Past, Present, and Future

Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture Project started in 2000 as a small urban organic farm located in Sacramento, California. Our story began with two young and inexperienced organic farmers who had a dream and lots of ambition. Wanting to reconnect urban dwellers with healthy food and where it comes from, Marco and I put a hand written note in the mailbox of a local Sacramento resident asking if we could grow on her land in exchange for produce. The next day a deal was struck, and Soil Born Farms was born. Seven seasons later, filled with hard work and lessons learned, Soil Born has grown and matured beyond expectations.

After three years of growing and selling produce as a for-profit farm, Soil Born Farms received non-profit status in November of 2004 and began expanding its community role to combine healthy food production with education and food access projects. Based out of two urban farms and local school sites, our programs focus on promoting health and experiential learning opportunities for youth, producing healthy food, improving access to healthy food for all residents and modeling land and environmental stewardship. Beyond producing healthy, certified organic produce for our 40 share CSA and local stores, restaurants, and farmers markets, Soil Born has also developed and piloted several innovative education and food access programs in partnership with area agencies.

This 2008 season also marks the beginning of the development of our second urban farm site and permanent home. The American River Ranch is a 25 acre historic ranch located within the American River Parkway in Sacramento. This facility offers us the opportunity to expand our food production to more Sacramento residents, particularly those in underserved neighborhoods. The River Ranch also provides a wonderfully diverse landscape to engage both youth and adults in hands-on activities that educate and connect them with the natural world, healthy food, healthy eating, job and life skills, hard work, and service opportunities.

We hope this web site gives you some insight to who we are and what we do while motivating you to join us on this journey for a healthier Sacramento.

Sincerely,

Shawn Harrison
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture Project