Farming Hope
Farming Hope is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a 12-week paid culinary apprenticeship for adults facing employment barriers, anchored by Refettorio San Francisco, which trains apprentices while producing 4,200+ meals weekly for food-insecure residents and recovering surplus produce.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Farming Hope does
Farming Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by Jamie Stark and Kevin Madrigal at Stanford University's d.school, headquartered at 690 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. Its core program is a 12-week, part-time, paid (hourly) culinary apprenticeship for adults experiencing barriers to employment — including individuals who are formerly incarcerated, unhoused, or in recovery — who must apply with case-manager support from partner social-service nonprofits. Three cohorts run per year at under 30 hours per week, and apprentices train on real production at 600–1,000 meals per day. The program sits at the center of a triple-impact model: paid job training, food recovery from cosmetically imperfect produce, and community-meal distribution to food-insecure San Franciscans (4,200+ meals per week, 150,000+ cumulative since inception, 23,000+ pounds of produce recovered in 2023). Operational backbone is Refettorio San Francisco, an anchor community food hub operated in collaboration with Food for Soul (founded by Chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore) since 2021.
The organization runs an interlocking portfolio of programs rather than a single product: the Apprenticeship Program, Refettorio SF (anchor kitchen and community-meal distribution), Community Meals and twice-weekly in-house family dinners, a client-choice grocery program, and food recovery using root-to-stem cooking techniques. Distribution runs through a single anchor facility plus case-manager referral channels (Hamilton Families, Compass Family Services, Wu Yee Children's Services, Boys and Girls Club), volunteer channels (POINT-scheduled), and 12+ restaurant Employment Partners that hire graduates. Marketing and community engagement rely on earned media, organic social, email newsletter, blog content, and a Pop-Up Guest Chef Dinner series. Co-Executive Directors Andie Sobrepeña and Kerry Rodgers have led the organization since August 2023, succeeding founders Stark and Madrigal who transitioned to advisory roles.
The business model is non-commercial philanthropy: Farming Hope is funded through individual donations via Funraise-powered online giving, a tiered Harvest Club giving circle ranging from Seedling ($1,200) to Orchard ($100,000+), Donor Advised Fund grants (DAF Direct via Fidelity Charitable, DAFgiving360, BNY Mellon), stock donations via Donatestock, corporate matching gifts, ticketed events on Humanitix, corporate philanthropy (Salesforce Foundation, Accenture, Whole Foods Caring Communities, Zuora for Good), foundation grants (REDF, Westly Foundation, Flora Family Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, Project Redwood, SFPHF, Neighbor Foundation, WeRaise), and a CalRecycle grant administered via California Climate Investments, with a $150,000 grant added in December 2024 from the California Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise. No equity, cap-table, or product-pricing model applies given the nonprofit form.
Farming Hope firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Farming Hope
- Legal name
- Farming Hope
- Website
- https://farminghope.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Farming Hope is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a 12-week paid culinary apprenticeship for adults facing employment barriers, anchored by Refettorio San Francisco, which trains apprentices while producing 4,200+ meals weekly for food-insecure residents and recovering surplus produce.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Farming Hope industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Workforce Development / Culinary Job Training (Nonprofit)
- NAICS
- Community Food Services (62421), Special Food Services (7223), Caterers (72232)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Professional Culinary Arts (Chef Training) (EDAOAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Institutional & Commercial Kitchen Training (Schools/Healthcare/Corporate) (EDAOAKAL), Cooking Classes & Chef-Led Workshops (THAJAGAI), Menu Planning, Nutrition & Dietary Accommodation Services (Allergens, Special Diets) (EDAEAEAD)
Keywords
Where Farming Hope is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Farming Hope business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Individual donations (one-time and recurring): Direct online donations via Funraise-powered donate page; supports one-time gifts and recurring monthly contributions. 501(c)(3) status (Tax ID 83-2393341) makes 100% of donations tax-deductible.
