Noyo Food Forest

What Noyo Food Forest does

Noyo Food Forest is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID 76-0842972) founded in 2006 and headquartered in Fort Bragg, California, where it operates "The Learning Garden," a climate-smart production farm physically embedded on the Fort Bragg High School campus. The organization runs four core programmatic lines: a Farm-to-School Produce Program that grows and delivers fresh organic produce directly to the school cafeteria less than a block away; a paid Youth Internship Program operating across summer, fall, and spring sessions for local 8th-12th graders; a seasonal Summer CSA membership program in which interns harvest, wash, and pack weekly produce boxes for community members; and a year-round Workshops & Events calendar covering composting, soil biology, seed starting, and regenerative farming topics, anchored by the 17th Annual Earth Day Festival (April 18, 2026) and the Winter Benefit Dinner.

The organization has no proprietary technology stack and operates with conventional regenerative agriculture methods (organic no-till gardening, sustainable pest management, biodiversity enhancement, carbon-sequestration practices). It serves three primary constituencies: local middle and high school students (via Farm-to-School and paid internships), Fort Bragg and Mendocino Coast community members (via CSA, workshops, volunteering, and events), and Fort Bragg Unified School District (as institutional partner and produce offtaker). Distribution is entirely local and direct, with no digital product layer beyond a WordPress website, social media channels, email, and a forthcoming online store.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of streams with no single dominant channel: tax-deductible donations and grants, CSA subscription fees, plant and produce sales, tiered annual community memberships ranging from $10 (Bean Booster student tier) to $5,000 (Food Forest Friend tier), and event-based fundraising including sponsorships for the Earth Day Festival and Winter Benefit Dinner. Pricing for CSA shares is not publicly disclosed; membership tier structure is transparent and published on the website. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and operates with 1-10 staff, including a Director of Operations, Garden Manager, and Garden Educator, supported by an extensive volunteer base and community partners such as Camp Flockworks, KUDOS After School Program, and the Mendocino Coast Children's Fund.

Name

Noyo Food Forest

Legal name

Noyo Food Forest

Website

https://noyofoodforest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Noyo Food Forest is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating The Learning Garden, a climate-smart production farm on the Fort Bragg High School campus in California, providing farm-to-school produce, paid youth internships, a seasonal CSA, and community workshops for students and Mendocino Coast residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Education Nonprofit

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture & Food Production (EDABALAA)

Keywords

• Community agriculture education
• Farm-to-school programs
• Youth agricultural training
• Community supported agriculture
• Regenerative farming nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Bragg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Noyo Food Forest is a registered 501(c)(3) organization (Tax ID: 76-0842972) supported through donations, sponsorships, and grants. Community support through financial contributions funds infrastructure needs (seeds, compost, stakes, tools) and staff/administrative costs.
2. CSA Membership Program: Seasonal Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership program during summer months. Members receive weekly produce boxes while supporting paid youth internships. Summer 2026 CSA membership is open.
3. Plant and Produce Sales: Revenue generated from plant sales and produce sales, including produce supplied to Fort Bragg Unified School District cafeterias through the Farm-to-School program.
4. Annual Community Membership: Annual community membership tiers at varying contribution levels ($10-$5,000) that fund infrastructure and operational needs. Tiers include Bean Booster (student level $10), Carrot Collaborator ($30-$99), Artichoke Ally ($100-$999), Pepper Proponent ($1,000-$2,500), and Food Forest Friend ($2,500-$5,000).
5. Event Fundraising: Annual events including Earth Day Festival and Winter Benefit Dinner serve as fundraisers supporting internship program, Garden Educator, and Farm to School efforts. Sponsorships for events provide additional revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Noyo Food Forest is a Mendocino Coast nonprofit that operates The Learning Garden on the Fort Bragg High School campus. It sells a summer CSA subscription, delivers farm-to-school produce to Fort Bragg Unified School District, runs paid youth internships and garden-based education, and hosts workshops and community events such as the Earth Day Festival and an annual Winter Benefit Dinner.

