Youth Leader Inspires Environmental Stewardship

Sophia Qin met The HEAL Project while in high school when she founded her own environmental nonprofit organization (Light Earth’s Destiny) and published her book “Becoming Earth 2.0: A Glimpse at Earth…and Us in 2100” Her focus on environmental education brought her to the San Mateo County School Farm to meet HEAL Project summer camp students and talk to them about the environment.

Sophia, it's so good to to talk with you about our favorite topics of youth leadership, outdoor education and sustainability. Would you describe your connection to The HEAL Project?

The HEAL Project’s mission deeply resonated with my own mission, and I was especially drawn to The HEAL Project’s outdoor education program, which nurtures kids into responsible Earth stewards. I saw a perfect opportunity for collaboration, so I reached out to offer hosting a workshop where I could share my book with the campers. As a youth myself, I hope I can inspire more people my age to get involved by sharing my journey in environmental activism.

Would you like to tell our readers about your visit to our farm? You read to our farm camp students from your book "Becoming Earth 2.0"

I really enjoyed my visit to The HEAL Project! It was empowering to see so many students, across all ages, actively engaging with topics on conservation and sustainability. My visit included an interactive lesson followed by a reading session. I prompted many questions to these campers, such as what is plastic pollution? or, what causes global greenhouse gas emissions? and was surprised to receive so many eager responses! I felt proud that more youth are reflecting on how their actions impact the environment. This motivated me to continue boosting environmental literacy. I passed out copies of my book to campers who participated. Afterwards, Donya [Programs Manager at The HEAL Project] sent me pictures of them holding my book with excitement—definitely the highlight of my day.

Since we last met, how have your projects evolved? What new things are you working on now?

One of my most important passion projects in high school was hosting the environmental education workshops I did with The HEAL Project. Through this project, I reached more than 1,500 students and 80 educators, and many reached out afterwards with positive feedback! Now I am guiding two high schoolers from my nonprofit organization to continue this initiative; one is sharing her documentary on the sustainable energy transition, and another is discussing his conservation project in Costa Rica. Another group of students from my nonprofit organization is designing an app (Showr Smartr) that encourages users to reduce shower times and tracks their water usage.

Sophia, you're now a freshman at Stanford and running a nonprofit organization to help youth learn and leverage their skills. You’ve been involved with environmental stewardship since middle school and high school. What makes you excited for a hopeful and optimistic future? 

I think when many discuss topics about climate change or environmental issues, they feel a sense of despair. However, I think fear leads to inaction and inhibits necessary change, which is why I want to encourage practical optimism. This was the core message of my book, to educate readers about environmental issues, and introduce them to promising green technology we can harness to address these challenges. I gave a TEDx talk featuring some of these green technologies more in depth, such as lab-grown meat and nuclear fusion. As someone seeking to be at the forefront of building a more sustainable future, I not only want to be informed about the issues, but also the many, many opportunities to be part of the solution. Everyone, from scientists to economists and policymakers to academics, has a role in our sustainable future, and this is what excites me most. I see the potential in every student to become one of these change makers, and that is why I am so passionate about environmental education. 

What is your favorite thing to eat right now?
One of my favorite snacks is apples with almond butter!

Soil + water

"Dirt is what you get under your finger nails. 

Soil is what we stand on and plant in." 

Soil and water infographic

Spotlight on HEAL Teachers

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

A springtime garden classroom tour of THP’s Intensive Garden Program students and educators in their school gardens

The Colors of Food

Winter Vegetables Come in All Colors

By Summer Williams

At The HEAL Project students learn how important it is to eat a wide variety of colorful produce – they learn to “eat the rainbow.” Focusing on a wide range of colors will increase your intake of various nutrients and benefit your health.

The eye-catching colors of the fruits and vegetables we eat are important to our diet. Colors come from phytochemicals in plants that work together with vitamins, minerals, and fiber for numerous health benefits. The most vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables are the richest in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants.

Red

Red fruits and vegetables such as raspberries, radishes, red bell peppers, red onions, and cranberries are packed with vitamins C & A, potassium, and antioxidants. They are high in lycopene, which can lower your risk of cancer as well as heart and lung disease.

Yellow & Orange

Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables abound during the fall and winter months— apples, bananas, carrots, persimmons, winter squash, pineapple, sweet potatoes, yellow peppers, tangerines, mango, and pumpkin.

The yellow and orange colors in produce are created by carotenoids and contain vitamin C, vitamin A, and potassium— nutrients that help  reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and vision problems, and boost the immune system. Beta-carotene is a carotenoid that your body uses to produce vitamin A, so it’s important to have in your diet. 

White & Brown

The health benefits from white vegetables come from anthoxanthins, with its antioxidant properties. Other white foods like garlic contain allicin, which can help lower the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, and heart disease. Many white fruits and vegetables are very good sources of potassium, vitamin C, folate, niacin, and riboflavin. Mushrooms, onions, cauliflower, garlic, leeks, parsnips, and daikon radishes are some of the white and brown vegetables that can be found in the fall and winter months. They are delicious and nutritious.

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Summer Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in nutrition and dietetics from San Francisco State University. A certified personal trainer and certified health coach, Summer is an intern at The HEAL Project this year.

Use Ugly Vegetables - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...

“If you see a beet with teeth marks, just cut it off and use it. Use Ugly Food” - Students imagined an ad campaign to support using ugly vegetables, based on their observations at The HEAL Project field trip to the San Mateo County School Farm.

The HEAL Project & the California Drought

The drought is very serious in California, and we were lucky to catch up with our farmer Fiona Benjamin to find out about water conservation at the San Mateo County School Farm.

Fiona has a degree in Sustainable Agriculture from UC Davis, and is a native of the Coastside.

THP: What are we doing to manage our water resources during the hot dry summer?

Fiona B.: I decided to cut out growing corn this year- it's a thirsty crop and I wanted to be forward thinking about our water needs in the late summer.

THP: We see that inland temperatures are so much hotter than on the coastside.

Is our local zone more “water-friendly?” How does the San Mateo County School Farm benefit from the unique coastal climate? 

FB: This is a much more gentle climate on the farmers and plants than warmer inland areas.  It's not much, but the plants can even water themselves from marine-layer drip. 

Fog gathers on the leaves and drips down the stems.  But mostly, because it's less hot the plants transpire less water, and less evaporates from the soil, reducing our needs overall.  

THP: What kinds of things does a farmer do to conserve water, in terms of planting, irrigating, harvesting?

FB: Drip irrigation, watering more deeply less often, and mulching all help reduce water usage.  

THP: What types of food crops and flowers are best suited to the new normal of less rain?

FB: Lots of crops can be watered only once per week or even "dry farmed."  The latter means to water a plant until it's established and then let it fend for itself by foraging deep in the soil profile for water. 

We dry farm grain, beans, and tomatoes here.  

THP: We love dry-farmed tomatoes — they are so tasty! What time of year is the most “thirsty” for the farm?