- Harvest Club tiered giving circle: Multi-tier recurring/lump-sum donor program with levels: Seedling ($1,200 / $100 monthly), Shrub ($2,400 / $200 monthly), Herb Garden ($5,000), Greenhouse ($10,000), Garden Bed ($25,000+), Field ($50,000+), Orchard ($100,000+). Benefits include VIP "Let's Talk Food" speaker series access, chef's-table dinners, naming opportunities, and a custom culinary experience with Chef Massimo Bottura at the top tier.
- Foundation and government grants: Grant funding from sources including CalRecycle (Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery) via California Climate Investments, plus foundation grants from REDF, Westly Foundation, Flora Family Foundation, San Francisco Foundation (SFF), Project Redwood, San Francisco Public Health Foundation (SFPHF), Neighbor Foundation, and WeRaise.
- Donor Advised Fund (DAF) and stock donations: DAF grants routed via DAF Direct from Fidelity Charitable, DAFgiving360, and BNY Mellon. Stock gifts processed via Donatestock.com partnership. Corporate matching-gift programs double or triple donor impact.
- Event revenue (pop-up dinners, guest chef series): Ticketed pop-up Guest Chef dinners (e.g., tribute to Chef Charles Phan with proceeds supporting the program), quarterly Apprentice-designed dinners, and Books and Bites events. Tickets sold via Humanitix; events also serve fundraising and community-engagement roles.
- Corporate philanthropy and sponsorships: Corporate citizenship support from companies including Salesforce (Salesforce Foundation), Accenture, Whole Foods (Caring Communities), and Zuora (Zuora for Good).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Seedling — $1,200 one-time or $100/month recurring |
| Subscription | Annual | Shrub — $2,400 one-time or $200/month recurring |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Herb Garden — $5,000 |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Greenhouse — $10,000 |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Garden Bed — $25,000+ |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Field — $50,000+ |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Orchard — $100,000+ |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Farming Hope product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Farming Hope runs a 12-week, part-time, paid culinary apprenticeship for adults facing barriers to employment, anchored at its Refettorio San Francisco community kitchen where apprentices produce 600–1,000 meals daily. Apprentices feed a Community Meals Program (4,200+ meals/week) and Client-Choice Grocery serving food-insecure San Franciscans, while the Food Recovery Program rescues cosmetically imperfect produce through root-to-stem cooking. Funded by individual donations, foundation and government grants, corporate sponsorships, ticketed pop-up dinners, and a tiered Harvest Club donor circle.
Product overview
Farming Hope is a single 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interlocking programs rather than a multi-product software platform. The Apprenticeship Program is the core offering: a 12-week, paid, part-time transitional employment program that trains adults facing barriers to employment in a commercial kitchen. Apprentices complete their training at Refettorio San Francisco, the anchor kitchen / community food hub operated in collaboration with Food for Soul, where the Food Recovery Program and Community Meals Program / Client-Choice Grocery together turn cosmetically imperfect surplus produce into roughly 4,200 prepared meals per week for food-insecure San Franciscans. Fundraising and community engagement flow through the Pop-Up Guest Chef Dinner Series, Apprentice Dinners, the Harvest Club donor circle, the Advisory Council, the Volunteer Program, and a multi-channel Donate program (Funraise, DAF Direct, DonateStock). Outcomes are routed back into the food-service labor market through Farming Hope's Employment Partnerships with Bay Area restaurants and food companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Refettorio San Francisco: Anchor community food hub and named program/initiative of Farming Hope, operated in collaboration with Food for Soul, where Apprentices train and the organization recovers surplus food to serve prepared meals, in-house dinners, and a client-choice grocery.
- Harvest Club
- Apprenticeship Program
Products and services
- Apprenticeship Program A 12-week, part-time, paid transitional employment apprenticeship for adults experiencing barriers to employment (including those formerly incarcerated, unhoused, or in recovery). Apprentices earn hourly wages while gaining on-the-job experience in a commercial kitchen producing 600–1,000 meals daily, alongside culinary, professional, and life-skill coursework. Three cohorts per year, 3–4 shifts per week under 30 hours. Applications require an actively engaged case manager.
