FARM Fund – Growing San Juan County Food System
2025 FARM Fund Awards have been selected!
Thanks to the generous support of our community donors, the SJI Cares Campaign, the Pleiades Foundation, Orcas Island Community Foundation, Jodi Green and Mike Halperin we raised an incredible $40,000 this year to reinvest in our local food system through micro grants for commercial growers.
The steering committee reviewed 30 outstanding applications, totaling over $68,000 in funding requests.
We are excited to announce that the 2025 awardees will be revealed soon!
The FARM (Food, Agriculture, Relationships, Markets) Fund provides critical capital to farmers, producers, processors and distributors to implement projects that strengthen our local food economy. The Fund is committed to pursuing innovative ways to develop regenerative agriculture, increase the supply and availability of local food, and promote the financial viability of San Juan County farms and food businesses.
Grants
The FARM Fund will work with community partners to identify gaps in San Juan County’s food system and provide critical capital to farmers, distributors and producers in order to meet those needs.
This grant process supports building the capacity of San Juan County’s farms to make more local food available to our communities. The FARM Fund Grant Committee is committed to the principles of good grant-making, due diligence, and applying an equitable and transparent process. Awards are made for projects that are well-conceived and likely to be successful in meeting the above stated goals. Awards are made for projects that are able to begin immediately and that will positively impact the current growing season.
Background
The FARM (Food, Agriculture, Relationships, Markets) Fund was founded in 2015 by the Orcas Food Co-op and is now a county-wide program of the Ag Guild. The fund transitioned over to the Ag Guild from the Orcas Food Co-op in 2020 in line with long range goals to shift management of the fund to a neutral third party and make it a countywide program. Management by the Ag Guild has made it possible to accept tax deductible donations, helping to grow the fund’s impact through a combination of private donations and foundation grants, along with 1% of produce sales from the Orcas Food Co-op. The Ag Guild and Orcas Food Co-op continue to work together, collaborating with community partners to provide critical capital to farmers.
Past projects funded include hoop houses, trellis systems, fencing, farm tools, irrigation equipment, cool storage, and more. See past grant and loan awards here.
Donate!
The FARM Fund is actively seeking philanthropic gifts to fund future grant cycles to support our farming community. The FARM Fund is looking to expand the program and welcomes additional financial support.
To learn more, please email farmfund@sjiagguild.com or donate below.