FB: Late summer. We use surface water that is replenished by winter rains, so by the end of the summer we are at the lowest amount. It can be hard to estimate how long water supplies will last.

Leading Ladies of the Coast

Young Leaders Step Up

The Next Generation of Women Take Charge on the Coastside

By August Howell / Photos by Adam Pardee - HMB Review - Coastside Magazine May-June 2022

We’re proud to see two of our brightest stars featured on the cover of Coastside Magazine. Fiona Benjamin and Donya Foley both joined The HEAL Project as field trip educators in 2018 and 2019, soon after they graduated from UC Davis. They’ve since been promoted, Benjamin to farm manager and Foley to programs manager. Together, the two have been critical to The HEAL Project’s growth ever since, said executive director Amy Bono. 

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Intensive Gardening Program

At The HEAL Project (THP) we were thankful to resume our Intensive Garden Program (IGP) lessons in person for third graders after a year of remote garden learning.  What’s more, THP offered IGP at all four elementary schools in the Cabrillo Unified School District for the first time in our history! Enjoy the overview and images below of Hatch students and their IGP Educator, Emily Cheng, as they enjoyed 13 activity-filled weeks together in IGP. 

Week 1 - Tacos de Papas 

Our Fall season of the Intensive Garden Program began with 3rd graders in the last week of August. The students had a blast exploring the garden, harvesting fruit and vegetables, and making their own food. In the first week, students discussed the anatomy of a potato (it's a stem, not a root!), planted their own potatoes, and made tacos de papas. 

Week 2 - Insect Mouthparts 

The second week, students learned about beneficial insects and made a strawberry ladybug. We learned about insect mouth parts: we used party-blowers to act out how butterflies use their proboscis to suck nectar from flowers, straws to mimic mosquitos, sponges to soak up liquid like flies, and our own tongues to lap up food like bees.

Week 3 - Food Chain 

The third week, students learned about food chains, began garden chores, and had a chamomile tea party.

Week 4 - Companion Planting 

Students learned about companion planting — how plants help one another grow and thrive — and made garden-fresh salsa with Hatch Elementary-grown tomatoes.

Week 5 - Planting Seeds

This week students learned how to properly plant seeds in the garden.  They were so eager to see the seeds sprout!  Students taste tested three radishes:  red, daikon, and wild.  We voted with sticky notes to see which type we liked best. 

Week 6 - Plant Parts Tacos

This week, we prepared for our Field Trip to Giusti Farms by talking about the lifecycle of a pumpkin plant and discussing which parts of plants we eat. We put this information to use when we created plant parts tacos from our own Hatch garden!

Week 7 - Compost & Field Trip 

This week, students learned about composting and the decomposing power of the FBI: fungus, bacteria, and invertebrates. For our tasting, students tried the humongous chilacayote squashes that have been growing in our garden. Students enjoyed a Field Trip to Giusti Farms, long-time supporters of The HEAL Project.  It was fun seeing enthusiastic students and lots of parents participate in the fun. 

Thank you to the Giusti’s for hosting us!

Week 8 - Fall Planting & Soil Prep

This week, students tilled the soil, added compost to the garden beds, planted seeds and seedlings. We planted carrots, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, fava beans, dragon tongue beans, and rainbow chard. Students learned how to use Square Foot Planting Guidelines to help them know how much room a plant needs in order to grow. For our tasting, students sampled strawberry and redcurrant jam. We talked about how jam is a way we can preserve fruit for later usage.

Week 9 - Lunch Bag Ecology & Saving

This week, students saved seeds and learned how the seed is produced in the plant. We discussed where their food comes from with a fun "lunch bag ecology" exercise. We also got to make a fun and healthy snack from our garden harvest: veggie omelets.

Week 10 - The Great & Powerful Worm 

This week, students learned about the great and powerful worm! We discussed the worm anatomy, lifecycle, and burrows. We identified a ton of egg sacs in our worm composting bin, then named and measured some of the worms we found (the longest was 7 inches!). We harvested Brussel sprouts and purple potatoes. And for our tasting, we sampled fuyu persimmons - a yummy fall treat! 

Week 11 - Let’s Talk about Bees 

This week, we learned all about bees - how they turn nectar into honey, how they communicate with each other using the waggle dance, and their role as pollinators. Students did a honey tasting, comparing raw, local honey to store-bought honey. The winner by a landslide was the local honey from The HEAL Project Farm’s bees!

Week 12 - Slow Go Woah Foods 

This week, students learned the value of eating a diverse rainbow of colors of fruits and vegetables. They learned which are the best foods to eat for different parts of their body and created posters to “advertise” healthy foods.

Week 13 - Graduation!
Classmates wrapped things up by sharing the importance of eating a variety of healthy foods and reflected on their time spent in the garden. THP gave an assessment to understand how students’ learning progressed in the 13 weeks spent together. Finally, students celebrated their time in IGP over a bowl of student-made vegetable soup.

We have begun Spring 2022 IGP at all four schools with 2nd graders, and we look forward to Garden Club with 4th and 5th grade students!

DIY Food Facials for you & loved ones this Holiday Season!

                         Food Facials by Ashley Sandhu

The HEAL Project grows healthy kids from the ground up, by teaching them where their food comes from; The connection between where our food is sourced and how our food plays a huge role in our health. Our bodies use this food, as an energy source to fuel our bodies. The saying is true, “We Are What We Eat” but why is that? This is because our body is made up of trillions of cells, we are cells! These cells utilize energy, in the form of food to perform their daily functions. Our bodies work like a car, if you put bad fuel in your car, it will not perform well and may even break-down; The same can be said about our bodies.

Now, how is this even related to a food facial!? Did I just go on a rampage and now you’re tempted to close the window on your screen? No, don’t do that! The skin is our bodies largest organ, comprised of cells. As discussed, cells utilize energy, in the form of food to carry out daily functions. Saying that, we shouldn’t be putting just any skincare products on our face. That is where The HEAL Project comes in, to show you that the food products can also be used on the outside for healthy skin.

Food Facial # 1 - Coffee Exfoliator

In order to have the healthiest appearing skin, you need to exfoliate. Why? Because we have dead skin cells on the surface of our skin. This build-up can stop the ingredients from penetration the other layers of our skin, thus we will see no results.

Ingredients:

·    1 tbsp spent coffee grounds from your morning brew

·      1 tsp honey

·      Bowl of hot water that is still steaming

Instructions: In a small bowl, combine the coffee grounds and honey. Apply to face, neck, and chest. Place your face and neck above the steaming water, no closer than 9 inches, to open pores for approximately 3-5 minutes. Gently scrub the coffee mask into your skin, to remove dead skin cells. Wash off with a warm rag. 

Tips:   Use the old coffee grounds from the filter. Can you say, upcycling?

Be very careful with steam! Steam can cause severe burns.

Food Facial # 2 - Brightening Mask

 This mask is one of our favorites! A great pick-me-up when you need something to brighten up your day.