- Refettorio San Francisco 7-days-a-week community food hub at 690 Van Ness Ave operated in collaboration with Food for Soul, serving as the anchor kitchen where Apprentices train and the organization recovers surplus food to serve 4,200+ meals per week to food-insecure San Franciscans, hosts twice-weekly in-house family dinners, and runs a client-choice grocery program.
- Community Meals Program Distributes individually prepared, nourishing meals in partnership with nonprofit organizations throughout San Francisco (Hamilton Families, Compass Family Services, Wu Yee Children's Services, Boys and Girls Club), and hosts in-house family dinners twice per week at Refettorio San Francisco. Targets the 1 in 4 San Franciscans facing food insecurity.
- Client-Choice Grocery Provides client-choice groceries, allowing clients to select the food their family is most likely to consume, creating food security while reducing food waste. Operates at Refettorio San Francisco.
- Pop-Up Guest Chef Dinner Series Quarterly/recurring ticketed pop-up dinners featuring guest chefs (e.g., Michelle Minori, Chefs Dong Choi, Tu David Phu, plus restaurants like State Bird, Fiorella, The Slanted Door) that support the apprenticeship and food-justice work. Tickets sold via Humanitix.
- Harvest Club A social and giving circle of committed supporters with seven sponsorship tiers: Seedling ($1,200 / $100 monthly), Shrub ($2,400 / $200 monthly), Herb Garden ($5,000), Greenhouse ($10,000), Garden Bed ($25,000+), Field ($50,000+), Orchard ($100,000+). Benefits include VIP access to "Let's Talk Food!" speaker series, chef's-table dinners, naming opportunities, and a custom culinary experience with Chef Massimo Bottura at the top tier.
Quantifiable outcome
- 4,200+ meals served per week via Refettorio SF
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Farming Hope
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Farming Hope technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Farming Hope partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Food for Soul (Chef Massimo Bottura / Lara Gilmore)flagshipCollaboration under which Refettorio San Francisco operates as a 7-days-a-week anchor community food hub. Food for Soul is the nonprofit founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore; Refettorio SF is one of multiple Refettorios around the world pursuing food-waste reduction and social inclusion.
- Whole Foods Market (Caring Communities / Mission)coreMission-aligned corporate partner aligned with Whole Foods' Caring Communities program; linked from the homepage supporters section.
- Hamilton FamiliescoreRefers families facing housing instability and food insecurity to Farming Hope's in-house family dinners and prepared-meal distribution at Refettorio SF.
- Compass Family ServicescoreFamily-services nonprofit partner that refers clients to in-house community dinners; partnership originally established by board member Michele Morrison.
- Wu Yee Children's ServicescoreLatest family-services referral partner; brings early-childhood-education and family-support clients into Farming Hope's meal programs.
- Boys and Girls ClubcoreYouth-services nonprofit that refers families to in-house community dinners at Refettorio San Francisco.
- Flour and WatercoreEmployment Partner that hires Farming Hope apprenticeship graduates, helping create equitable workplaces in the food industry.
- Zuni CafecoreEmployment Partner that hires apprenticeship graduates from the culinary job-training program.
- Dandelion ChocolatecoreBay Area chocolate maker Employment Partner that hires apprenticeship graduates.
- Bi-Rite MarketcoreSpecialty grocery Employment Partner that has hired apprenticeship graduates.
- Michael Mina Group (Mina Group)coreMichelin-affiliated restaurant group Employment Partner that hires apprenticeship graduates.
- The Slanted DoorminorParticipated as guest-chef partner in the Charles Phan tribute pop-up dinner that kicked off SF Cookbook Week.
- Manny's (welcometomannys.com)coreOpened the first Farming Hope job-training restaurant in Manny's Mission District civic-gathering space in 2018; partnership opened together on election night 2018.
