Volunteer Profile: Full Circle Farm
As part of an occasional series on volunteers around the state, we visit a farm which grows organic produce and teaches kids about where food comes from. Reporter: Kristine Wong
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Check the Get Involved page for more volunteer opportunities. The Healthy Halloween Hoedown was a great hit! We had a ton of fun – you can read more in our November Newsletter. If you are the parent of a child that attended, email lilia at fullcirclesunnyvale.org for a link to all the kid photos. Thank you Lilia Schwartz for taking all these amazing photos!! Click here to see more photos.
The Full Circle Farm staff waited eagerly as they watched the first group of sixth graders make their way toward the garden from a distance. Once inside the gates the entire group circled up for some guidelines and farm rules. The kids actively participated; making suggestions for future farm visits such as bringing bottled water or wearing a hat and sunscreen. Before Ildi Carlisle-Cummins even revealed the neatly written sheet of rules the students had already pinpointed them all, most importantly rule number one: be respectful. After going over the rules with the class the students began their tour of the garden first with a quick lesson on composting and the help of a brave student volunteer.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Liz Snyder, Program Director Phone: 650-283-9360 Fax: 408-735-8166 Email: liz@fullcirclesunnyvale.org Sunnyvale, CA — Full Circle Farm’s 11-acres is managed by local nonprofit Sustainable Community Gardens and owned by Santa Clara Unified School District. This groundbreaking partnership, now just over a year old, was forged to create the new sustainable farm. As a unique educational space for district students, the farm will soon bring it’s fresh, healthy food to district cafeterias and outdoor education to both students and community. After a year of concentrated efforts from both staff and community volunteers, the farm’s very first harvest has just come out of the ground. “What can I say? This is as local as it gets!” said Cyrus Fahkari, a neighbor who walked to the farmstand’s opening on Monday with his wife Jesse to buy farm-fresh, pesticide-free zucchini and basil, “it’s the best thing I can feed my family, and it’s something I can do to support my community.” Apparently the community couldn’t agree more. Full Circle Farm launched its neighborhood farmstand on Monday June 21st, and the response has been tremendous. The farmstand – a makeshift collection of tables and tents adorned with hand-drawn signs and baskets overflowing with heirloom varieties of squash, cucumbers, and basil not found grocery stores – is now open weeknights from 5pm-8pm, and is run entirely by volunteers including the nonprofit’s board of directors. “It’s great to be out here with the community, sharing our bounty, making friends. This the whole reason for this place.” Said board member Josh Salans.
“CSA shares give the community the chance buy more than just produce – it’s a pride of place and ownership. It brings the farm’s seasonal rhythms into member’s kitchens, and into their family’s lives.” Said Sarah Weiderkehr, Full Circle’s Farm Manager, pictured here with the farm’s first zucchini. The farm’s first CSA season begins August 6th. For $300, anyone can buy a three-month CSA share, and the farm is also offering a limited number of low-cost shares and work-exchange opportunities to community members. Each Wednesday between 5-8pm, CSA members pick up their own specially prepared basket of produce. The CSA pickup also coincides with the farm’s volunteer night, so that members have the chance to help out on the farm and enjoy a potluck with their neighbors when they drop by. Only 40 shares are available in Full Circle Farm’s first season. Anyone interested in becoming a CSA member can contact CSA Coordinator Amie Frish at amie@fullcirclesunnyvale.org. Next the farm gears up for it’s newest crop – 360 sixth graders who will pilot the farm’s first educational programs in the Fall.
So we had some amazing kids from the JCC summer camp out on the farm the other day! Guided by Dan and Melissa, we explored the garden, planted and spread compost and weeded. We also made maps of the farm – the kids worked together in groups of three and four to plot the geography of the land, locate the fields, paths, and garden areas, and create keys with symbols for all the different plants and landmarks they encountered. It was fantastic fun, and we can’t wait to get more kids out on the farm this fall to explore, learn, and create!
We had our first day of planting today on the Farm! We got nearly 300 tomatoes and over 200 zucchinis in the ground. Sydney hand watered them all (no small chore!). Our drip irrigation is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, and we will be planting cukes and more tomatoes. Spading with the tractor has been difficult. The soil is very dry, even But the main point is that we have 8 whole beds planted! More of the same tomorrow. 12 hour field days, here we come! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 12, 2008 Contacts: Tabitha Kappeler-Hurley When: Wednesday January 14, 12:00 PM Where: 1055 Dunford Way, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 Why: Full Circle Farm, a project of local nonprofit Sustainable Community Gardens, is an 11-acre organic farm in the heart of Silicon Valley that provides education and volunteer opportunities to local school children and their neighbors. By bringing fresh, local food to district cafeterias and inspiring kids to get outside and get their hands dirty, Full Circle Farm will inspire students with a unique, hands-on celebration of health: healthy schools, healthy communities, and a healthy environment. This Wednesday, Full Circle Farm will turn the soil for the first time. This long-awaited event will allow farm staff and volunteers to plant the first cover crops – special plants that enrich the health of the soil – on Saturday the 19th. The ripping and disking of the soil will be carried out by independent contractor Ernie ________, who will bring his ________ out at the former sports field. His tractor will break up compacted soil and leave a rich, earthy loam in which to plant the farm’s first seeds. Neighborhood farms cultivate healthy bodies, a sound ecology, and strong communities. |
Full Circle Farm is an 11-acre sustainable, educational farm nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley.
The farm is located at: 1055 Dunford Way Sunnyvale, CA 94087 map Farm Stand Hours:Wednesdays & Fridays from 2pm to 7pm |
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Copyright © 2010 Full Circle Farm - All Rights Reserved. Full Circle Farm is a project of the 501c3 Sustainable Community Gardens. |
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Between 30 and 35 customers dropped by, mostly families coming on foot or bicycle, and the farm made it’s first $105 in produce sales. In the next couple of weeks huge numbers of insanely fresh tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, tomatillos, and melons will start rolling out, and that’s when the neighborhood farm will start its first season of community supported agriculture, commonly know as a CSA program.
where we irrigated with sprinklers. The sections that got a good watering worked very nicely and it tells me that in the future the spader will be quite good at essentially double digging a bed. For now we have to deal with what we have- which is really good in some places, not so good in others.