FARE Grants

Alliance for Felix Cove  $20,000
Fiscal Sponsor: Movement Strategy Center
Lead a series of indigenous foodways and land stewardship workshops on partnering private lands in Marin County, including wild food gathering, land tending, and community cooking demonstrations.

All Hands Ecology  $80,000
Through the Fire Forward Program, lead one demonstration prescribed burn in Marin, conduct research on its impact on working lands, and continue outreach on the benefits of prescribed fire and grazing. Share findings through a StoryMap, landowner guide, and field days, in partnership with Marin RCD, MALT, and UC Cooperative Extension.

Canal Alliance   $95,000
Partnership with Extra Food and SF-Marin Food Bank to develop detailed implementation plans and designs for a community market and commercial kitchen in the Canal neighborhood, including stakeholder engagement, feasibility analysis, and draft operational and sustainability documents.

Community Action Marin   $70,000
Develop a hub-and-spoke garden resource model through a partnership between North Bay Children's Center and Community Action Marin, providing material, infrastructure, and educational support to garden education sites serving low-income families.

Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria   $50,000
Introduce tribal citizens to the Tribe’s Dillion Beach Ranch site, familiarize tribal citizens with restoration and management goals, and gather feedback through field trips and workshops to produce draft Tribal Stewardship Protocols to complement existing Long Term Management and Monitoring Plan approved by California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Gilardi's Farm  $20,000
Fiscal sponsor: Marin Resource Conservation District
Matching funds to purchase and install a mobile hen house and renewable energy system, including solar, battery, wind, and generator components, to improve environmental conditions and increase egg production at the farm. To be disbursed only if matching funds can be secured to complete the project estimated at $200,000.

Hamilton School TK-8, Novato Unified School District   $6,000
Continue Fall and Spring student cooking labs facilitated by Chef Cait Olesky, teaching students how to use fresh produce and strengthen connections to nutritious foods.

Land Together   $55,000
Expand a year-long garden and agricultural training program at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, led by formerly incarcerated people, providing horticultural skills, ecotherapy, mindfulness practices, and exposure to green career pathways for incarcerated individuals.

Marin Carbon Project  $20,000
Fiscal Sponsor: Marin Resource Conservation District
Convene key partners to revise the Marin Carbon Project's strategic roadmap and charter, supporting continued implementation of carbon farm plans in alignment with the County's Climate Action Plan.

Marin City Community Services District   $55,000
Relaunch weekly Market Day gatherings in Marin City featuring local vendors and community-grown produce, complemented by monthly cooking demonstrations and nutrition workshops at Manzanita Recreation Center.

Raices Del Canal  $30,000
Develop new community gardens at apartment complex sites in the Canal Neighborhood of San Rafael, engaging youth leadership and building on Raices Del Canal's established community garden model.

Ritter Center  $140,000
With ExtraFood as a subcontractor, coordinate volunteers and farm and farmers market partnerships to organize regular surplus gleaning and incorporate fresh gleaned produce into Ritter's client-choice food pantry serving 500 individuals over two years, while developing a long-term sustainability strategy.

Countywide Food Security Plan  up to $200,000
Fiscal sponsor: San Francisco-Marin Food Bank
Develop a comprehensive countywide food security plan in partnership with the County of Marin and key stakeholders, led by SF-Marin Food Bank, ExtraFood, and the Agricultural Institute of Marin. Funding is contingent on identification of a facilitator and partner organizations, and development of full scope of work.

San Geronimo Valley Community Center  $31,000
Connect the vacant garden space in Woodacre to the public water supply to establish a new community garden at the site.

Sanzuma  $100,000
Sustain a working farm supplying San Rafael City Schools with fresh produce and continue developing a model for connecting farmers with institutional buyers to strengthen local and regional food procurement.

Shepherds of the Coast LLC  $40,000
Fiscal sponsor: Marin Agricultural Land Trust
Purchase a mobile corral system to enable grazing in difficult terrain, host two public educational events on the role of grazing in restoration and provide living wages for new shepherd trainees to expand workforce development opportunities.

Slide Ranch  $40,000
Lead a program for court-involved youth in partnership with Next Steps Liaison Project, teaching animal care, sustainable farming practices, and vocational skills including teamwork, professionalism, and leadership.

Sustainable Marin Schools  $40,000
Fiscal sponsor: MarinLink
Establish a Family Food Garden at Hamilton K-8 School and create a new garden at San Jose Middle School, engaging students in hands-on learning and mobilizing parent and community groups, building on Round 1 work across Novato Unified School District..