 Ingredients:

·      1 tsp lemon juice

·      4 spinach leaves, pureed

·      1 egg white, to tighten the skin

·      ½ tsp turmeric powder

 Instructions: In a small bowl, combine spinach, egg white, lemon juice and turmeric powder; Mix until thoroughly combined. Apply to face, neck, and chest. Leave on for 15-20 minutes!

Optional Tip : Sit with face above steam while this mask is on your face as above!

Use egg yolk to enrich a scramble.

Food Facial # 3 - Hydrating Mask

This mask is great for individuals with dry skin!

Ingredients:

·      2 Tbsp aloe vera gel, scrapped from leaf

·      1 tsp rose essential oil

Instructions: In a small bowl, combine aloe vera gel and rose essential oil; Mix until thoroughly until combined. Apply to face, neck, and chest. Leave on for 15-20 minutes!

Food Facial # 4 - Manuka Honey Spot Treatment

 Dark spot? No problem! Apply this at night and don’t take it off until the morning.

Ingredients:

·      1 Tbsp manuka honey

Directions: Apply manuka honey to dark spots. Leave on throughout the night and wash off with warm water in the morning.

 The HEAL Project hopes you love these Food Facials as much as we do! If you are plan on creating all facials, please follow them in order for best results!

Intern Spotlight - Meet Ashley Sandhu

Meet Ashley Sandhu, San Francisco State University Graduate interning with THP!

Adrianna - “Tell us a bit about yourself! Education, employment, hobbies!”

Ashley - “Hi everyone! My name is Ashley Sandhu and I graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.S. in Dietetics. After graduating, I was accepted into SFSU Dietetic Internship program, to pursue my goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Along with assisting with amazing projects at The HEAL Project, I am also a Dietary Aide at Alameda Hospital and work on a sparkling water and hand sanitizer start-up. When I am not working, I enjoy hanging out with my family and friends, hiking, and reading a good book.”

Adrianna - “How did you become involved with matters of environmental stewardship? What sparked your environmental passion?”

Ashley - “ I have always had a desire to protect our home, the earth. One way I have done this is by reducing my usage of one-use items, such as plastic bags, straws, cups, etc. I have also made it a mission, in my start-ups, to use 100% recyclable materials. Learning about the devastating effects of global warming, was one entity that sparked my environmental passion; I want to do everything in my power to reduce the effects of global warming and protect our earth.”

Adrianna - “ How did you hear about The HEAL Project?”

Ashley - “ I heard about The HEAL Project through my Director at San Francisco State University. As a Dietetic Intern, we must complete a Community, Foodservice, and a Clinical rotation. My director told me about an amazing, community rotation opportunity with the The HEAL project and I immediately jumped on it!”

Adrianna - “ What will you be working on during your time with The HEAL Project?”

Ashley -  “During my time with The HEAL Project, I will be creating and teaching nutrition curriculum at the Harvest Camp. I will also be assisting with field trips at the farm and miscellaneous projects. I am happy to help wherever I can!”

Adrianna - “ What do you hope to take away from this experience? Will you be able to implement things learned with THP into roles you currently have?

Ashley - “I hope to take-away more experience creating nutrition curriculum and teaching children the importance of nutrition. I would also love to learn more about agriculture, since this is something I am very interested in, but have not had the opportunity to learn more about, until now. I have never taught nutrition education, in person, to young children. As a result, I will be able to implement things I have learn from this experience in both my future career and upcoming rotations.”

We have loved having Ashley on board over this last month!

Check out Ashley’s startup, SKN H20, in which she created a sparkling water infused with resveratrol. SKN H2O uses a 100% recyclable aluminum can for their water, and has also created a hand sanitizer that comes in a glass bottle with a bamboo lid.
Keep up the great work, Ashley!

Okta & The Heal Project, Give to Get event at The Ritz!

The HEAL Project greatly enjoyed partnering with Okta, a tech company managed in San Francisco, during an event recently held at the Ritz Carlton in HMB!  Okta works to secure connection between people and technology, through giving their partners secure access to tools needed for their work. THP was coupled with Okta thanks to Give to Get, a foundation that looks to associate corporate leaders with social causes.  

Through this partnership, THP and Okta were able to host an interactive, in person event. During this time, team building was emphasized through multiple collaborative projects. Volunteers of Okta assembled & decorated with colorful images various Bee boxes. These boxes will be set up at each of our school gardens to be used as educational tools. These turned out lovely and we are so eager for students to see them!

Otka additionally put together Halloween goodie bags for some of our local garden students, consisting of shovels, seeds, and gloves. We hope IGP participants appreciate this Halloween trick-or-treat that contains less sugar than usual!

Lastly, Okta constructed 3 picnic tables for THP’s farm. We really enjoyed connecting with their team, and are grateful for their time assisting with various projects. We are hopeful that other corporations are inspired to touch base with local social movements!

Huge thank you to Give to Get for coordinating such a successful event!

Interview with Sophia Qin - Teenage Author, non-profit Founder, & app game Producer!

Interviewed by Adrianna Freeman, Communications & Operations Manager for The HEAL Project

This summer The HEAL Project camps had a guest presenter, that being Ms. Sophia Quin! Sophia is a 16 year old bay area High School student that has gone above and beyond in terms of environmental advocacy. The HEAL Project's Theory of Change includes our vision for our program participants to become Engaged Citizens, Sophia walked me through what sparked her environmental passion, how she got the ideas for her multiple passion projects, and how she plans to continue to educate those around her. Please enjoy as you dive into her success as an author, nonprofit founder, app game producer, and most importantly, environmental advocate!

Adrianna - Let’s start with a bit about your background. Tell me about yourself.

Sophia - “My name is Sophia and I am a Junior at Aragon High School in the Bay Area. I am 16 years old and one of my main interests is writing. I love to write, and this started early on during the transition from 5th to 6th grade. Our language arts teacher gave an assignment to write a short story and present it to the class. This is when I found out about creative writing, and when I really delved deeper into the hobby. I started exploring poetry, short stories, novel writing, and really began to fall in love with it. This went on for a while, and during this time I also submitted some of my pieces to the Scholastic Art & writing awards. Here I was able to win some regional awards, and it was really neat that other people were appreciative & willing to share my work with others. When I entered HS we had a journalism team, so I decided to try something new, and joined as a News Staffer. Currently, I continue to serve as a News Editor. That is more about my writing background, and I view writing as a very powerful medium to inspire and compel others. I use that to educate the public on issues that I really care about, which is specifically environmental issues, a segue to my other passion. That being said, I love the environment, and I do a lot of work advocating for planetary health.

Besides these two passions which I have merged together, I am also a very avid lover of history, I also love baking during free time over the weekends. I search recipes up and bake treats for family and friends. Spending time with family as well, I have a chihuahua as well, I love animals!”

Adrianna - Please share how you became involved with matters of environmental stewardship.

