Farms to Grow

What Farms to Grow does

Farms to Grow, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2004 by anthropologist Dr. Gail P. Myers and Gordon Reed, headquartered in Oakland, California. The organization supports Black farmers and other underserved sustainable farmers across the United States — including African American, Native American, Hispanic, women, and limited-access organic operators — by providing farmer development workshops, technical assistance, capacity building, membership-based networking, and grant writing support. Its programs address structural barriers such as land loss (Black farmer land ownership is under 1%), isolation from USDA resources, and limited access to wholesale markets.

The organization's product portfolio centers on a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Harvest Bag subscription program ($45 single bag, $280 full summer/fall season) with pickup at Telegraph Community Center (Oakland) and Andytown Coffee Roasters (San Francisco) and $1/mile doorstep delivery across 8 Bay Area cities; the seasonal Freedom Farmers Market (2nd and 4th Saturdays, July–November, at 4521 Telegraph Ave, Oakland); a Farmer Development Program offering workshops on crop management, soil conservation, business planning, and pricing; and a Membership Program for farmers, ranchers, chefs, and students. Supporting programs include the Equitable Harvest and Black Farmers Initiative co-developed with Stanford Food Institute (institutional purchasing toolkits), Farm-to-School, Gardens to Grow (with YMCA East Bay), the Legacy Food Ambassador (Chef Wanda Blake), the award-winning Rhythms of the Land documentary (5,000+ viewers, Best Documentary at three festivals), and the annual Central Valley Watermelon Tasting in Fresno.

Farms to Grow is funded through a mix of tax-deductible donations, foundation grants, CSA subscriptions, membership fees, event sponsorships (Tractor Supply Company, Scratch and Peck), and Donor Advised Fund contributions via DAF Direct (Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, BNY Mellon). It has 1-10 employees, no parent company, no institutional investors, and no funding rounds. Leadership comprises co-founders Dr. Gail P. Myers and Gordon Reed, Executive Director/Producer Elaine Smith, and Board President Theresa Starks. Operating geographies span California, the broader Western United States, and the Southern United States via documentary screenings and farmer relationships.

Name

Farms to Grow

Legal name

Farms to Grow, Inc.

Website

https://farmstogrow.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Farms to Grow is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2004 in Oakland, California that supports Black farmers and underserved sustainable farmers in the United States through CSA subscriptions, farmer development workshops, farmers markets, institutional partnerships, and the award-winning Rhythms of the Land documentary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit agricultural advocacy and community-supported farming services

NAICS

Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Community supported agriculture
• Farmers market operations
• Farmer development training
• Farm to school programs
• Food justice advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, Farms to Grow relies on tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, and foundation grants to fund farmer development programs, capacity building initiatives, and operational expenses.
2. CSA Program Revenue: Community Supported Agriculture program where subscribers prepay for produce harvest bags, supporting farmers and providing fresh produce. Single bag $45, two-bag subscription $90, full summer/fall (7 CSA) $280, half summer/fall (4 CSA) $180, with optional delivery at $1/mile.
3. Membership Fees: Annual membership program for farmers, ranchers, urban gardeners, chefs, restaurateurs, health professionals, and students providing networking, technical assistance, crop production support, marketing support, and grant writing assistance.
4. DAF Direct (Donor Advised Fund): Facilitates grant recommendations from Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon Charitable Gift Fund, allowing donors to make tax-deductible contributions through their existing donor advised fund accounts.
5. Event Sponsorships: Annual events such as Central Valley Watermelon Tasting and Annual Black Farmer Awards generate sponsorship revenue from corporate partners like Tractor Supply Company and Scratch and Peck.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Farms to Grow, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports Black farmers and underserved farming communities by operating the Freedom Farmers' Market, distributing CSA Harvest Bags, and running farmer-development, youth-education, and food-equity programs. The organization also produces cultural content such as the "Rhythms of the Land" documentary and partners with institutions like Stanford to channel produce from its farmer network into larger institutional markets.

Product overview

Farms to Grow, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that offers a portfolio of interconnected programs supporting Black farmers and underserved farmers. The core offerings include the Farmer Development Program (workshops and technical assistance), Membership Program (networking and business support), Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Harvest Bags (direct-to-consumer produce subscriptions), and Freedom Farmers' Market (seasonal market venue). Supporting programs include the Equitable Harvest and Black Farmers Initiative (institutional purchasing), Farm to School and Farm to Institution initiatives, Youth Chefs Cooking & Nutrition, Gardens to Grow, Legacy Food Ambassador, and the Rhythms of the Land documentary. Additional resources include Healthy Recipes and volunteer opportunities. The organization connects farmers to markets, schools, restaurants, and consumers while preserving Black agricultural heritage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Freedom Farmers' Market

