Central Coast Agriculture Network (CCAN) was granted $225,000 by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to develop SLO City Farm. The money is to be used toward finding an executive director for the program as well as becoming an educational facility.
CCAN is a non-profit organization that has existed for nine years. Its purpose is to build a sustainable food system in San Luis Obispo County. CCAN was one of the only non-profit organizations chosen by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to receive a grant.
“They chose us because we demonstrated a need, and we had a plan,” CCAN board president Eric Veium said. “We are going to have a positive impact here in San Luis Obispo. Other community organizations (and) non-profit were not selected, we were unique in that way. Those who were also selected in our category were larger institutions.”
The grant will help CCAN to do four things, CCAN executive director Kimberly Pasciuto said. The first thing would be to help find an executive director for SLO City Farm.
“The grant is to increase production and consumption of specialty crops,” Pasciuto said. “It would also be used be to grant funds to the Foodshed Assesment, to identify what we need to grow, where to grow and how to specialize in this. The last piece is to support the website and education of information.”
SLO City Farm will occupy approximately 25 acres and is located off of Highway 101 and Calle Joaquin Road. The goal of SLO City Farm is to “work with local farmers who will cultivate lands, provide demonstrations and to work in partnership with educational programs and facilities that will help sustain,” Veium said.
SLO City Farm is being developed through the context of the city’s Agriculture Master Plan, Veium said. Two phases will be used to implement the San Luis Obispo City Farm.
“The first phase is to bring the land under cultivation, and to establish the crops, fruit trees and the studying of the development of certain permaculture features,” Veium said. “The next phase is to develop structures that can house a commercial kitchen and processing where farmers can bring food (to be) lightly processed.”
The city cannot fully fund a farm on that land and was looking to partner with a non-profit organization that would be able to obtain grants for funding, Neil Havlic, city natural resources manager, said.
“With the goal of trying to build an educational facility, which could easily cost more than $1 million, was going to take a lot of grant support,” Havlic said. “CCAN seemed to have the best expertise and interest, and they have stepped forward and have been willing to do this.”
Cover crops have occupied the land SLO City Farm will soon occupy for the past three years, Havlic said. By doing this, no fertilizers or pesticides were used and it certified the land for organic farming. Another cover crop may be put on the land for another year, Havlic said, which means SLO City Farm’s plans are still in the works.
With emphasis in helping San Luis Obispo County agriculture growth, the SLO City Farm will bring benefits to Cal Poly. Students who are agriculture or landscape architect majors may be interested in SLO City Farm, CCAN member Courtney Mellblom said.
“There is a wealth of opportunity for students in senior projects and a lot of marketing redevelopment needs to be done,” Mellblom said. “Once the buildings are in place, and once they are programmed and actually running there, there will be opportunities for students.”