Sophia - “Since a young age, I have been exposed to this type of stuff. We had occasional guest speakers come in talking about the importance of saving water, and various other speeches or presentations regarding environmental issues. I feel like this never really stuck to me (as opposed to subjects such as history/math), where you are learning this in daily classes, whereas environmental education is not very systematic, and it is not in our actual school curriculum. So, in 6th grade I came across an article regarding global warming. This featured a polar bear standing on its last bit of ice habit. This was very sad and appalling to me as I love animals. I think this was the actual turning point where I suddenly opened my eyes to the outside world & realized what was happening. As opposed to previously, when I heard the guest speakers, it never really stuck to me. That article really shocked me and ever since then (this was 6th grade), I started trying to become an eco-friendlier citizen, in hopes of those poor polar bears and other animals not suffering as much. At the same time, I was looking at my peers & friends to see if they were doing the same thing… and the answer is no. At lunch time, I would see trash being thrown on the ground, littering, not knowing what trash to recycle in which bin, and leaving around piles of food waste.

That is when I thought that something needed to be done about this, but also, I was doubtful as to whether I had the capabilities of being a prominent voice. I was not really the outspoken one in class; I was scared to speak up. This went on for about 2 or 3 years until I entered high school. Regarding my past mention of joining journalism and becoming a part of the News Staff, I believe that really trained me and made me get out of my comfort zone. I realized my potential of how I can grow and become more outspoken, through the interviews I conducted. This is when I really decided to go for it, and become the person that advocates for environmental protection. I think that if I did not do it, no one else would step up to do it. So anyways, that is why I decided to write the book & start this nonprofit organization. That is how it all got rolling!”

Adrianna – Can you expand on the book you wrote & nonprofit you created?

Sophia – “Sure! So, I founded my own non-profit organization which is called Light Earth’s Destiny, in short it is called L-E-D (LED). We do many projects around environmental education, such as compelling other youth in our community to join us to protect the environment in ways that they can contribute to, and educating them overall. I also wrote my own book, this being called Becoming Earth 2.0, it is an educational science fiction book mainly dedicated to elementary and middle schoolers (although all readers of all ages and backgrounds are welcome to explore it).”

Adrianna – Could you tell me more about projects within your non-profit?

            Sophia - “Sure! We have quite a few projects right now, one specifically I am very excited about is called Saving Earth 2.0, and I am sure you can guess it is connected to my book. We have really talented tech app developers here at our organization. Over the summer they have worked very hard to develop this app game based on my book. Basically, (not getting too specific) there are a lot of mini games in the app, the player's goal is to save this dying planet as it experiences many environmental issues. Throughout each mini game they are supposed to solve obstacles such as plastic pollution, the wildfires going on across the planet, etc., and during their time on the planet, the players learn more about how we can be change-makers, and be that person that addresses/ tackles these issues. Therefore, we created this app game, and it actually launched very recently! It is developed for Apple & Android users, as we hope to make it accessible to everyone. We plan to distribute it to museums/other places that take in these app games & make it be seen in the public! You can access the app here.”

Adrianna – Can you tell me more about the book you wrote - what inspired this and how it came together?

            Sophia – “The book was in my sophomore year of high school. There was this long period of time between then and 6th grade where I was hesitating on being the one to go out there and be the leader. I was definitely since 6th grade adopting more eco-friendly practices & further educating myself, but I was still not sure if I could be the one leading.

            In 9th grade I was more focused on growing myself, I went to a few environmental science research programs to be more knowledgeable in that area. This was to expand my knowledge before I took on exciting yet also ambitious projects.

            Elaborating further, when I really decided to take action, I was thinking how could I contribute? I felt I was pretty strong in writing, and felt I could accomplish a whole book. I think books are a very, very entertaining resource for kids. This is because other resources we have on climate change and global warming etc., are just long articles & research etc., that are not very exciting for kids. This is why I find books to be an ideal way to get kids started at a young age. Kids are our future generation, these are the people that are going to grow up and make decisions, all of our behavior and choices directly impact earth's well-being. So, I think it is very important that at a young age we start having this coexistence with nature, no matter what we are doing. This is why I think environmental education is so, so important, on a note in addition to beach clean ups/planting trees.”

Cover of Becoming Earth 2.0, written by Sophia Qin & Illustrated by Lily Fang

Adrianna - What is the book's overall concept/summary?

            Sophia – “Becoming Earth 2.0 actually takes place in the future, in 2100. A team of top international climate scientists gather in an international laboratory. They have already helped our Earth transition into an eco-friendlier lifestyle. They are now helping a faraway alien planet called 2.0 with their battle in climate change. It is this whole journey where Karina, the earth scientist, is building trust with the aliens through communicating back and forth and introducing them to sustainable solutions. These solutions are so neat to me considering they are extremely futuristic and advanced. 

            I also want to mention that my main character Karina, is pretty special, in that she was born in 2047, so you may think she is already 50 but she is only about 28 or 27 in my story, due to her having gone through suspended animation. This is another futuristic thing, where climate change got so bad where the younger generation in my book had to be put to sleep in a way and wait until the world leaders and older generations solved those issues and restored the health on earth and it became safe enough for kids to come back to live again.” 

Adrianna - Did you create a timeline or plan for the book? Please tell me about that if so.

            Sophia – “I took about 1 month brainstorming how the story plot and how all the characters would come together. That was because I had several goals in mind, the first and most obvious one was environmental education, and teaching kids about envenomed issues. But I also wanted to represent underrepresented voices, diverse backgrounds, and emphasize the need for global cooperation when we come together to battle climate change. Also, encouraging gender equality in the workforce. All of these together, it took me a long time to figure out how I was going to go about the story.        

  Now that you have a summary of it, “Earth” is the positive and hopeful outlook of our future, so I really want to give readers the motivation that as long as we try enough, we can reach that beautiful and green future that I imagine in 2100. But again, because I wanted to incorporate all of these environmental issues, 2.0 was the reflection of what would happen if we continue going down this unsustainable pathway. Sort of the warning to readers that we can’t follow this pathway anymore, it is going to lead to a lot of dangerous consequences.

Third, I wanted to praise the work of current scientists who are our heroes, coming up with all of these futuristic solutions, such as in my book I mention renewable energy, biodegradable plastic, plastic eating mealworms, lab grown meat, vertical gardens, floating cities, desalination equipment that can make salty ocean water into drinkable water. A lot of these neat solutions out there making these kids excited for a hopeful and optimistic future.``

Continuing on book’s timeline –

  Sophia - “Yes, I did have a timeline planned, as I prefer to keep track of everything I do & set deadlines for myself, in hopes of keeping pace & publishing the book when I wanted to. So, I went about this by setting deadlines for each chapter (after having a general idea of topics), and then I basically just went for it. I wrote a draft, no matter how rough it was, and then I asked a lot of friends from middle school/even elementary school, as they are going to be my main audience so I was wanting their feedback. After doing that, I revised my draft and sent it out again to them to read it and revise, back and forth for. Along time. I did actually calculate a rough draft of how long this took me, it was about 6 months of work and almost 300 hours of writing and eventual publishing of the book.