- Cala Restaurant / Emma Rosenbush (long-time advisor)coreIn 2020, Farming Hope temporarily took over Cala Restaurant (shut down at outset of pandemic) as the first home for the community food hub dubbed Refettorio San Francisco, thanks to advisor Emma Rosenbush.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Farming Hope competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DC Central Kitchen: Washington, DC-based nonprofit combining paid culinary job training for adults facing barriers to employment with food recovery and community meal distribution — essentially the same triple-impact model as Farming Hope but at larger scale.
- FareStart: Seattle-based nonprofit offering culinary job training for people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and other barriers, plus food recovery and community cafés — directly comparable apprenticeship-plus-food-recovery model.
- Hot Bread Kitchen: NYC nonprofit providing culinary and workforce training for immigrant women and underserved populations, with an incubator model for food entrepreneurs; closely aligned mission and target population.
Broad incumbents
- Food for Soul: Italy-based nonprofit founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore that operates the global Refettorio network of community kitchens; Farming Hope's Refettorio SF is one of these sites, making Food for Soul both a strategic partner and the broader umbrella organization.
- City Harvest: NYC's largest food rescue organization collecting surplus food and distributing free meals; comparable food-recovery and community-feeding mission at significantly larger scale (note: Farming Hope board member Kathy Gu previously led corporate partnerships there).
Regional players
- La Cocina: San Francisco-based nonprofit food business incubator supporting low-income entrepreneurs launching food businesses; complementary model focused on entrepreneurship rather than wage-employment apprenticeship.
- St. Anthony Foundation: San Francisco-based social services nonprofit operating the St. Anthony's Dining Room serving free meals, plus workforce and housing programs; comparable geographic base and food-security mission.
- Glide Foundation: San Francisco-based nonprofit providing meals, housing, and social services; broad social-services portfolio with a daily free-meals program comparable in spirit to Farming Hope's community meal distribution.
- Project Open Hand: San Francisco and Oakland-based nonprofit that prepares and delivers meals to seniors and people with critical illnesses; comparable meal-preparation scale and SF Bay Area service area, though focused on a different client population.
Emerging players
- Rescuing Leftover Cuisine: National nonprofit focused on food rescue and redistribution with corporate volunteer programs; adjacent in mission (food waste reduction) though lighter on direct job-training or meal-service components.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Farming Hope social profiles
Digital presenceFarming Hope compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Farming Hope financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Farming Hope leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Farming Hope subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Farming Hope funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Farming Hope M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Farming Hope
What does Farming Hope do?
Farming Hope runs a 12-week, part-time, paid culinary apprenticeship for adults facing barriers to employment, anchored at its Refettorio San Francisco community kitchen where apprentices produce 600–1,000 meals daily. Apprentices feed a Community Meals Program (4,200+ meals/week) and Client-Choice Grocery serving food-insecure San Franciscans, while the Food Recovery Program rescues cosmetically imperfect produce through root-to-stem cooking. Funded by individual donations, foundation and government grants, corporate sponsorships, ticketed pop-up dinners, and a tiered Harvest Club donor circle.
Is Farming Hope a public or private company?
Farming Hope is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Farming Hope founded?
Farming Hope was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Farming Hope based?
Farming Hope is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Farming Hope make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Individual donations (one-time and recurring) is the primary driver. The others are harvest Club tiered giving circle, foundation and government grants, donor Advised Fund (DAF) and stock donations, event revenue (pop-up dinners, guest chef series) and corporate philanthropy and sponsorships.
Who are Farming Hope's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DC Central Kitchen, FareStart and Hot Bread Kitchen. Broad incumbents are Food for Soul and City Harvest. Regional players are La Cocina, St. Anthony Foundation, Glide Foundation and Project Open Hand. Rescuing Leftover Cuisine is listed as an emerging player.
Does Farming Hope have an API?
No public API is recorded for Farming Hope.
What industry is Farming Hope in?
Farming Hope's product category is Workforce Development / Culinary Job Training (Nonprofit). Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAOAKAA, Professional Culinary Arts (Chef Training), with a secondary code of EDAOAKAL, Institutional & Commercial Kitchen Training (Schools/Healthcare/Corporate). Its NAICS code is 62421 and its SIC code is 2090.