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You are here: Home / Archives for next step

Pure Nelida: A 2019 Next Step Recipient

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

April 2019
Nelida Martinez and her daughter hold organic veggies on pure nelida organic farm in skagit county washington

Nelida Martinez (at right) and her daughter hold armloads of organic produce grown on her farm in the Skagit Valley.

“Me gusta mucho crecer las plantas, producir buena alimentación, para alguien más. Me gusta mucho, este trabajo es mi pasión!” says Nelida, owner of Pure Nelida Organic Produce.

Translation: I like to grow plants and provide nourishment for everyone. I like it a lot, this work is my passion!

Photo courtesy of Pure Nelida.

Pure Nelida: A 2019 Next Step Grant and Loan Recipient

The story of Pure Nelida began 30 years ago when Nelida Martinez learned to cultivate fruits and vegetables in the fields of California.

For many years, she and her family worked and lived under the hot sun while being exposed to pesticides.

Nelida’s personal interest in organic food comes from her son’s diagnosis of leukemia and her suspicion that the disease arose due to the many years the family spent working in the pesticide-ridden fields of California. Despite a long battle, Nelida ultimately lost her son to the disease.

After moving to Washington, Nelida enrolled in bilingual sustainable farming courses, developed a business plan for an organic farm, and gained experience with organic farming with the assistance of Viva Farms in Skagit County, Washington state’s first bilingual farm business incubator.

Nelida’s passion as a farm owner has her always thinking of ways to improve her farming methods and expand her farm. She is currently farming on nine acres and plans to lease five additional acres.

photo of zlex perez of northwest agriculture business council and jean rogers of community food coop farm fund presenting a big check to nelida martinez of pure nelida

(from left) Alex Perez from Northwest Agriculture Business Center, Nelida Martinez from Pure Nelida, and Jean Rogers from the Co-op’s Farm Fund, gather to present Next Step grant and loan funds to Nelida.

The funds will be used to purchase and construct a large durable greenhouse that will help Nelida expand her business and increase efficiency on the farm

Unfortunately, this past winter windstorms destroyed the greenhouse she used to start her plants. Next Step grant and loan funds will be used to purchase and construct a large durable greenhouse that will help Nelida expand her business and increase efficiency on the farm.

Pure Nelida currently sells produce to the Puget Sound Food Hub, which delivers fresh produce to our stores. Nelida is also working to expand into more wholesale markets. Among other products, the farm sells berries, tomatillos, kale, chard, onions, corn, potatoes, and jalapeño, chili, and bell peppers.

Edited and reprinted with permission of Pure Nelida Organic Produce and Viva Farms.

Learn More

Learn more about Pure Nelida and Viva Farms. Find information about the Co-op's Farm Fund grant and loan programs.

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Farm Fund Update: Next Steps Report

by Jean Rogers, Farm Fund Administrator

June 2018
Community Food Co-op Farm Fund

The Community Food Co-op Farm Fund’s Next Step Project supports local farmers who are working to expand their farms and supply us with fresh, healthy food. Next Step gives a boost to farm expansion projects through grants and low-interest secured loans, and our 2017 recipients quickly made good use of the funding.

Congratulations to the 2018 Next Step recipients:

The Growing Garden, Terra Verde Farm, Wanderwood Farm, Foothills Farm, Mariposa Farm, Southern Exposure Family Farm, Wild Acres Family Farm, Boldly Grown Farm, and Ashmore Farm.

We look forward to following these nine farms through the growing season and will report on their accomplishments throughout 2018 as their projects progress.

Following is a snapshot of how the 2017 Next Step recipients have put the funds to use.

Spring Time Farm in Everson

farmers in a field with their dog

Nick Spring and Sarah Robinson

Project: farm property purchase and infrastructure expansion

Accomplishment: invested in four new greenhouses, a walk-in cooler, and a wash station

Quote from the farmer: “It’s going to give us expansion potential and a more sustainable farm, with long-term control over managing the land. It feels amazing to build a long-term business. We have access to more land now, and the goal is to increase production and product availability. We supply the Co-op and have
a multi-year contract with the food bank.”

Terra Verde Farm in Everson

terra verde farms

Amy and Skuter Fontaine

Project: farm property and equipment purchase (cultimulcher and mower)

Accomplishment: cultimulcher saved a lot of time and replaced rototilling; Skuter used to be out till 10 pm and now can be home in time to do deliveries

Quote from the farmer: “The cultimulcher saved a lot of time with field prep and I don’t even know how we’d get into the blueberries without it (the mower). It’s been fantastic, really been helpful for our operations.”

Misty Meadows Farm in Everson

chickens and famers at Misty Meadows

Melissa and Mark Moeller

Project: infrastructure improvements and increase flock

Accomplishment: the farm has excess eggs for the first time

Quote from the farmer: “New chickens are busting out eggs all over the place!”

Osprey Hill Farm in Acme

farmers standing in their field

Anna and Geoff Martin

Project: chick brooding infrastructure projects to enable poultry flock expansion

Accomplishment: now hatching 750 chicks every 3 weeks; preparing to add another brooder next year and increase that to 1,000 chicks

Quote from the farmer: “It (the new brooding room) is the core of the farm and hugely important, and knowing the Co-op has our back, we couldn’t do it without your support.”

Alluvial Farm in Everson

Katie Pencke in the greenhouse

Katie Pencke and Matthew McDermott

Project: land and equipment purchase and upgrade to local custom bulk feed mix from Scratch & Peck

Accomplishment: increased from 10 to 50 animals (pigs) and sold all of them; signed first wholesale client

Quote from the farmer: “Without the Next Step grant and loan, it (purchasing custom feed) simply couldn’t have happened.”

Sauk Farm in Concrete

the family at sauk farms

Carol, Jesse, and Griffin Berger

Project: purchase equipment (apple washer, automated fruit slicer, and heat pump dehydrator)

Accomplishment: only organic honey crisp producer in our area

Quote from the farmer: “The Next Step grant allowed us to purchase equipment that we use to make our grape and apple cider and our dried apples that are all available at the Co-op.”

Well Fed Farms in Bow

Well Fed Farms produce featured at the Co Op.

Erik Olson

Project: equipment purchase (seeder, cultivating tractor, disc harrow)

Accomplishment: started supplying product to the Community Food Co-op through the Puget Sound Food Hub; picked up sales to another local business and plans to add additional buyers

Quote from the farmer: “The increased production efficiency that I’ve gained through the tools purchased with the grant funds has definitely helped to move my farm in the direction necessary to grow larger volumes of produce with better consistency/quality and to find extra time and energy to market to new customers in Whatcom County.”

Lopez Bros. Farm in Mount Vernon

Hootenanny attendees

Feliciano Lopez

Project: purchased 1,500 berry plants; wholesale potential for other unique organic produce

Accomplishment: supplied berries to Community Food Co-op and Skagit Valley Food Co-op; recognized with the Innovator Local Farmer Award

Quote: “We were pleased to add the delicious berries from Lopez Bros. Farm to our produce departments and are eager to continue working with them.”
—Wynne Marks, Cordata store manager

Learn More

Learn more about the Farm Fund and see how you can donate and support local farms on our website.

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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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