I also want to mention that the book has illustrations, created by my cousin Lily Lanqing Fang. Lily is responsible for the book cover and all drawings included, huge thank you to her.  We are super close, so I planned deadlines for the both of us, for example as I finished a chapter, I would ask that she finish the drawing for that section. The eventual publishing through Amazon was super nice as it allows authors such as us to self-publish via Amazon. I additionally had a narrator, James Simenc, who is super talented and has given me immense support along the way. It is also available via kindle, and paper books (b&w as well as color).”

Air Pollution Illustration from Becoming Earth 2.0, drawn by Lily Fang

Adrianna - What was challenging about putting this book together? What resources did you lean on?

Sophia – “I am pretty lucky in that I had some experience with writing beforehand, due to this being a hobby of mine already. I am very lucky in that I went in expecting it to be tiring 7 exhausting to write a whole book. But what was very new and challenging to me, was researching all of these topics. I cover a lot of env issues from air pollution, plastic pollution, wildfires, etc., and I wanted to make sure I was presenting the right info, and that all the facts are right. So, I did a lot of fact checking, leaned on google as my best friend, and really read a lot of research papers & articles from credible sources online. I also included an Appendix and Reference at the end to give readers additional information, and cite my sources. Also, since my future is set in 2100, I obviously can’t predict the future so I would type in what the world would look like in 2100, and just piece together all those types of innovations that have not come to life yet & piece together what that would look like. Especially with suspended animation, I had to consider the logistics behind this.

I also had to consider my audience. Their age is elementary/middle school, so I had to break down my information and make sure it is something they can understand. So this whole process was different from my typical creative writing in that I normally just discuss my topics/feelings, but this was again consisting of much fact checking.”

Plastic Pollution Illustration from Becoming Earth 2.0, drawn by Lily Fang

Adrianna - What was the most rewarding part regarding the completion of the book?

Sophia – “Seeing that others enjoyed reading my book and that they are excited for it. After I published my book, I wanted to make it a whole project, so I now call it Becoming Earth 2.0 environmental education initiative, where I would visit summer camps, libraries and schools, and make a presentation/ lesson based on my story. What was so rewarding is seeing their eyes light up, the overall excitement in kids, getting to share it with them, seeing how I achieved my goal partially in making kids excited about how they can be stewards of earth. I really enjoy spreading my message across the community.”

Adrianna - How have you shared this book with the community? (Local and beyond)

Sophia – “Yes absolutely, I have gone into nature camps as a guest speaker to present, organized author events with libraries, visited elementary & some middle schools, and partnered with children’s book project (a literacy organization in SF). I additionally want to make sure the book reaches underprivileged children, as it is challenging for them to access books in general and resources for how they can protect the earth. I therefore hope to continue to donate books to schools such as that. I only make 7 cents a book, which is used to further book donation initiatives. I want to use the little amount I earn to further fund my projects, making it ultimately as big as possible.”

Adrianna - What was your experience when sharing this with kids at The HEAL Project?

       Sophia – “I recall vividly because THP was one of the first camps I ever visited with children. So, getting into that I was nervous... due to not knowing if I could catch the attention of children or whether kids would be interested. It ended up being a fabulous experience, as I enjoyed interacting with them greatly. Despite the covid pandemic, I was able to go in person & show THP kids the book. I invited along a member from my nonprofit organization, and we did a free giveaway including 3 books. It was super exciting and I was very satisfied seeing smiles & being in the moment.”

Adrianna - Were any projects or goals of yours impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic? (Book related or not)

Sophia – “Regarding my book initiatives, the impact was not that big, but noticeable in some ways. For example, it messed up presentations, as virtual presentations are not engaging for kids. Additionally, several camps rejected me for pandemic related causes. On top of that, visiting with masks on is not as ideal.

In regard to my non-profit, it did not impact Light Earth’s Destiny’s progress, as the whole mission has always been to build a network of students across the bay area. We were separated regardless, as we would often do zoom meetings anyway. Thankfully, we are all very motivated high school students, and each has their own position to fulfill, consisting of their own tasks & to-do list. With individuals being self-motivated and proactive, the combination of our work ethic together is extremely successful.”

Adrianna - What kind of goals do you have for the future, any specific projects you are currently working on?

Sophia – “My goals in the near future are that I would like to continue my book initiative, as this is a project I have dedicated most time to and am extremely passionate about. When I go to college, I would like to either continue running my nonprofit, or at least find someone to succeed and run as president in my place. I hope to keep Light Earth’s Destiny running as long as possible. In the long-term, I will continue to involve myself in environmental aspects, as this is a huge part of my life. Getting into career goals, while I am not 100% sure yet, I think focusing on environmental policy, and gearing us towards a lower carbon economy, will be on my agenda.”

Adrianna - Any other initiatives or thoughts you would like to share. Thank you!

Sophia – “You are welcome to check out our website for any other interesting things, I believe I have covered my top two projects.”

Adrianna - Going deeper into Sophia’s top 2 projects, her non-profit, Light Earth’s Destiny, is hosting an eco-art contest. This contest would love as many submissions as possible, and calls all young artists aged 5 to 14 to create an environmentally themed art piece! Some theme examples are Imaging Our Green Future, Focusing on the Present, and Honoring an Environmental Hero. There are many opportunities for sponsored prizes, and you can win a copy of Sophia’s book!

Additionally, Sophia & her innovative tech team’s app came out this last weekend! It is available on android and apple devices. What a neat way to get kids learning while they’re having time on the iPad!

Conclusion… How can we keep up with Sophia?

            Adrianna – “Sophia shared that her current nonprofit site, Earth-v2.org,  stays as up to date as possible. She has a long-term goal of potentially starting a different website to keep track of her various undertakings. Lastly, keeping up to date with her name app game, Saving Earth 2.0, is a great way to stay involved. I want to give a huge thank you to Sophia, for not only taking time to share her story with me, but for most importantly, making an extreme effort to save the planet in an impressive multitude of ways. We look forward to hearing about your continued success in the future, Sophia!”

Interview with Anthony Myint, Co-Founder of Zero Foodprint

Interviewed by Chapin Dorsett, Communications & Operations Manager for The HEAL Project

Chapin - Where did the idea for Zero Foodprint come from?

Anthony - We began with an interest in climate solutions and were trying to figure out how to make restaurants part of the solution. We started out by looking at the operations of a restaurant and analyzing its carbon footprint with an eye for how we could reduce that footprint. In 2019 we began collaborations with regional governments and underwent a transformational evolution away from carbon footprinting and carbon neutrality and towards a circular economy approach to carbon farming.

What would you say is the main purpose that Zero Foodprint serves?

Zero Foodprint is giving customers and citizens a way to directly fund carbon farming and regenerative agriculture, so a way to directly take carbon out of the atmosphere in your own region with local farms and ranches. The restaurants that work with us send a portion of their proceeds to our carbon farming projects. Oftentimes they generate that portion by adding an extra one percent fee to customer bills.

