Farm Fund Projects & History

Current Projects

We are excited to present the following Farm Fund Grant and Loan Recipients. This is your money in action—supporting local food and farming!

2022

Farm Fund GrantsNext Step Grants
City Sprouts
Empyrean Farm
Fair Cow’s Path
Goat Boat Farm
Lydia’s Flock
Matheson Farm
Peacemeal Farm
Rainshadow Farm
Sonder Farmstead
Ten Fold Farm
Verduras Organicas Mexicanas
Vertical Fog Farm
Wanderwood Farm
Boldly Grown Farm
Flynn Farms
Mariposa Family Farm
Mellema Farm
Moondance Farm
Sumas River Farm
Terra Verde Farm
Winding Road Farm

2021

Farm Fund GrantsNext Step Grants
Ashmore Acres, Bellingham
Cabrera Farms, Mount Vernon
Ebb & Flow Herb Farm, Mount Vernon
Helianthus Acres, Mount Vernon
Legacy Lamb, Bellingham
Mariposa Farm, Everson,
Monkey Puzzle Farm, Deming
Pollen Folly Farm, Everson
Reginos Farm, Mount Vernon,
Silva Family Farm, Mount Vernon/Oak Harbor
Steensma Creamery, Lynden
Twin Sisters Market, Deming
Tops & Bottoms Farm, Anacortes
Winding Road Farm, Everson
Forest Farmstead, Rockport
Alluvial Farms, Everson
City Sprouts Farm, Bellingham/Everson
Springtime Farm, Everson
Crows Farm, Bow
Sunseed Farm, Acme
Free Range Flowers, Bellingham
Monkey Puzzle Farm, Deming

2020

Farm Fund Grants

Alluvial Farms, Everson
Bellingham Food Bank, Bellingham
Birchwood Farmers Market, Bellingham
Bitters and Sharps, Acme
Farm Skills Video Project
Lydia’s Flock, Bellingham
Owl Eye Farm, Bellingham
Twin Sisters Market, Deming

2016 to 2019 Farm Fund Grants

2019
Bellingham Food Bank, Bellingham
City Sprouts Farm, Bellingham
Twin Sisters Farm, Everson
Viva Farms, Mount Vernon

2018
Bellingham Food Bank
City Sprouts
Matheson Farms
Sustainable Connections
Twin Sisters Farmers Market

2017
Bellingham Food Bank
Ciel Foundation
Garret Franz/Off Ox Project
Viva Farms

2016

Bellingham Food Bank
Seed Money Program pays new farmers for seeds in exchange for growing produce for this organization.
Goal: increase healthy food access and grow new farms.

Matheson Farms
“Sustainable Grazing Management in a Changing Climate” field day for local farmers.
Goal: climate resiliency, holistic farming practices, and benefits of the cooperative model.

McIntyre Family Farm
Purchase of multi-farm, portable sheep shearing equipment and sheep shearing training for local farmers.
Goal: equipment and skill sharing.

Off Ox Project
Training and demonstration equipment with oxen on several Whatcom County farms.
Goal: skill sharing, reduction of fossil fuel dependence.

Pachamama Organics
Acquire hand tools for the newly forming Nooksack Tool Co-op.
Goal: strengthen equipment access for small farmers in Whatcom County and foster collaboration between farms.

Twin Sisters Market
Enclose the new east county, mobile farmer’s market trailer with rigid, waterproof material.
Goal: increase access to healthy food in underserved communities.

Viva Farms
Purchase of a field cultivator tractor implement for a bilingual, nonprofit incubator farm.
Goal: supports aspiring farmers to overcome barriers to farm ownership.

