The West Marin Food Systems Group works collaboratively with schools, climate action groups, agriculture stakeholders, non-profits, government entities, health care practitioners, and safety net providers to increase access to healthy food for low-income residents and older adults in West Marin to create sustainable community food resilience within our unique foodshed. Our goal is to enhance policy, systems, and environmental changes by identifying available resources, leveraging the expertise of partnerships, and showcasing best practices.
Our key focus areas are School Wellness (Farm to School Programs and School Wellness Committees), Community Food (Older Adults: Medically Tailored Meals and Socio-entrepreneurial Support), and Farms and Gardens (West Marin Glean Team, Community Gardens, and a Foodshed Mapping Project). Check out our interactive foodshed map with farms, food pantries, and participating organizations.
Image courtesy of Ceres Community Project.
We support a sustainable foodshed – geographical areas between food production and consumption. Like a watershed, the foodshed concept encompasses the flow of food items from their origin to their destination. Alternatively, a foodshed is a geographic area that supplies food to a population center. The average distance food products travel in the United States is 1,300 miles. Many advantages can be derived from localized foodsheds within a 100-mile radius. You can find fresh food at your local farmers' market, a farmstand, and through a Community-Supported Agriculture program (CSA). These benefits include fresh foods that contribute to the local economy by supporting local farmers, ranchers, and food purveyors. In addition, reducing packaging and transportation resources reduces emissions, combats climate change, and reduces solid waste disposal issues. In Marin and Sonoma Counties, generational agricultural production and innovative and adaptive business practices have made the West Marin region a known food destination for food enthusiasts worldwide.
HIGHLIGHTS OF RECENT WORK
Image: Apple pressing with West Marin Climate Action at the Shoreline Harvest Fest, photo by Rosa Rodriguez.
Overview
CONGRATULATIONS to our school wellness leadership team for receiving the Marin Community Foundation Catalyst grant. This team has been meeting for almost one year, and within that time frame, the group has accomplished a lot. The grant will provide funding for the backbone support of the group, technical assistance on grant applications, and evaluation and assessment of menu planning and procurement. In support of this work, the Lagunitas School Board approved their partnership with Conscious Kitchen to move forward with a scratch-cooking meal program. We are thrilled to be facilitating this partnership! In addition, Nicascio and Shoreline were selected as HEAL Food Production sites. This work will help expand school garden education and support healthier, fresher school meals.
We look forward to bringing together our local farms to discuss crop planning for the upcoming school year.
Looking Back
Farm-to-School Feasibility Assessment
With help from Innovative Health Solutions, our members at all four school districts participated in a farm-to-school feasibility study. The assessment provided a road map for the region on steps to establish a region-wide farm-to-school program. As a result of the ongoing collaboration and the regional partners' focus on making changes to school meals, the districts applied for California Department of Education (CDE) funding that can support local food purchases and best practice work to improve scratch cooking. These funds ($178K), in addition to a California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Farm to School Grant that Shoreline received $150K, will be used to help improve the food service programming in the region.
Captain Planet School Garden Production Project
During the summer of 2021, under the leadership of Innovative Health Solutions, our partners participated in a summer growing program with the support of UC Cooperative Extension- Master Gardeners, Grow an Extra Row, and the Captain Planet Foundation. Our efforts supported Lagunitas and Bolinas-Stinson School gardens in growing food for community food pantry donations. The program harvested over 3,797 pounds of produce from school and community gardens across Marin County and then donated the food to local food pantries and community meal programs.
Training with Bolinas-Stinson, Lagunitas, Nicasio, and Shoreline Unified school districts' staff.
Eco Sorting Stations, Reusable Foodware, and SB1383
West Marin Food Systems continues to support the fabrication of the West Marin Climate Action’s Eco-Sorting Stations. This year, we will pair our youth and young adult support with older adults who have the time and expertise to support the fabrication of the eco-storting stations. This work is central to the Community Meals that we have facilitated with place-based partners who reserve the use of the Events Library, which was established in 2011 and is still used to produce Zero Waste Events with plates, cups, flatware, cloth napkins, and more. As reuse is promoted, we still use the eco-sorting stations to provide direction to the consumer to create clean compost, clean recycling, and no landfill.
We continue to provide technical assistance for place-based partners who need to update their food and beverage policies to comply with SB 1383. We invite our members to contact our WMFS team to reserve the Events Library materials for community meals you will produce in the year ahead. Please contact our team if you want to conduct a waste audit and find solutions for your organization.