Buddhist Enlightenment Center  $20,000
Fiscal sponsor: MarinLink
Build upon Round 1 FARE grant by expanding and actively farming land at the Buddhist Enlightenment Center in Novato, and distribute traditional Vietnamese foods grown at the garden to low-income residents on a weekly basis.

Can Do Education Foundation   $20,000
Increase garden coordinator stipends for four coordinators across Miller Creek School District to improve sustainability of garden management, and expand garden supply budgets from $500 to $1,500 per school to support garden-based lessons and improved programming and infrastructure.

Fairfax-San Anselmo Children's Center   $18,610
Repair chicken coop and support garden maintenance staffing to shift volunteer time towards curriculum development and further integration of the garden into the school community.

Friends of the Mill Valley Children's Garden   $5,000
Match annual PTA and Friends of MVCG fundraising contributions to support garden staffing at Mill Valley Children's Garden.

Galilee Community Garden   $19,600
Fiscal sponsor: Marin Arts
Construct a sustainable garden wall, replace deteriorated garden beds, and apply mulch and soil amendments to improve soil health at this community garden serving low-income residents in Marin City and the Sausalito area. 

Mary Silveira Elementary, Miller Creek School District  $7,000
Repair fencing and garden beds at elementary school garden.

Marin County Office of Education   $20,000
Provide staffing and materials support for operation of the native plant nursery at Walker Creek Ranch, supporting student educational opportunities and plant restoration along Walker Creek while MCOE explores a long-term staffing model.

Neighborhood Garden Initiative  $15,000
Install up to 23 low-cost gardens at private residences countywide, including homes of low-income older adults and families, based on a successful model developed in Sonoma County.

Next Generation Scholars  $20,000
Expand garden area at San Rafael site, amend soil, install irrigation, and add raised beds. Increase family leadership opportunities in food growing, provide workshops and instructional materials, and distribute no-cost produce to families of under-resourced middle and high school students.. 

Novato Charter School  $20,000
Update chicken coop and run, install a high tunnel greenhouse, add raised beds, and perform tree maintenance at K–8 public school garden.

Ross Valley Charter School  $20,000
Install new water line and wash stations, improve drainage, add shade area, expand garden beds, and plant fruit trees at elementary school garden.

San Rafael High School Garden Club  $16,364
Reinforce and expand existing garden beds, install irrigation, and support garden coordination at San Rafael High School.

Sembrando Vida  $20,000
Fiscal sponsor: Redwood Lions Memorial Foundation
Construct and update farm infrastructure, create a mobile chicken tractor, plant fruit trees, and support annual maintenance at a volunteer-led farm in West Marin providing culturally relevant foods to the Latinx community and public access to farmland.

Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church  $11,261
Remove and replace four old garden beds, replace soil in six beds, and repair drip system to sustain the Sleepy Hollow Justice Garden's volunteer program growing food for the local community and supporting food security efforts.

Strawberry Point School, Mill Valley Elementary School District  $5,000
Replace herb garden, pollinator garden, and fruit trees removed during a large garden accessibility renovation project at this elementary school.

Wise Choices for Girls  $12,000
Support youth development and active gardening by Marin City youth, complementing an existing grant for the Golden Gate Village garden, under the leadership of Wise Choices for Girls.

Agricultural Institute of Marin  $91,000
Incubator program to support emerging Marin-based food entrepreneurs to sell at the Sunday Marin Civic Center Farmers Market, Downtown San Rafael Summer Market and Point Reyes Station Farmers Market. Incubator Booth participants will receive booth space free of charge, a tent, stipend, marketing support, and individualized training for business growth.

All Hands Ecology (formerly Audubon Canyon Ranch)  $61,635
Fire Forward: Collaborative partnership-building and knowledge-sharing on the use of prescribed fire as a land stewardship tool to enhance the ecology and rangeland productivity of Marin’s working landscapes and forests while mitigating wildfire risk. Supporting relationship-building among conservation nonprofits, landowners/operators, and fire agencies.

Bolinas Community Center   $40,000
Hire cooks to provide cost-optional meals in Bolinas through Feed the People. Purchase refrigeration and other kitchen equipment.

City of San Rafael   $35,000
Physical improvements to support the City of San Rafael Canal Community Garden, working collaboratively with the Canal Community Garden Committee and Gardeners.