2016 to 2020 Next Step Grants

2020
Boldly Grown Farm, Skagit Valley
Mariposa Farm, Everson
Moondance Farm, Acme

2019
Alluvial Farms, Everson
Cabrera Farm, Mount Vernon
Crows Farm, Burlington
Moondance Farm, Acme
Pure Nelida Farm, Mount Vernon
Silva Family Farm, Burlington
Small Acres Farm, Everson
Southern Exposure Farm, Sedro Woolley
Spring Frog Farm, Everson
The Growing Garden, Bellingham
Vertical Fog Farm, Bellingham

2018
Boldly Grown Farm
Foothills Farm
The Growing Garden
Mariposa Farm
Southern Exposure Family Farm
Terra Verde Farm
Wanderwood Farm
Wild Acres Family Farm

2017
Alluvial Farm
Lopez Bros. Farm
Misty Meadows Farm
Osprey Hill Farm
Sauk Farm
Spring Time Farm
Terra Verde Farm
Well Fed Farms

2016
Boldly Grown Farm
Brittle Barn Farms
Growing Garden
Moondance Farm
Sage and Sky Farm
Triple Wren Farms

2014 to 2016 Secured Loans

Brittlebarn Farm
Cedarville Farm
Cloud Mountain Farm Center
Matheson Farms
Small Acres Farm
Sumas River Farm
Triple Wren Farm

2010 to 2013 Revolving Loans

Cloud Mountain Farm Center
El Rancho Jacal
Heritage Lane Farm
Misty Meadows Farm
Neighborhood Harvest Farm
Osprey Hill Farm
Roll Organic Farm
Sumas River Farm
Tailwind Farm

Farm Fund–A History of Success

Since being founded in 2000, the Farm Fund has:

  • Partnered in launching Whatcom County’s first local labeling program to highlight local products; assisted the Bellingham Farmers Market with county-wide marketing.
  • Founded Food To Bank On (FTBO), a program that provides training, markets, and mentorship to new farmers, who are paid to deliver fresh food to local food banks (now part of Sustainable Connection’s Food and Farming Program).
  • Sponsored Whatcom County’s first organic seed saving workshops presented by a local farm business, Uprising Seeds, in collaboration with the Organic Seed Alliance.
  • Funded work by Community to Community Development on cooperative development for farm workers and Latino consumer access to local food.
  • Provided startup funds for the Food Bank Farm and funding for the Food Bank’s Seed Money Project. Farms receive funding toward early season costs and return a portion of their crops to the food bank. The program benefits the farms with early-season capital while opening doors for future contract purchasing with the food bank.
  • Funded a number of projects offered by Local Food Works, a grassroots volunteer effort to promote food equity, self-reliance, and sustainable living practices through the cultivation and sharing of knowledge, skills, and resources within the Mount Baker Foothills community of eastern Whatcom County.
  • Provided startup funding for the Ferndale, Lynden, and Twin Sisters farmers markets.
  • Funded Cloud Mountain Farm Center’s leafy greens variety trials for local season extension (workshops, fact sheets, consumer tastings, and field trials with five local farmers).
  • Gave a grant to Inspiration Farm for a set of screens for a seed cleaner to benefit local seed growers, improve grain trials, support a community seed network, and educate about seed production methods.
  • Provided a grant to McIntyre Farm for sheep shearing tools made available to other farmers, along with sheep shearing workshops.
  • Gave a grant to City Sprouts Farm, a new urban farm supplying vegetables and other farm products in the Birchwood neighborhood.
  • Provided grants for a field cultivator and a wash/packing station for Viva Farms, a business incubator that helps new farmers learn how to farm and establish their own businesses while minimizing prohibitive startup costs.
  • Contributed scholarships for local growers to attend the first Northwest Washington Sustainable Agriculture Conference.
  • Developed a low-interest secured loan fund in partnership with Whatcom Community Foundation and Industrial Credit Union for farm infrastructure needs. The $87,000 fund is on its third round of circulation in the local farming community.
  • Created the Next Step Project in partnership with the Sustainable Whatcom Fund of Whatcom Community Foundation. The Next Step Project provides annual grants up to $5,000 for local farmers investing in expansion projects to grow their businesses for Whatcom County wholesale markets (grocery stores, food hubs, restaurants, schools, etc).
  • Funded many other projects over the years, with more to come!