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      • Community Food Co-op, Downtown Store, 1220 North Forest Street at Holly StreetDowntown Store
        1220 North Forest Street at Holly Street
        Bellingham, Washington
        7 am - 9 pm
        360-734-8158
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        315 Westerly Road at Cordata Parkway
        Bellingham, Washington
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        360-734-8158
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You are here: Home / FARM FUND / Co-op’s Farm Fund: Let’s Grow It!

Co-op’s Farm Fund: Let’s Grow It!

by Laura Ridenour, Farm Fund chair and Co-op Board director

farm fund logo

The Farm Fund helps us live our values. Our Community Food Co-op is committed to being a cornerstone of the local food economy, ensuring that our community and region is capable of feeding itself.

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A rising consciousness about food has swept our community and the world. GMOs. Climate change. Farmworker rights. Organic and sustainable farming. Pollinator decline. Local resilience and sovereignty. These and many other factors have caused people to look more carefully at the food they eat—where it comes from, how it is grown, and who is growing it.

As a result, people want to buy more local food.

As farmers meet the increased demand for local food, the Community Food Co-op’s Farm Fund has grown from humble beginnings to a nationally-recognized model.

Since 2000, the Farm Fund, with donations from the Co-op operations budget and Co-op member-owners, has circulated over $204,215 for Farm Fund grants and revolving loans benefiting more than 60 farms and food/farming organizations.

The Farm Fund helps us live our values.

Our Community Food Co-op is committed to being a cornerstone of the local food economy, ensuring that our community and region is capable of feeding itself. Collaborating in the development of a vibrant local and regional food production and distribution system is one of the six core goals of our Co-op’s strategic plan.

The Farm Fund, run by a Co-op staff member and a volunteer committee of member-owners connected to the farming community, is a unique and powerful way to meet the needs of beginning and small farm businesses as we collectively work toward these goals.

For example, Whatcom County’s small farmers have reported that the barriers to reduce costs and compete in the wholesale market include two main issues: access to capital for equipment, land, or infrastructure, and a need for resources to navigate the various processes and learning curves related to expansion into new markets. The Farm Fund helps small farms reduce these barriers.

Donating to the Farm Fund gives community members the opportunity to invest in the future of the farms and farmers that provide our food.

Want local food? Support local farms!

Make a donation to the Farm Fund and become a “Farm Fund-er” today. Through the Farm Fund, you have an opportunity to support our local farming community and help to ensure viable small farm businesses are able to thrive. Donate online or at any Co-op register.

And buy local whenever you shop to support local farms and food producers.

Learn More About the Farm Fund

Questions about the Co-op Farm Fund? Email Mardi Solomon, Farm Fund administrator, or call her at 360-734-8158, ext. 311. Learn more, watch a video about the Farm Fund, or make a donation at Farm Fund page.

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2022 Community Shopping Day Donations

Every year, the Co-op Member Affairs Committee (MAC) and Board of Directors selects community organizations to be the monthly Community Shopping Days (CSD) recipient. CSD recipients receive 2% of the Co-op’s total sales on the third Saturday of their designated month, and all register donations made during the month. Now [...]
Farm Fund recipient Robin Crandall harvesting echinacea

Farm Fund Recipient: Ebb & Flow Herb Farm

We visited Farm Fund recipient Robin Crandall to talk about Ebb & Flow Herb Farm and her Co-op Farm Fund grant project.

The barn at Mariposa Farm under construction with support from a Community Food Co-op Farm Fund grant.

Appreciation for the Co-op Farm Fund. Donate today!

Thank you for donating to the Co-op Farm Fund! Farmers share their appreciation for the ways in which the Farm Fund has helped their organic, sustainable farms.

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DOWNTOWN STORE & DELI • map • 360-734-8158 • 7 am – 9 pm
meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
made-to-order counter: 7 am – 6 pm
salad/hot bar: 7 am – 6 pm

CORDATA STORE & DELI • map • 360-734-8158 • 7 am – 9 pm
meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
made-to-order counter: 7 am – 6 pm
salad/hot bar: 7 am – 7 pm

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