Dance Palace Community and Cultural Center   $46,000
Analyze needs of farmers and food makers for commercial kitchen space to create, store, and aggregate value-added products. Analyze how Dance Palace kitchen renovation would best meet these needs and explore permitting requirements to make these upgrades. 

Fibershed   $100,000
Double the land area for perennial native grasses, forbs, and bulb, corm and tuber habitat (from 1.5 acres to 3 acres) by 2026. Increase native grass, forb, and tuber understories with an additional 25,000 plugs and 15,000 directly seeded wildflowers. Expand the integration of carbon farming and multicultural agro-ecology through enhancing opportunities for land-based businesses owned by socially disadvantaged farmers. 

Golden Gate Village Residents Council   $40,000
Support community garden at public housing site in Marin City: increase number of garden plots, install new fencing, and hire part-time garden coordinator. 

Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative   $60,000
Fiscal sponsor: Inquiring Systems 
Build relationships between faith communities that own over 1 acre of available land and low-income farmers to establish farm lease or community garden arrangements. Support Buddhist Enlightenment Center (Novato) with establishment of farm and garden.  

Kitchen Table Advisors   $159,000
Planning and network-building to support new land lease opportunities between underserved specialty crop farmers and agricultural landowners in Marin County. Establish pathways to connect emerging underserved specialty crop farmers, originating from local and regional pools of farmers and farmworkers, with new agricultural land leases. Geographic focus: West Marin and Novato.

Lagunitas Community School  $70,000
Launch Lagunitas School Garden-to-Cafeteria effort will expand the educational gardening program into a productive food garden whose produce will be used to make healthy meals in the school cafeteria and shared with the San Geronimo Valley Community Center in their Senior Lunch Program and Food Pantry. Activities include building new garden areas, installing fence, and building processing space to grow and process food for meal programs.

Marin Child Care Council  $125,000
Support low-income children with hands-on garden and nutrition education in childcare settings. Offer workshops to teachers and families to build skills in healthy cooking and eating, purchasing locally grown food, and gardening. Partnering with College of Marin’s Indian Valley College Farm for local produce. 

Marin City Community Development Corporation  $45,000
Create new garden spaces for participants in the Empowerment Clubhouse program that supports individuals recovering from mental illness.

Marin County Cooperation Team (MCCT)  $35,000
Partner with the Sausalito Marin City District to produce food for the community on the Phillips Drive campus in Marin City while exploring opportunities for community and after school participation in food production activities. This grant will complement any food production activities funded by the Health and Human Services Healthy Eating Active Living program. 

Marin County Office of Education  $75,000
Feasibility study to explore countywide collaboration on connecting public school food systems to local farms.

Museum of the American Indian  $15,000
Protect and share Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge, highlighting healthy, local, and sustainable foods through quarterly workshops at the Museum in Miwok Park.

Next Generation Scholars  $50,000
Physical improvements for Next Gen Justice Garden in downtown San Rafael. Train students and families in gardening as part of academic and social support program for Marin County middle and high school students and their families. Stipends for community members to manage garden and produce food for program participants.

North Bay Children's Center  $30,000
Contribute to building Garden of Eatin’ Outdoor Learning Lab at early childhood education site for low-income families. The Learning Lab will serve as a multidimensional seed-to-table education platform where children, staff and families will gain skills and knowledge to grow and use nutritious food, understand healthy food systems and environments, and develop resources to access healthy foods in their everyday life to support garden education and food production for meals.  

Rise Up! 94965 Foundation  $60,000
School Garden coordinator staff and rainwater catchment for Sausalito - Marin City school district.  

Sanzuma  $100,000
Relationship-building and workshops to connect local farmers and a diverse range of institutional buyers such as for childcare meals and senior congregate meals. Maintenance and management staff for farm located on San Pedro School site that produces food for San Rafael School District and educates students in gardening and nutrition.

Sustainable Marin Schools  $197,965
Fiscal sponsor: MarinLINK
Garden program for Novato School District. Build family garden at Rancho Elementary School, food garden at Pleasant Valley Elementary, provide supplies to existing gardens at other schools, and support a staff position to collaborate across all school gardens in the district.

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Cooperative Extension Marin Office  $120,000
Expand the capacity of school and community gardens countywide, with a focus on priority communities. Activities will: (1) provide resources to gardens across Marin (i.e. seeds, starts, compost, and mulch); (2) build a learning community and connect gardeners with learning opportunities; and (3) conduct ongoing needs assessment and evaluation.