Ceres Medically Tailored Meals for Older Adults
In partnership with Ceres Community Project, we bring medically tailored meals to seniors and residents with chronic conditions. The recipients benefit from eating foods designed explicitly for their diagnosis and the additional complications that come with that illness (i.e., treatment side effects and comorbidities). Medically tailored meals help the most vulnerable in our West Marin communities. The program functions in the healthcare space as a part of a patient’s treatment plan. The ingredients for the meals are 100% organic and locally sourced. Our team has supported the program's rollout in West Marin through the following phased approach. During March, San Geronimo residents received their first meal deliveries.
We look forward to serving more and expanding the program in other areas of the region.
Socio-Entrepreneurial Support
We are excited to see that one of our prior and ongoing projects is gaining momentum, supported by the County of Marin’s Office of Equity. They will release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Microenterprise Support Program (MSP) in the Summer of 2024. Their team is asking for service providers, community members, and other stakeholders to share insights related to micro-enterprises in Marin County. Please share your insights and expertise regarding ways to expand equitable access to small-scale food businesses for BIPOC entrepreneurs by attending one of these listening sessions via Zoom:
Please register here: https://marincounty.jotform.com/241136177913860.
For more information, contact Gary.Besser@MarinCounty.gov.
We are so pleased to see this request for input before they send out the RFP. Let’s make it count!
Community Meal with West Marin Climate Action-Electric Vehicle Expo at Toby's.
West Marin Glean Team
The West Marin Glean Team is a West Marin Food Systems Group project in partnership with ExtraFood, UC Cooperative Extension, San Geronimo Valley Community Center, and West Marin Climate Action. The Team works with food pantries, schools, and older adult housing sites to donate gleaned produce and products. We recently combined our farm gleaning efforts with Share the Bounty residential gleaning efforts aimed to pick up and harvest surplus produce from farms and residential gardens. The food is then directed to older adult housing sites, food pantries, and local schools that serve community members in need. Contact us if you are interested in volunteering or having us support you with a residential and/or farm glean. Please print and share our fliers with your network.
As of April 2024, our efforts resulted in the following:
Marin Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL): West Marin Community Action Team (CAT) and Food Production
The Marin-HEAL-West Marin Community Action Teams initiative, spearheaded by the San Geronimo Valley Community Center on behalf of Marin County Health and Human Services, collaborates with key partners, including West Marin Food Systems, West Marin and Nicasio Schools, and EAH-Walnut Place and Point Reyes Affordable Housing. This year's funding prioritizes local capacity building, garden infrastructure, program planning, and train-the-trainer opportunities. We aim to enhance food production across three project sites, with funding earmarked for partner-driven projects. Objectives span growing, processing, and weighing food, providing garden support, addressing food security for older adults, and initiating crop planning for school meals. Surplus food will benefit individuals associated with each project, local food pantries, older adult facilities, and community members.
Projects will undergo training via UC Cooperative Extension and receive guidance from SGVCC and West Marin Food Systems to ensure successful implementation and quality assurance.
West Marin Food Systems, in partnership with West Marin Climate Action, Redwood Memorial Lions Club, and Lions Club of West Marin, supports Sembrando Vida! We welcome this new project partner and look forward to supporting its potential.
In the News
Point Reyes Light's article about Sembrando Vida on page 4 was published on March 28, 2024. Read article >
A recent glean at Commonweal in Bolinas.
Are you interested in becoming a West Marin Glean Team member, or are you a farmer who wants to participate in gleans?
Agricultural Institute of Marin
Bolinas Community Center: Feed the People
Bolinas-Stinson Union School District
Commonweal Garden: Natura Institute for Ecology and Medicine
County of Marin (West Main HEAL Community Action Teams)
Ecumenical Affordable Housing (EAH): Walnut Place
ExtraFood
Fresh Run Farm
Future Farmers of America
MALT (Marin Agricultural Land Trust)
County of Marin HHS: West Marin Multi-Services Center
Marin School and Community Garden Network
Petaluma Health Center- Coastal Health Health Alliance
San Geronimo Valley Community Center
Shoreline Unified School District
The West Marin Food Systems Group is an Innovative Health Solutions project established in 2020. Third I Communications backs the group, and the leadership team is led by Launch for Hire Consultants in partnership with San Geronimo Valley Community Center and the Marin Child Care Council.
Grants from the Marin Community Foundation, Marin County Public Health Department, Healthy Eating Active Living, and the West Marin Fund support this program.
A BIG Thank you to West Marin Fund for supporting the development of our strategic plan.
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