, strengthened and encouraged by you, our community. Thank you.
