A radical farm and the power of local agriculture - Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space DistrictSonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District

March 29, 2022

Radical Family Farms centers LGBTQIA+ mixed-Asian American heritage and culinary culture through the vegetables, herbs, meals and events produced on their farm. This 3-acre farm was founded in 2018 by Leslie Wiser and Sarah Deragon.It’s located in Sebastopol and, as the founders note, operates on unceded territory of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people. Radical Family Farms recently closed out a project funded through the one-time Ag + Open Space Agricultural Support and Protection (ASAP) Emergency Matching Grant program.

: Photo credit: Sarah Deragon

: Photo credit: Sarah Deragon

As the pandemic began, we recognized there was immediate need within our agricultural community to alleviate some of the burdens experienced by farms and ranches due to restaurant and business closures, decreased demand for products, and labor shortages, among other challenges. In March 2021, we released an application for grant funding to support our local producers and agricultural businesses, and ultimately our Board approved nine projects, including Radical Family Farms. The work we funded ranged from providing funds for supplies like compost and plant starts, to helping pay farm leases.

With support from the ASAP program, Radical Family Farms was able to make a substantial contribution to addressing issues of food access and equity by providing weekly free CSA boxes for thirteen weeks to Asian-American elders throughout the Bay Area. They were also able to buy compost and pay for other farm utilities with the funds.

Radical Family Farms grows culturally relevant crops for the Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, and South East Asian diaspora. Their crops are grown with agroecological, regenerative, no-spray, chemical-free, and low-till methods.

Radical Family Farms continues to run their CSA program, which includes both produce and flower subscriptions, and their sign-up process has already begun for the 2022 season.

We’re continually awed by our local agriculture community, and are proud to have been a part of supporting local growers through the turmoil of the last two years.