Explanatory graphic from zerofoodprint.org with permission.

What kind of restaurants do you partner with?

We really partner with any restaurant or food company, or even just any citizen who wants to fund carbon farming. We’re really excited that the movement is spreading—in Boulder, Colorado, for example, we just had a Subway franchisee sign up with five locations, which is really helping to normalize this carbon farming economy. It’s not just about a few fancy restaurants making better choices; it’s really about the whole food economy coming together to fund a structural change in how ingredients are produced.

How can normal people get involved with the project?

Any person that wants to directly fund carbon farming can contribute to the featured project on our website. The money goes directly into practices like compost application, planting cover crops, reducing tillage, and other practices that build healthy soil on farms and ranches and take carbon out of the atmosphere. People can also dine at participating restaurants and send a portion of their bill to our carbon farming projects. And corporations can start using their CSR dollars towards local climate solutions.

Twisted Fields, of San Gregorio, California, is one of Zero Foodprint’s featured projects. Photo from zerofoodprint.org with permission.

What about farms and ranches—how do they get involved?

In San Mateo, for example, we’re working with the Resource Conservation District, which is    reaching out to farmers and ranchers to encourage them to apply for our grants. Farmers and ranchers fill out the COMET-Planner, which is a carbon sequestration modeling tool, and propose a scope of work to us. Let’s say they were interested in applying compost on ten acres of their land. They would plug that project into the COMET-Planner and it would estimate how much carbon the project would draw out of the atmosphere. We divide the proposed cost of the project by the estimated carbon benefit to derive a cost per ton of carbon removal. You can think of it like a carbon sequestration return on investment. So if the project would cost $10,000 and is estimated to draw 100 tons of carbon out of the atmosphere, the cost per ton would be $100. We rank all of the applications primarily based on that number, and then the best projects get the funding. The grantees then work with a technical service provider, like the Resource Conservation District, to implement the project. The RCDs are really the boots on the ground working with the farmers and ranchers on their projects.

Where do you see Zero Foodprint going moving forward?

Our goal is to scale up our work in California and in other states and regions to potentially get to maybe hundreds of businesses participating and millions of dollars per year flowing towards carbon farming in each region. There’s a lot of work to do.

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Anthony Myint is the co-founder of Mission Chinese Food, The Perennial and Zero Foodprint, named 2020 Humanitarian of the Year by The James Beard Foundation. ZFP leads a public private collaboration with governments in California and Colorado to scale regenerative agriculture. Restaurants and businesses that participate in Zero Foodprint are directly funding climate beneficial farming projects that transform bad atmospheric carbon into healthy soil carbon.

Farms and Wildlife

by Fiona Benjamin, The HEAL Project’s Farm Manager

Agriculture is often portrayed in the media as being at odds with nature. Less often we hear stories about how farms managed with an ecological mindset can be incredibly vibrant places that create habitat for local fauna. This synchronicity is one of the things that drew me to agriculture as a college student. One of the themes I stressed to student visitors in my previous role as an Educator here at The HEAL Project was the importance of farms as open spaces that can provide habitat.

I think it's important to note that even the most “conventional” farm is likely more beneficial as a space for wildlife than a developed urban area. However, there are many practices a farmer can use to increase habitat value on their properties, some of which we employ at the San Mateo County School Farm, such as pollinator strips, reduced tillage, and the interplanting of perennial crops with annual crops (alley cropping).

At the Farm we are very fortunate to be surrounded by natural spaces. On the East side we have Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and on the Northwest side we have Denniston Creek. My theory for why pest pressure on our site is relatively low despite zero pesticide usage is that these natural areas aid our farming efforts by providing a refuge for beneficial insects. Reciprocally, during the dry season our irrigated area helps to provide resources for the whole food web. For example, our crops could support a pest insect population that feeds local birds that are in turn prey for bobcats or raptors.

A quick list of critters spotted right here at the San Mateo County School Farm:

Mammals

• Blacktailed deer

• Grey fox

• Red fox

• Coyote

• Bobcat

• Long-tailed weasel

Reptiles

• Gopher snake

• Garter snake 

• Western fence lizard

Insects

• Monarch butterfly

• Swallowtail butterfly 

• Bumble bees

• Syrphid flies

Birds

• Red tail hawk

• Turkey vulture

• Kestrel

• Scrub jay

• Stellar’s jay

• Black phoebe

• Great horned owl

• Spotted towhee

• Hermit thrush

• Robin

• Swallow

• Great blue heron

Amphibians

• Pacific tree frog

• California newt

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All photos by Fiona Benjamin.

Above left: One of my favorite wildlife encounters at our site was the several months that two fledgling great horned owls sheltered at the farm as they grew up and prepared to leave the nest. They could frequently be found asleep on the fence in the very early morning.

Above right: Another favorite encounter—this red-tailed hawk caught her prey right in front of me, but she couldn’t get it loose from the fence. She let me pull it loose and hand it to her right after this photo was taken.

Above left: This lizard crawled onto a 3rd grader of its own accord and stayed for about a half hour. The student and his friends were very calm, and then the lizard went on his way.

Above right: Here is an adult monarch butterfly visiting the hedge along the entrance to the Farm. We have several varieties of native and non-native milkweed and are adding more. Milkweed is the only food for the monarch caterpillar. We also have a local retiree who raises monarchs at his home and releases them on the Farm in an effort to bolster the local population.

One of my favorite animal visitors to find is the Pacific tree frog. I find them all year round. Here’s one I found while picking raspberries.

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Fiona has been with The HEAL Project since 2018, first as a Farm Educator and now as the Farm Manager. As a native of the Coastside, she is grateful to have the opportunity to share her passion for healthy eating and the environment with her local community.

Carbon Farming: Reversing climate change while nourishing our lands and people

by Bryanna Whitney & Adria Arko of the San Mateo Resource Conservation District

Photo courtesy of the San Mateo RCD.

San Mateo County’s agricultural roots run deep. The very character of this place is defined by its history of ranching, farming, and fishing, as reflected by the many local plans that call for maintaining the region’s agricultural character, conserving coastal farmlands, and supporting the economic viability of local producers.

Our long farming tradition is being supported today by the growing local food movement, which depends upon the healthy water, soil, and farms that are the foundation of a vibrant and thriving agricultural community. The HEAL Project is a part of that movement as it plays an important role in sharing the joys of growing food with the next generation.

The San Mateo Resource Conservation District (RCD) plays a part as well. Our mission is to help people help the land, and we do so in many ways, from monitoring local water quality, to improving habitat for our local wildlife. When someone comes to us and asks for help, we work with them to make a holistic plan that can help their property to be more resilient.

One of the ways that we can do this is by teaching landowners and land stewards about carbon farming.

Carbon farming takes carbon from the air where it’s a harmful greenhouse gas and puts it into plants and soil where it’s helpful. By storing carbon, improving soil health, and reducing erosion, carbon farming can increase agricultural productivity and resilience while also fighting climate change and its ill effects.

