MEDIA TOUR:
When: Tuesday, January 29, 2013
10am to Noon

Where:  Star Route Farms
95 Olema Bolinas Road
Bolinas, California, 94924

Contact:
Helge Hellberg
Organic Consultant
h2@helgehellberg.com

Sara Ying Rounsaville
The San Francisco Foundation
syk@sff.org

(SAN FRANCISCO) – Thursday, January 24, 2013 –Veteran assistance group Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC), has been awarded a $105,000 grant from The San Francisco Foundation specifically for Veteran placement on organic farms in Marin County. The award to Farmer Veteran Coalition reflects the ongoing commitment of The San Francisco Foundation to support the health and well-being of Veterans in the Bay Area.

Four Veterans will receive paid internships with food and farm businesses in Marin County. This experience provides job skills and offers employment opportunities for returning U.S. soldiers. At the same time, the project helps participants heal from the trauma of war by working with the land and growing food.

Army Veteran Mike Walgrave is the first intern for the Marin Veteran Project. He has been placed at Warren Weber’s Star Route Farms, the oldest certified organic row crop farm in California, and Mr. Walgrave plans on becoming an organic farmer after completing the internship.

Organic Consultant and the Executive Producer of the national radio show “An Organic Conversation”, Helge Hellberg (formerly the Executive Director of Marin Organic) directs the project and serves as mentor for Mr. Walgrave.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity – Veterans can tend to the land, be surrounded by life, contribute in the production of organic food, learn job skills, and become a part of the West Marin community. It is healing for the Veterans, for the land, and for us as eaters. What a beautiful way to take care of and re-integrate our Veterans,” says Hellberg.

“The young men and women that FVC serves – many of them Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – are driven by a sense of purpose and a profound desire to nurture, whether it is with plants or animals. Sustainable agriculture gives them both,” adds Michael O’Gorman, Founder and Executive Director FVC.

“The San Francisco Foundation brings together donors and nonprofits to serve populations most in need. There is a growing number of veterans in the Bay Area looking for jobs – and many of them seek a new start through careers in farming, agriculture, and food production,” says Francesca Vietor, Environment Program Officer at The San Francisco Foundation. “Fortunately, this region is a hub for organic, sustainable, rich agriculture, and this is an emerging area of interest at The San Francisco Foundation. We are pleased to partner with The Marin Farmer Veteran project and showcase this wonderful example of how to strengthen the environment while we strengthen our communities.”

About Farmer Veteran Coalition
Farmer Veteran Coalition is a not-for-profit organization that connects military Veterans with opportunities for employment, training, and places to heal on America’s farms. Started in 2008, Farmer Veteran Coalition’s mission is to Mobilize Veterans to Feed America. By connecting Veterans with sustainable farming resources and education to assist them in building their farm and ranch businesses, Farmer Veteran Coalition helps Veterans become successful farmers. For more information about Veteran farming and Farmer Veteran Coalition’s mission to mobilize Veterans to feed America, call them at (530) 564-1226 or visit them at www.farmvetco.org

About Star Route Farms
Star Route Farms has been an organic farm in Marin County since 1974. Weber began on five acres using horse-drawn sulky plows and cultivators and a lot of long haired ambition. As pioneers in the then fledgling organic industry, Weber adopted production and post-harvest technologies–such as precision planters and hydrocooling equipment–in order to insure top quality produce for the consumer. Star Route Farms is the oldest continuously certified organic grower in California. The farm is presently certified by Marin Organic Certified Agriculture (MOCA). www.starroutefarms.com

About The San Francisco Foundation
The San Francisco Foundation (TSFF) is the community foundation serving the Bay Area since 1948, granting more than $800 million over the past ten years. Through the generosity and vision of our donors, both past and present, TSFF granted $89 million in fiscal year 2012. TSFF brings together donors and builds on community assets through grantmaking, leveraging, public policy, advocacy, and leadership development to make a greater impact in our community. By focusing on people, organizations, neighborhoods, and policy, advocacy and organizing, the Foundation addresses community needs in the areas of community health, education, arts and culture, community development, and the environment. In response to the economic downturn, TSFF is also focusing funding on safety net partners, job creation and training, and mortgage foreclosure relief and neighborhood preservation. The San Francisco Foundation serves San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Mateo Counties. www.sff.org

I’ve had the privilege of working with many heroes, amazing people doing extraordinary work in the Bay Area, through the Koshland Civic Unity Awards Program. Looking around the room during the Koshland Civic Unity Awards 30^th Anniversary celebration, I couldn’t help but beam with gratitude and be humbled to work with such dedicated grassroots leaders, folks who did not ask what is in it for them, but simply asked what they could do.

To share these inspiring stories we put together this video that spotlights the work in five Koshland Program neighborhoods:

Over the last 30 years we have worked to lift up 470 community leaders in 24 Bay Area neighborhoods. And we have taken on that work with the philosophy of Daniel E. Koshland, recognizing that the people within a community are the experts who truly understand the challenges, and can create real solutions.  These leaders care enough to make a difference in people’s lives, that’s why they are recipients of the Koshland Civic Unity Award.

As we look to the future, the Koshland Program continues to celebrate the many factors that build a strong community: involved residents, strong families, interracial understanding, and a collective appreciation of multicultural diversity.

I want to give a big, heartfelt thank you to everyone who celebrated with us last week. We hope that you will join us as we forge into the next generation of the Koshland Civic Unity Program, and continue to witness the extraordinary impact that community can make together.