Projects aimed at bolstering West Marin gardens, food banks and farmers were among those recommended for funding by the Marin County Parks and Open Space Commission last week. Supervisors will vote on the projects—the first nominated for the county’s inaugural Food, Agriculture and Resilient Ecosystems grant—in May. Out of almost 50 organizations that applied for the grant, 22 projects were recommended to receive funding, and more than half of those benefit West Marin.
The program is the result of the 2022 reorganization of the quarter-cent Measure A sales tax, which pays for the acquisition and maintenance of county parks, open space preserves and farmland. In the previous iteration, 95 percent of the sustainable agriculture fund—which is 30 percent of the sales tax proceeds—went to agricultural conservation, mostly to the Marin Agricultural Land Trust for purchasing easements. The remaining 5 percent went to the Marin Resource Conservation District for stewardship and restoration projects.
When Measure A was renewed in June 2022, just 50 percent of the sustainable agriculture fund was set aside for agricultural easements, while 20 percent was reserved for the R.C.D. and 30 percent was dedicated to the FARE grant.
The program is meant to build a more resilient and sustainable food system across the county by funding projects that range in scope from community garden enhancements and food bank support to educational workshops, mentorship programs and feasibility studies for food-related grassroots initiatives.
The open space commission recommended a number of proposed projects that would benefit West Marin. Audubon Canyon Ranch requested $61,365 for prescribed burns on agricultural lands, while the Lagunitas Community School requested $70,000 to rehabilitate its existing garden and build a larger garden on campus to grow food for school lunches. The Bolinas Community Center applied for $40,000 for a refrigerator and to pay staff members for Feed the People, a volunteer effort that provides free and donation-based meals four days a week. The Dance Palace Community Center requested $46,000 to explore how renovating the commercial kitchen could benefit farmers. The nonprofit Fibershed requested $100,000 to restore grasslands on Black Mountain Ranch and to expand its work in carbon farming and multi-cultural, Indigenous agroecology.
The FARE program was designed to offer roughly $800,000 in funding, but that amount was doubled after funds spilled over from the previous year’s income tax. According to Sonya Hammons, who is spearheading the program, the county will continue to set aside roughly $800,000 each year in funds.
After supervisors approve project requests in May, staff will administer and oversee the use of the grants starting in June.
This story was corrected on Aug. 6 to reflect the scope and location of the project proposed by Fibershed.