The truly remarkable thing is that it does all of this by harnessing the way that plants and soils already work together.

Through photosynthesis, plants remove carbon from the air and store it in their leaves, stems, and roots, which then help enrich the soil. As plants die and decompose, this carbon can either stay in the soil or be released back into the atmosphere. Carbon farming applies centuries-old agricultural solutions to the modern problem of excess carbon. Techniques such as windbreak and streamside plantings, rotational grazing, and manure and tillage management create healthier soils and help store carbon for a long time.

Illustration of how plants sequester carbon in soils and potential for mitigation. Source: Mother Jones.

 A carbon farm plan gives landowners recommendations and guidelines that can maximize the land’s capacity to store carbon. Our working lands (such as places where livestock are grazed in a managed way) have an incredible ability to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere into soil carbon that can be stored underground for centuries if managed correctly.

What’s in it for landowners and land stewards?

Besides contributing to a viable climate solution? Healthier soils hold more water and are less susceptible to heat and drought. This reduces irrigation costs and local water demand. Managing plantings, grazing, tillage, and waste to store more carbon and nutrients can increase productivity, as well provide wildlife and pollinator habitats. By preventing erosion, and even catastrophic property loss, these practices also protect a farmer’s most precious asset: their land. Combined, these investments mean a more resilient farm, both now and in the face of future changes.

Jarrad Fisher, Senior Program Manager for the Water for Farms Fish and People program, surveys a property in San Gregorio with a landowner looking for opportunities to conserve and store water for agriculture. Photo courtesy of the San Mateo RCD.

Although agriculture has been singled out as a significant greenhouse gas contributor, the good news is that its climate impacts depend largely on how it is done. Carbon farming is a win-win practice that makes farms a part of the solution to the excess of carbon in the atmosphere, and the abundance of carbon becomes part of the solution to protecting farmland. Through carbon farming, agricultural producers can become climate heroes.

So how do you do it?

Carbon farming begins with understanding a landowner’s vision and their production and economic goals. A resource inventory helps identify ways to protect and enhance both land and water, while also capturing more carbon. A customized and flexible plan is then created to help the landowner respond to both environmental and economic changes as well as opportunities. After the plan has been developed, it’s time to put it into action.

For nearly a century, this is what the San Mateo Resource Conservation District has been teaming up with local farmers and ranchers to do.

Adria Arko, Agriculture & Climate Program Manager for the RCD listens to a landowner while gathering information for a conservation plan on the property in Pescadero. Photo courtesy of the San Mateo RCD.

TomKat Ranch crew and RCD staff participate in a workshop with NRCS Soil Scientist Ken Oster. Photo courtesy of the San Mateo RCD.

In 1939, visionary farmers in San Mateo County formed the first conservation district in California and one of the first in the nation. The Dust Bowl crisis had just destroyed millions of acres of cropland by drought and subsequent soil loss. In response, the USDA established the Soil Conservation Service (later renamed the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS). Local counterparts were set up across the nation to ensure that local priorities were served. Thus were born conservation districts.

The RCD’s origins in soil protection lie at the foundation of carbon farming. But our long history and deep understanding of the region’s working lands also mean that we know how to provide the on-the-ground support that local landowners need. Our whole-farm approach includes fire management, wildlife habitat, water and soil health, and agricultural production. This comprehensive set of services creates an effective regional solution to global greenhouse gas reduction while supporting local communities, food, and water resources.

Through carbon farming, the Resource Conservation District and local producers are reversing climate change while nourishing the lands and people of San Mateo and beyond.

Cover crop protects a farmer’s soil during carbon farming trials in Half Moon Bay. Photo courtesy of the San Mateo RCD.

You can learn more by visiting the RCD’s Carbon Farming webpage or contacting Adria Arko, Agriculture & Climate Programs Manager at adria@sanmateoRCD.org. 

Interview with Doniga Markegard, Rancher at Markegard Family Grass-Fed

Interviewed by Chapin Dorsett, Communications & Operations Manager for The HEAL Project

Chapin - Let’s start with a bit about your background. What got you interested in ranching and permaculture? 

Doniga - I was raised in a rural area in Washington, and my family grew a lot of our own food. We lived close to the land and I grew up on a big river. During high school, I took an alternative path and went to a wilderness school where I studied wildlife tracking, wilderness survival and other nature skills. That connection to nature during my upbringing has influenced everything I do now in my life. I’ve also worked on some organic farms and had a permaculture business for a while. When I met my husband, I had been studying holistic management of grasslands that emphasizes stewardship for diversity and the healing of watersheds.

Photo from www.markegardfamily.com with permission.

C - Can you tell us about Markegard Family Grass-Fed, the regenerative ranch that you started with your husband?

D - We’ve been doing this for 15 years, now. We raise 100% grass-fed beef and lamb in addition to pasture-raised pork and chicken. We sell our meat at farmers’ markets, through a CSA, on our web shop and in some restaurants.

C - What are some of the regenerative ranching techniques that Markegard employs?

D - We keep our animals moving so that they’re never stagnant in one place. By moving the animals, they actually help to stimulate the grass growth. It’s a way we can keep the animals healthy and the grasslands healthy. When you move the animals around, you’re allowing grasses to grow, meaning they can photosynthesize. The photosynthesis draws down carbon into the soil. Grasslands evolved with large herds of grazing animals, so they require a level of disturbance to stay healthy. Without animals trampling, eating and pooping on the grass, you end up with less diversity because one grass species will take over. You also get patches of bare ground because plants will die and then fold over and not allow for other types of plants to reach the sunlight. By using regenerative agriculture practices, we are able to see incredible results in the drawdown of carbon into the soil.

Photo from www.markegardfamily.com with permission.

C - How do you measure the amount of carbon drawdown into the soil?

D - We have soil scientists come to the ranch to take measurements. We work with Point Blue Conservation Science, and they take measurements on ranch land. A common measurement is of soil organic matter. An increase in soil organic matter means an increase in carbon storage in the soil. Another measurement is depth; there is deep and shallow carbon. The deep carbon is important because it’s long-term storage.

C - What has your involvement been with policy and advocacy?

D - Because of the regenerative work that we’re doing, we’re going against the grain. We’re not following in the path of industrial agriculture. We’ve been trailblazers for this movement from the beginning, so we need to be advocates for the work that we’re doing. There isn’t a whole lot of policy right now that supports regenerative agriculture. Right now, it favors the larger, more consolidated farms and ranches, so we have to be advocates for that change.

C - What’s it like to work with your family?

D - It’s great, especially with our kids. It’s so nice to have the kids outside and working with the animals. I just think it’s so important. All of the kids have their own things that they each love to do. They’re great on horseback, and can gather cattle or check fence or work at the markets. It’s just nice to be out there with the kids and to have them really involved in all aspects of the operation. They have a tangible view of what we do as a family—it’s not like their parents go off to work and do something on a computer and then come home. The kids know that the work they do with their hands is producing healthy products that are really making an impact. They can choose whether they want to continue on with this later, but the lessons that they’re learning now will stay with them through life.

