Check out the steam coming from that compost pile as it was being turned!
This weekend I read an email newsletter that included this reflection about the value of Thanksgiving: “It’s good to be thankful. It’s good to have a day to think about gratitude. It’s good to have a day to be together with whomever you want to be with…” Those words have stuck with me, plus the end of each season often causes me to reflect on all that we’ve accomplished during the year and all the gratitude and appreciation I feel.
In that spirit, here’s a list of just some of the things I’m thankful for:
- Meaningful and important work: I love knowing that our work is not only feeding people, but nourishing them and bringing them pleasure and delight, and hopefully good health. Not everyone can say that about their work!
- A beautiful place to work: this farm’s current appearance reflects decades of intentional stewardship and care, and we’re located in a gorgeous valley.
- Abundance: the horn-shaped cornucopia is the stock image usually used to represent abundance, but a better image is a CSA box, stuffed to the brim with produce, or one of our farmers market stands. It’s astounding the amount of produce we harvest and the diversity of crops, to say nothing of the quality, and taste.
- Weather – it can’t be stated enough that the summer’s cooler temperatures, in combination with plenty of rain in the winter and spring, were amazing and much appreciated.
- A supportive community – this includes our Capay Valley community, nonprofits (see Paul’s note below), friends and family, and all of our customers, the CSA community especially. I appreciate the folks who’ve been with us for years and the many new folks who decided to give this unconventional way of getting produce a try. I’ve met a few CSA members during the past few months at on-farm events and at my one-time appearance at the Tuesday market. I love putting a face to a name and learning more about the people who get our boxes each week. Thank you to those who have shared recipes, feedback, and even a few videos. And thank you for your generosity. CSA member donations to the Good Food Community Fund have provided five boxes a week to the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic in Oakland and $5,000 in financial support for fellow CSA members in need of financial help.
- Above all, an amazing team of people. I have the best coworkers. Nothing is a single-person effort, nothing is the responsibility of just one person from start to finish, and nothing is done without cooperation, teamwork, and hard work. Amid that hard work, there’s a lot of laughter and humor and a lot of care and caring as each person does their part to get our produce and flowers out into the world. I am grateful to be part of this group; what a privilege!
In a Beet all about appreciation and gratitude, I need to thank and appreciate Alexa McCarthy, who’s wrapping up her time here to go back to school, a Business and Sustainability MBA program. She started as an intern in 2022 and has been our Events and Programs Manager since 2023, leading events, tours, and our education programs in addition to heading up our spot at the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers Market, and coordinating the Hoes Down Festival. She’s facilitated hundreds of students’ time at the farm, influencing their connection with the food system, plus has helped thousands of farmers market customers and farm visitors connect with this farm. On a day-to-day level, she wears many hats in the office and steps up to get things done, a true team player. I know I’m not alone in knowing how lucky we’ve been to have her working here and in wishing her the best. She’s got a note of her own – see below.
Paul always writes the last Beet of the year, so he’s got next week. Thank you for another great year and I’m looking forward to an action-packed, exciting, and delicious 2026.
Elaine Swiedler, CSA Manager
A Note from Alexa
About four years ago, I arrived at Full Belly Farm quite similarly to many interns before me; with big dreams, a few flannels, and ready to embrace all experiences. From my first months as an intern, I knew I had to give the farm the time to reveal all its layers so I could find my place in its web. People often ask me how I found Full Belly. Over time, I’ve started to realize that the farm found me. I was looking for a life that went beyond a transaction. One that allowed me to give energy to a cause, a community and a purpose with a shared responsibility of caring and empathy. I ventured outside my world and was lucky to have been pulled into one that nurtured me the more that I poured myself into it.
Being a host on this farm to all of you has been one of the greatest and most rewarding experiences of my life. To feel its magic is learning how your food is grown, eating strawberries, tomatoes and figs right from the field, enjoying a summer’s eve with friends over pizza, dancing the night away at a wedding, collecting eggs for the first time or celebrating a birthday with friends over a farm-to-table feast. I feel so lucky to have been a part of these moments.
The land, the people and the work has filled me with a drive, passion and love that I hope to never lose. I will always have a romance with Full Belly Farm and I hope that you do as well.
Alexa McCarthy
A Note from Paul
As we near the end of year and think of financial donations supporting the community of organic farmers, there are groups and efforts that continue to be notable and important. Over the years farming here, we have been involved in different organizations that are doing great work. I am providing a few ideas about those we think need support.
Dru has been a board member of the Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) over the past 40 years. EcoFarm has done great work bringing organic farmers together to learn from the experiences of peers, be inspired by organic food activists, and talk over new knowledge from university researchers. The annual EcoFarm Conference has been an inspiring community-building event for us. It is worthy of your attention and support for their work.
Judith continues to work with Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF). They support California’s small farms through advocacy, legislation, education and financial mentoring. They have impacted the growth of organic agriculture, healthy soil initiatives, and climate-smart investments across California. They are a great group of dedicated advocates for healthy food systems and small rural farming communities. Check them out and consider supporting their great work.
Real Organic Project (ROP) has been relentless over the past eight years in its advocacy for soil-based organic farming, pasture-based animal systems and for reform of the USDA Organic Program. ROP is a national farmer-based organization advocating for organic integrity. ROP has created a trove of information and podcasts interviewing leaders in the healthy soil-based organic farming world (Michael Pollan, Leah Pennimen and Vandana Shiva) to educate farmers and consumers.
I have been a member of their board and deeply respect their willingness to defend the principles of healthy soil-based farming and organic systems while taking on power structures that continue to extract ecological and social wealth from rural areas. They provide their certification free to organic farmers throughout the country via donations from those believing in organic farming as a positive path forward toward a healthier food system. Check out their work.
Finally Casagraria is our initiative to build farmworker housing that is affordable, allows for equity, and builds on a new model of land ownership and tenure-ship aimed at the farmworker communities in California. We have a fiscal sponsor to receive donations; a community land trust as a partner; donated land and well for the homes; housing designs in the works; and a leadership team working with a group of farmworkers who are advising and directing the effort.
Donations to this project at this time would go to construction funds. We are hoping to raise $400,000 from donations from the community of supporters and customers who are looking for a tangible way to acknowledge the contributions of those who labor in support of farming, but who are often overlooked. The current property is being developed to be a model alternative in affordability focused on rural workers. I am hopeful that we can acquire the funds to start construction in the coming spring.
Thanks for your consideration of these great groups. Their work is unique, ongoing and makes a difference each year, as they actively create a safer, healthier and more resilient food system.
Paul Muller
