Prelude – The Short Story(We started as a community garden)

433 Charles Street, Sunnyvale, CA 94086

But -- we had bigger dreamsFull Circle Farm@ Empty Field – 4 Years Ago

Grand Opening

Farm Built by Community Members

And old fashioned teamwork

A tractor helps too…

The Bounty

However…Community is Our Main Crop!

Sunnyvale Neighborhood Association PresentationTen Things I’m Going to Tell You

1. Why we exist2. The problems we are addressing3. The solutions we are offering4. Why it might matter to you5. Who we are serving6. Our metamorphosis7. How we plan to scale & replicate8. Our recipe for success9. What’s in it for you10. Why your presence is required

1. Why We Exist

Sustainable Community Gardens (SCG) is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation

dedicated to

the renewal of local, sustainable food systems.

Vision

Create Change, Empower to Grow, & Build Community

Create ChangeEmpower to GrowBuild Community

Adopt a Tree Sponsors

2. The Problems We Are AddressingFood Issues Affect Everyone in Silicon Valley

Healthy food access is an issue affecting everyone.

The Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) for Santa Clara County

Agriculture in Silicon Valley is nearly extinct. Less than 3% of the food we consume is produced here.

U.S Food prices rising faster anytime since 1990, cost of food up 34% in Silicon Valley since 2000.

FCF offers integrated approaches to improving environment, health, and community.

Distribution of Retail Food Outlets in Santa Clara County

Poverty & Food Security in Silicon Valley

Poverty in Silicon Valley is widely dispersed

Effective food system solutions can benefit everyone

New Face of PovertyResponsible and Responsive: You are the Food System

Valley of Heart’s Delight

3. The Solutions We Offer

Urban Agriculture: The practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in, or around, a village, town or city.

Urban agriculture can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, tree crops and horticulture.

Food System Problems Affect EveryoneWe have Everyone Solutions

It’s ComplicatedCross Cutting Strategies NeededBring it HomeLocally Grown

Urban Agriculture and the Connection Between Farming and Community is Nothing New

Throughout the course of humanity, there have been many different models of urban and communal agriculture. In fact, only those groups that adopted agriculture proved capable of producing civilizations. In 7000 B.C. agricultural productivity was sufficient to support large communities including many non-agriculturalists. 9,000 years later, urban agriculture remains relevant, serving 800 million people worldwide.

Modern examples include sharecropping in the U.S., allotments in Europe and Asia, Ejidos in Mexico, Kibbutz in Israel, cooperatives in the U.S., and the common arrangement of a single landowner leasing parcels to multiple farmers.

Why Urban Agriculture MattersNot just about city people learning to

farm again; we are taking intensive agriculture to the next level - Über Agriculture

50% of the world's population lives in cities

800 million people are involved in urban agriculture world-wide and contribute to feeding urban residents

Low income urban dwellers spend between 40% and 60% of their income on food each year

Most urban areas have access to 1-3 days of food supplies in the case of disaster

4. Why it Might Matter to YouSunnyvale Realtors Agree

Full Circle Farm is Good for Property Values

“Easy walking distance to Full Circle Farm”

“Next door to Full Circle Farm”

Proximate Principle“The proximate principle states that the market value of properties located

proximate to a park or open space are frequently higher than comparable properties located elsewhere.” -John L. Crompton, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M University

Studies suggest that a positive impact of 20% on property values abutting or fronting an open space area is a reasonable point of departure for estimating the magnitude of the impact on property values.

Farmers and agricultural communities play a critical stewardship role that often goes unrecognized. In addition to producing traditional crops, farming communities also provide important public benefits, increase food security and local economic viability, and provide amenity and environmental benefits.

Research indicates that every $1.00 invested in agricultural land and open spaces through conservation easements returns up to $6.00 in ecosystem benefits.

5. Who We Are Serving

People Metrics

People whose lives we touched last year: 15,000+

This year’s Earth Day event drew approximately 4,000 community members

6. Our MetamorphosisThe Transformation of Full Circle Farm

Enabling an important community & educational resource in Silicon Valley to become a fully productive & sustainable

model for urban agriculture.

Metamorphosis: A profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism.Transformation: A marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better.

Creating a Model for Urban Agriculture

The transformation of Full Circle Farm will provide a unique opportunity to demonstrate that urban agriculture can be a vital and permanent part of the urban landscape, and a resource for people of all incomes and backgrounds for generations to come.

Creating a productive, scalable, and replicable model – applying the business logic and entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley to food system change.

Engage! NVIDIA - December 9 & 10

7. How We Plan to Scale & Replicate

– Farm Stand– Packing Shed– Outdoor Kitchen– Cooler Shed– Farm & Orchard Improvements– Modified Raised Bed System

Projects in December will touch all aspects of the Farm

Several key new structures

Inspire: To influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration

Sustainability

SCG & FCF suffer from a chronic lack of funding and infrastructure support

Farm income is 30% of total organizational budget.

We hope the support provided by NVIDIA will allow us to double this by increasing production 200%, allowing us to establish a more secure base of revenue from earned income.

Revenue Pie50% Earned IncomeNVIDIA Impact will result in increased

revenue from earned income.

Earned income allows nonprofits more flexibility and autonomy.

When nonprofit organizations adopt entrepreneurial, market-based strategies in order to earn income in support of their missions, the ventures are generally referred to as social enterprises.

8. Our Recipe for Success

1. Experience2. Place3. Community4. Sustainability5. Secret Ingredient

ExperienceConcrete Experiences, Integrated Experiences,

Real Life Experiences, Year Round Experiences“Multiple Exposures”First Exposure: Carrots don’t grow on treesOnly Exposure? Lack of fresh fruits & veges in

dietPurposeful activity (growing food) vs. “dieting,”

“exercise,” or “interventions”Discovery & magic here: engaging, enticing,

voluntary

Place

Being ThereScalable & ReplicableTransformation SpaceGenius of PlacePlace of Rescue

Community

Keeping it RealConnection to community,

healthy foodFood Security is an issue that

affects everyoneRe-Learning; Re-ConnectingContexts: Local and Cultural

Fellowship, Common Ground Community is our main crop.

Sustainability

Sustainable: Think Green. Think Growing Healthy and Strong

Integrative, Scalable and Replicable

Reduce eating junk & industrial chow

Health & Environment are Linked

FCF - Part of the Solution

Secret Ingredient (Four Letter Words)

Soil and Soul ConnectionLove Soil, Divine SoilVolunteersLove real food: whole,

fresh, organic, healthy, that comes from the earth

9. What’s In It For You -- A Free Offer: How to Grow Incredible Amounts of Food and Build Super Soil for

Healthy Crops

Questions & Answers

10. Your Presence RequiredBe there or Be Square!

Monday- Friday 9-5Saturday 10am to dusk WEST GATE ONLY

Sunday 9am to 2pm

Farmstand HoursWednesday & Friday: 1:30 pm to 7 pm

Sunday: 11am to 3pm

1055 Dunford WaySunnyvale, CA 94087

Educational Programs(408) 394-1464

Administration(408) 735-8154

Email: info@fullcirclesunnyvale.org Google Map

Drop-in VolunteeringWednesdays & Saturdays

All ages welcome in Education Garden10am to dark at the West Gate.

Sundays for Volunteers 16 years+on Production Farm from 9-2