Soil Born Farms
Soil Born Farms is a Sacramento-area 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates a 55-acre urban farm and education center, producing certified organic food for a CSA, farmstand, and local restaurants while running youth/adult education and food access programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersSacramento, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Soil Born Farms does
Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture & Education Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a 55-acre working farm and education center at the American River Ranch along the American River Parkway in Sacramento and Rancho Cordova, California. Founded in 2000 by Shawn Harrison and Marco Franciosa as a for-profit farm and reorganized as a nonprofit in November 2004 with co-founder Janet Zeller, the organization runs certified organic production on two urban farm sites, distributing produce through an 80-member CSA, a Saturday farmstand (including Milly's Mercantile and Phoebe's Tea & Snack Bar microbusiness), an online marketplace, and wholesale to local restaurants and stores.
The portfolio spans youth and adult education (field trips, summer day camps, homeschool classes, the Roots & Wings teen job-training program, the Growing Together teacher-training program with 10 partner schools, and Grow Your Groceries beginning-farmer training), food access initiatives (Veggie Rx produce prescriptions, Harvest Sacramento gleaning, and the 2024 ASI Food Pantry partnership at Sacramento State), and ecosystem-restoration work on Cordova Creek. Proprietary production methods include Johnson-Su enhanced compost, a custom-built germination chamber, and a paper-pot transplanting system that has raised seedling throughput to roughly 13,000 plants per week during peak season.
Revenue is generated through a hybrid nonprofit model combining transaction-based produce and CSA sales, subscription-style educational program fees, facility rentals, and a heavy reliance on charitable donations and foundation grants. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer or local, with no app or platform technology product; marketing runs through owned digital channels (website, email eblasts, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X), community events, volunteer pipelines, and school partnerships rather than paid acquisition.
Soil Born Farms firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Soil Born Farms
- Legal name
- Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture & Education Project
- Website
- https://soilborn.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Soil Born Farms is a Sacramento-area 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates a 55-acre urban farm and education center, producing certified organic food for a CSA, farmstand, and local restaurants while running youth/adult education and food access programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Soil Born Farms industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Urban Agriculture & Education Services
- NAICS
- Vegetable and Melon Farming (1112), Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531), Food Crops Grown Under Cover (11141)
- SIC
- Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sustainable/Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation Practices (EDAOAOAO)
Keywords
Where Soil Born Farms is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sacramento
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Soil Born Farms business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Produce Sales: Sales of certified organic produce through Saturday farmstand, Online Marketplace, and to local restaurants and stores. Serves 80 CSA members with weekly produce shares.
- Farmstand Operations: Open Air Organic Produce Stand, Milly's Mercantile (local artisan goods), and Phoebe's Tea & Snack Bar operating on Saturday mornings. Farmhouse Kitchen prepares soups and meals for sale.
- Educational Programs: Fee-based programs including youth field trips, summer day camps, homeschool classes, adult education workshops, and school garden training. Programs serve hundreds of students annually.
- Donations and Grants: Charitable contributions from individuals, community partners, and foundation grants support educational programs, scholarships, and capital projects.
- Meeting Space Rental: Rental of farm facilities for community events, meetings, and gatherings.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Soil Born Farms product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Soil Born Farms operates a 55-acre nonprofit urban farm and education center producing certified organic vegetables and fruit, sold directly to consumers through a Saturday farmstand, an online marketplace, and a CSA serving roughly 80 members. It delivers a portfolio of paid youth and adult education programs (summer day camps, field trips, beginning farmer training, cooking and wellness classes, teacher training) and food access initiatives (Veggie Rx, Harvest Sacramento produce donations). Ancillary on-site microbusinesses and facility rentals supplement the core agricultural and educational offerings.
Product overview
Soil Born Farms operates as a non-profit urban agriculture and education organization offering a diverse portfolio of interconnected programs and services. The core offerings include an Online Marketplace for ordering organic produce, an on-site Farm Stand at American River Ranch, and specialty retail through Milly's Mercantile. Educational services span Youth Education Programs (field trips, summer day camp, Roots & Wings job training), Adult Education classes, and the Grow Your Groceries farmer training program. Food access initiatives include Veggie Rx produce prescriptions and Harvest Sacramento produce donation. The teen empowerment program includes Phoebe's Tea & Snack Bar microbusiness. All programs integrate the organization's mission of connecting food, health, and the environment through regenerative agriculture practices.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Online Marketplace
Quantifiable outcome
- 1,200+ students educated annually through adult education and farm programs
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Soil Born Farms
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Soil Born Farms technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Soil Born Farms partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ASI Food Pantry at Sacramento StatecorePartnership rekindled to provide extra produce to food-insecure Sac State students. Farm provides produce that doesn't sell to the food pantry, while ASI volunteers pick up and distribute. Part of efforts to address food access for vulnerable populations.
- Explore Rancho CordovacoreCity program that welcomes and orients new residents. Partnership to distribute 100 fruit trees to new community members along with free planting classes at the farm. Introduces new residents to Soil Born's mission and resources.