Photo from www.markegardfamily.com with permission.

 C - Is there a specific project you’re currently working on that gives you optimism for the future?

D - There are a number of projects I’m working on right now, but one is that I’m in the process of certifying our ranch with the Audubon Society. We would be the first ranch in the state of California to be certified by them. Basically, the logic is that we are selling a product that has been proven to be bird friendly. Our ranching practices preserve habitat for grassland bird species, which is a group of birds at high risk right now. It makes me excited to align with a large group like the Audubon Society that views ranchers as an integral component in the conservation of grassland species.

Interview with Andy Ollove, Food Access Program Director for Fresh Approach

Interviewed by Chapin Dorsett, Operations Manager for The HEAL Project

Chapin - To start us off, could you give a brief overview of Fresh Approach’s mission, how y’all got started and what you do?

Andy - Fresh Approach works at the intersection of food access, public health, nutrition education and local food systems. We were born out of the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association, which includes 50 markets in the Bay Area. In 2008 we began as the nonprofit wing of the association, aimed at getting low income communities to shop at farmers’ markets. Our two primary program areas are food access and nutrition education, and these programs have a uniquely strong tie to the local food systems. Our education programs are rooted in the food and medicine philosophy that healthy eating and healthy behaviors drive healthy outcomes. We utilize a behavior change model through long-term classes about eating and shopping healthy and preparing foods. We give out vouchers at each class that can be used at 100 different farmers’ markets as an incentive for people to take what they’ve learned in class and put it into action, as well as to help with access to buying local food. We also run gardening and composting workshops at our community garden in East Palo Alto.

Prior to the pandemic, our food access programs revolved around two mobile farmers’ markets (styled like food trucks) that visit low income communities and serve locally-grown food. The mobile markets provide a 50% subsidy to people who use food assistance programs like CalFresh or WIC. We also do a similar matching program at farmers’ markets in low-income communities like East Palo Alto and Richmond.

C - How have your programs changed since the start of the pandemic?

A - Our main change has been pivoting our food access work to emergency food relief and focusing on how to bring local food systems into this. We have strong networks of people who trust us, so we were able to move into modified programming quickly, mainly an emergency CSA box model. The CSA started with a partnership with Pie Ranch to distribute 100 boxes a week of locally-sourced produce from small, Latinx-run farms to families in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, including the La Honda–Pescadero Unified School District. We then took the model as a proof of concept and applied for the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program. We now work with eight other organizations, including Pie Ranch, to coordinate the distribution of 3,200 CSA boxes per week. The program has directed over a million dollars to local farmers. We’ve had to pull back on the mobile farmers’ markets due to social distancing protocols, so now we’re only running one mobile market once day per week (as opposed to both trucks six days per week). 

Aside from the new CSA, our education programs have largely moved online. We’ve been running group online classes through zoom and google classroom.

C - Where did the idea for the mobile farmers’ markets come from?

A - The program started in 2013 with the support of a USDA grant for local food promotion. At that time there were a handful of mobile farmers’ markets around the country, but since then the concept has really blossomed and now there are dozens. People call us all the time to ask about starting their own. The mobile markets are designed to be able to travel to communities that don’t have regular farmers’ markets, because these communities are often overlooked with regards to food in general and farmers’ markets in particular. It’s a good, fun, flexible program that people really appreciate. It’s unique and makes people happy to see. And the 50% discounts that the mobile markets provide make them really valuable to families that come to rely on food at those prices. In a given year, our two mobile market trucks sell $100,000 worth of produce.

One of Fresh Approach’s Mobile Farmers’ Markets. Photo with permission from Fresh Approach.

C - Where do you source your produce from? What is your relationship with the producers like?

A - Since we started out of the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association, we have relationships with many of the farmers that sell produce at the markets. Our mobile market trucks would go to the farmers’ markets to pick up produce directly from the farmers there. We have a South Bay and an East Bay truck team, so those teams work with the farmers at their own discretion. But we have a list of values written on our website that we look to when determining sourcing. For instance, we prioritize farmers of color and farms that use sustainable and organic farming practices. We also consider ease of delivery and the farmers’ communication styles. We’re always finding new farms to work with and are trying to source culturally appropriate food for the families that we serve. We work with close to 30 farms each year, and our team has pretty close relationships with them. The farmers are generally appreciative of the extra income and they like knowing that their food is going to low income communities. The farmers don’t necessarily have the ability to get their food to these communities themselves, but they are glad when the food does get there. The farms are located in all directions from us, but they’re mostly all well-within 200 miles of the Bay.

C - How do you balance your on the ground education programs and food access work with broader work surrounding policy and advocacy?

A - We ourselves don’t do much policy work, but we’re in the room with those who are doing the policy work. We’re a collaborative organization that likes participating in groups and getting to know other partners in the field. So we navigate this balance by being an active member of the ecosystem and by being supportive of other organizations. My programmatic philosophy is that if my colleagues and partner nonprofits are successful, then I’m successful, because we have overlapping missions. We root our work in collaboration, alignment and resource sharing, which leads to a strengthening, not necessarily directly in policy, but in overall resilience. For example, we coordinate collaboration on the CSA emergency food box program, but we’re not moving the food ourselves. We saw our ability to network between organizations that wouldn’t have had the resources to work with the USDA, but our impact is reliant on our partners.

C - How have or haven’t you been able to frame your work through an equity lens?

A - Fresh Approach is actively engaged in looking at our work through an equity lens. We have equity goals and metrics that we set and look to. We actively look at our programming and institutional structures and give space to the organization and employees at every level to engage in conversations about representation. We did intentional value-setting a couple years ago, and we’re constantly looking back on those values and checking ourselves to see if our programs are in alignment with them. We keep innovating, making changes and addressing the holes we see.

C - Any new programs or initiatives you’d like to share?

A - In the beginning of September we launched an emergency fire relief endeavor with prepared meals sourced from local farms. The meals right now are going to evacuees of the CZU Lightning Complex fires. This came about because we were able to move quickly through our networks and find partners to get it off the ground. We’re partnering with Growing the Table, Off The Grid (a Bay Area food truck company) and Google Kitchens (they’re using workers who have lost hours due to closed cafeterias at Google to instead do meal prep for other initiatives). The meal program also serves farms like Brisa de Año and Pie Ranch by supporting them in an emergency food harvest they risked losing due to fire evacuations.

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Andy has been working to build resilient food systems since 2014. In that time, he has been particularly focused on increasing the linkages between small-scale, mission-driven farms to communities who have historically been denied access to healthy food landscapes. Andy has developed unique program interventions around the country, he has worked with corner store owners in the Bronx, food pantries in Brooklyn, gas stations in the Navajo Nation, farmers’ markets in Mexico, and cooperatives in rural Maine. In the Bay Area, he leads food access work at Fresh Approach, managing a diverse portfolio of projects including two mobile farmers’ markets, traditional farmers’ markets in low-access/low-income neighborhoods, and now the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program.