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 documentary viewers and multiple Best Documentary awards since 2022
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Stanford Food Institute (SFI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020In 2020, R&DE's Stanford Food Institute partnered with Farms to Grow to launch the Equitable Harvest and Black Farmers Initiative. The program aims to help overcome historical barriers by developing and sharing a scalable purchasing model. Two toolkits were developed: one to help Black farmers navigate wholesale markets and another to help foodservice organizations diversify sourcing through engagement with Black farmers.
• National Black Food Justice AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarms to Grow, Inc. is a founding member of the National Black Food Justice Alliance and supports advocacy platforms for the 2023 Farm Bill.
• Sherman Produce MarketmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSherman Produce Market and Farms to Grow co-host the 3rd Annual Central Valley Watermelon Tasting on July 18th, 2026 in Fresno, CA. The event has grown from a local idea into a recognized community celebration, earning a proclamation from the Mayor of Fresno designating the third Saturday of July as Official Central Valley Watermelon Tasting Day.
• California HumanitiessupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCalifornia Humanities is acknowledged as a sponsor and supporter of the Rhythms of the Land documentary project.
• Andytown Coffee RoasterssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partner for the Rhythms of the Land multi-city screening tour kick-off. Serves as CSA pickup location in San Francisco.
• Tomkat RanchsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partner for the Rhythms of the Land documentary screening tour kick-off event.
• Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partner for the Rhythms of the Land multi-city screening tour.
• Tractor Supply CompanysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor for the 2025 Annual Black Farmer Awards event.
• Scratch and PecksupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor for the 2025 Annual Black Farmer Awards event.
• YMCA East BaysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for the Gardens to Grow program, working with local public schools, Head Start, and Child Care Centers to teach and share the love of gardening.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Soul Fire Farm: Soul Fire Farm is an Afro-Indigenous centered nonprofit in Petersburg, NY that provides farmer training, food sovereignty programming, and youth education for Black and other historically marginalized farmers. It is the most directly comparable peer to Farms to Grow in mission (Black farmer support), programming mix (training + advocacy + community education), and nonprofit structure.
• Dig Deep Farms: Dig Deep Farms is an Alameda County-based social enterprise growing produce on urban/peri-urban land to address food insecurity and create jobs for formerly incarcerated residents. Operates the same California food access space as Farms to Grow with direct overlap in CSA-style distribution and underserved-community mission.
• People's Grocery: People's Grocery is an Oakland-headquartered food justice nonprofit focused on community health, food access, and economic development through local food systems in West Oakland. Operates in the same geography and shares the same anti-hunger/anti-racism framing as Farms to Grow's work.
• Black Urban Growers: Black Urban Growers (BUGs) is a national nonprofit whose work centers on Black agriculture, food sovereignty, and the food and farm movement, including annual conferences and farmer networks. Directly comparable as a Black-led agricultural advocacy organization with parallel mission pillars.
• Mandela Partners: Mandela Partners is an Oakland-based nonprofit that works on healthy food access, food business incubation, and economic development in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. It shares both the Bay Area food-justice mission and the urban-agriculture-adjacent programmatic approach of Farms to Grow.

Broad incumbents

• The Food Trust: The Food Trust is a Philadelphia-based national nonprofit working on healthy food access, farmers markets, and farm-to-school programming across many states. Overlaps with Farms to Grow in farmers market operations and farm-to-school initiatives but operates as a much larger, broad-scope incumbent.
• FoodCorps: FoodCorps is a national nonprofit that connects kids to healthy food through schools, including garden education and farm-to-school programming. Strong overlap with Farms to Grow's farm-to-school, Gardens to Grow, and youth education programs but operating at much larger national scale with a different target demographic focus.
• Farm Aid: Farm Aid is a large, established national nonprofit focused on family farmer support, advocacy, and emergency grants, including work targeting Black farmers. A broader incumbent that overlaps in mission (farmer advocacy and market access) but operates at much larger national scale and broader demographic scope.

Others

• National Black Food Justice Alliance: The National Black Food Justice Alliance is a coalition of Black-led organizations working on food justice and Black food sovereignty, of which Farms to Grow is a founding member. A peer in mission/category but functions as an umbrella network rather than a direct service provider, making it an ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor.

Regional players

• Heirloom小黑板: [Note: this peer placeholder was removed during drafting - replaced below] Comparable Bay Area CSA operator connecting consumers to regional farmers through subscription produce boxes, similar to the CSA harvest bag model but not Black-farmer focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ftginc1696
• Facebookfacebook.com/FarmsToGrowInc
• Instagraminstagram.com/farmstogrow
• Xx.com/farms_to_grow

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Farms to Grow