- Rotary Clubs of American River and Rancho CordovacoreRotary clubs supported the mission through grants and volunteer work. Projects include building chicken run in youth garden, planting citrus grove to honor community members, and building new germination chamber for greenhouse.
- Pacific Elementary SchoolminorLong-term school garden partner where former students have returned to maintain gardens during pandemic, demonstrating lasting impact of garden education programs.
- Sacramento Natural Foods Co-opminorLocal natural foods co-op that lent commercial kitchen space to Farmhouse Kitchen during renovations, supporting culinary education programs.
- OneSpeed Pizza (Chef Rick Mahan)minorLocal restaurant owner who shared commercial kitchen space with Farmhouse Kitchen team during renovations, supporting continuity of culinary programs.
- Greek Orthodox ChurchminorProvided commercial kitchen space for Farmhouse Kitchen team use during facility renovations.
- Delain Eastin (Garden in Every School Movement)coreGrowing Together teacher training program supports the Garden in Every School movement established by former California State Superintendent Delain Eastin, including hands-on trainings and annual symposium.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Soil Born Farms competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hidden Villa: Los Altos Hills-based nonprofit farm and education center running CSA, youth summer camps, and environmental education programs on a multi-hundred-acre site — virtually identical hybrid farm-plus-education model to Soil Born Farms.
- Veggielution: San Jose, California nonprofit urban farm operating on city parkland with CSA, youth education, and food-access programs — a directly comparable urban-parkland farm with education and food-access missions similar to Soil Born's American River Ranch model.
- Pie Ranch: Pescadero, California regenerative farm and education center with youth programs, CSA, and a focus on racial and food justice — closely aligned with Soil Born's regenerative practices and food-access orientation.
- Petaluma Bounty: Petaluma, California nonprofit farm and food-access organization running CSA, gleaning programs, and Veggie Rx-style produce prescriptions — directly comparable to Soil Born on the farm-plus-food-access axis in a Northern California setting.
- Urban Adamah: Berkeley, California urban farm that integrates organic production, Jewish-farm-based education, and youth fellowships — operates as a comparable urban farm-and-education nonprofit in the broader Bay/Sacramento food-system ecosystem.
- Jones Valley Teaching Farm: Birmingham, Alabama-based urban farm whose mission is 'food education' — combining production farming with K-12 teaching farms and youth apprenticeships in a structure directly comparable to Soil Born's Roots & Wings and Growing Together programs.
- The Ecology Center: San Juan Capistrano, California regenerative agriculture education organization operating a working farm with workshops, youth programs, and a food-rescue program — shares Soil Born's regenerative-agriculture, education, and food-access mix.
- Fairview Gardens: Goleta, California nonprofit working farm operating a CSA, farmstand, and school education programs on historic agricultural land — a near-direct functional peer with comparable urban-adjacent production and education mix.
- Center for Land-Based Learning: Winters, California nonprofit focused on agriculture education, beginning farmer training, and youth programs including the statewide FARMS Leadership program — directly comparable in mission, geography (California), and program design to Soil Born.
Broad incumbents
- Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture: Pocantico Hills, New York nonprofit farm and education center at substantially larger scale and budget; same regenerative-agriculture-plus-education mission profile, serving as an established broader incumbent in the farm-education category.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Soil Born Farms social profiles
Digital presenceSoil Born Farms financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Soil Born Farms leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
Soil Born Farms funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Soil Born Farms 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 Soil Born Farms
What does Soil Born Farms do?
Soil Born Farms operates a 55-acre nonprofit urban farm and education center producing certified organic vegetables and fruit, sold directly to consumers through a Saturday farmstand, an online marketplace, and a CSA serving roughly 80 members. It delivers a portfolio of paid youth and adult education programs (summer day camps, field trips, beginning farmer training, cooking and wellness classes, teacher training) and food access initiatives (Veggie Rx, Harvest Sacramento produce donations). Ancillary on-site microbusinesses and facility rentals supplement the core agricultural and educational offerings.
Is Soil Born Farms a public or private company?
Soil Born Farms is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Soil Born Farms founded?
Soil Born Farms was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Soil Born Farms based?
Soil Born Farms is headquartered in Sacramento, United States, in the North America region.
How does Soil Born Farms make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Produce Sales are the primary driver. The others are farmstand Operations, educational Programs, donations and Grants and meeting Space Rental.
Who are Soil Born Farms's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hidden Villa, Veggielution, Pie Ranch, Petaluma Bounty, Urban Adamah, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, The Ecology Center, Fairview Gardens and Center for Land-Based Learning. Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Soil Born Farms have an API?
No public API is recorded for Soil Born Farms.
What industry is Soil Born Farms in?
Soil Born Farms's product category is Urban Agriculture & Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAOAOAO, Sustainable/Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation Practices. Its NAICS code is 1112 and its SIC code is 100.