Product overview

Noyo Food Forest operates The Learning Garden as its core unified product—a climate-smart production farm and education hub on Fort Bragg High School campus. The organization offers multiple interconnected programs including the Farm-to-School Produce Program that supplies fresh produce to school cafeterias, a Youth Internship Program providing paid agricultural training to students, and a Summer CSA program through which interns harvest and distribute weekly produce boxes. Additional offerings include year-round Workshops & Events, the annual Earth Day Festival attracting over 1,200 attendees, and the Winter Benefit Dinner fundraiser. All programs work together to fulfill the organization's mission of cultivating a healthy local food system through education, youth development, and community engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Learning Garden
• Farm-to-School Produce Program
• Youth Internship Program
• Summer CSA
• Workshops and Classes
• Earth Day Festival
• Annual Winter Benefit Dinner An annual fundraising dinner supporting the nonprofit's programs and operations, featuring locally sourced food and community gathering.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,200 attendees at annual Earth Day Festival
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fort Bragg Unified School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep partnership supporting the Farm-to-School program. The school district hosts the Learning Garden on Fort Bragg High School campus. Noyo Food Forest provides fresh, locally grown organic produce to school cafeterias at discounted rates. Students participate in gardening programs and eat food they grow. Supported by FBUSD Nutrition Services under Director Pilar Gray.
• Camp FlockworkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership hosting campers each summer at the Learning Garden for hands-on exploration of gardening and local food systems. Flockworks also hosts the KIDS ZONE at the annual Earth Day Festival and leads community art projects including garden murals.
• KUDOS After School ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership hosting KUDOS after-school students in the garden for hands-on learning experiences about gardening and sustainable food systems. KUDOS students have participated in collaborative art projects including garden mural creation.
• Fort Bragg Food BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal food access organization listed in Noyo Food Forest's community resources directory, serving Fort Bragg and Mendocino Coast community members.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Common Ground: Environmental education center in New Haven, CT operating an urban farm with school and youth programming. Closely comparable as a nonprofit educational farm combining hands-on agriculture, school partnerships, and youth development in a community-based mission.
• Big Green: National nonprofit that builds learning gardens in schools and partners with districts to integrate garden-based education. Highly comparable mission to Noyo's Farm-to-School program and youth engagement model.
• Fortunate Farm: Small regenerative farm on the Mendocino Coast operating a CSA and farmstand. Comparable as a small-scale local CSA farm in the same regional ecosystem, though without Noyo's educational mission.
• Urban Roots: Austin-based nonprofit using food and urban agriculture to transform the lives of young people through paid internships and community gardens. Directly comparable youth internship and community farm model.
• Edible Schoolyard Project: Alice Waters-founded nonprofit implementing edible education in schools through garden and kitchen classrooms. Highly comparable farm-to-school educational mission, though at larger national scale.

Others

• National Farm to School Network: National information and advocacy network supporting farm-to-school programs across the US. Adjacent peer as the umbrella movement and resource hub that Noyo's Farm-to-School program operates within.

Broad incumbents

• Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture: Larger established nonprofit farm and education center operating a working farm with extensive youth and public programming. Comparable educational farm model but at significantly greater scale and resources.
• The Food Trust: Large national nonprofit working on food access, nutrition education, and farm-to-school policy. Comparable broad food systems nonprofit, though at significantly greater scale and policy orientation.

Regional players

• Victory Gardens for Peace: Mendocino Coast educational garden focused on sustainable food growing and community resilience. Directly comparable local peer delivering garden education to the same regional audience.
• Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens: Local educational garden and public attraction on the Mendocino Coast. Comparable as a regional nonprofit garden providing education and community programming in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/noyofoodforest
• Instagraminstagram.com/noyofoodforest
• Xx.com/NoyoFoodForest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/noyo-food-forest

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Noyo Food Forest