Soul Food Farm

I spoke to a slightly more rested Alexis this morning, and she and Eric have been just overwhelmed by the outpouring of supportive calls and emails. She asks everyone’s forgiveness if she hasn’t answered; they’ve been working nonstop to get the farm cleaned up and keep the chickens fed and watered. He rcomputer is also conveniently not working.

We had a frank talk about what Soul Food Farm needs to survive. Primarily it is cash. Like most small farms, they were operating without a safety net. The Soul Food Farm Fire Fund via PayPal has received a wonderful number of donations,  more than 60 so far, ranging from $5 to $200. Every little bit counts, so thank you. (You can donate by clicking this link to PayPal; those who dislike PayPal can also mail a check made out to Soul Food Farm to 6046 Pleasants Valley Rd., Vacaville, CA 95688.)

Here are the most pressing farm needs, in order:

Irrigation equipment installation: As nearly all of the back pastures used for raising the meat birds are now charred to pieces, Eric and Alexis need to move the remaining birds and get prepared for the chicks that are at various stages of pasture-readiness. They have pasture at the front of the property but it is currently quite dry and needs irrigation. To get that set up will require an immediate investment of sprinklers, pumps, hoses, etc. If anyone has a contact at a local agricultural company that might be willing to donate such equipment, or give a discount, great, or if you’ve installed irrigation systems before and can volunteer labor, let me know and I will put you in touch with Eric, who knows what Soul Food needs.

Chicken house building: Two burned down and others were damaged. The chicks are in temporary houses and as they grow, will need to be moved to make room for the next batches coming through. (Soul Food receives 600 chicks every week.) Alexis estimates that they will need to build at least two houses within the next two weeks at a rough cost of $2,000 each. They could definitely use skilled volunteer labor (particularly those who own their own tools) in addition to cash for materials; providing lunch for hte work crew would also be appreciated. Email me if you would like to help (put Soul Food Farm in the subject line), and I will let you know when the work days will be. My husband and I will be there for them with our pneumatic nailers and screwguns.

Income shortfall makeup: The 1,000 meat chicks Soul Food lost in the fire represent half a month’s lost income. In about 6 weeks, all the birds currently on the farm will have matured and been harvested and the next ones won’t be ready for two weeks. This a considerably amount of money the farm will not have to cover ongoing feed and labor expenses. It will be crippling. In addition, the fire has traumatized the laying hens and egg production is naturally down and will remain so for a while. The best way for us to tackle this is through bigger fundraisers than the PayPal fund. We need to get these scheduled and start selling tickets to them right away.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Assist with the fundraising benefit dinners: A couple of dinners are in the pipeline, with chefs/venues in San Francisco and Berkeley. We have someone wanting to organize one in Solano County who needs a restaurant venue. Here’s what else we need for these:

• Local produce/meat/etc. donations: Farmers, we can work with your seconds, anything you can spare.
• Wine/beer/spirits: Local producers, we’d love any and all donations. Give us your messed-up labels, your discontinued lines.
• Labor: Do you work in a restaurant and are willing to be a volunteer prep cook or server? Or are you super organized and can help me wrangle volunteers? Get in touch.

Donate items for the auction and raffle: Chef and local-food-pillar Samin Nosrat and I are planning at least one associated auction for one of the benefit dinners and an effort-wide raffle. Everyone who has donated money or products/services will be eligible for the raffle, and we will also be selling tickets to the general public. Here are some of the items we are hoping to either auction or raffle off:

• Special high-value items to auction: For example, personal chef services, private winery tours, photography & Web design services, cooking & butchery lessons, hotel stays, lunch with celebrity, etc.
• Gift certificates to restaurants, stores, farmers market stands
• Subscriptions
• Signed copies of cookbooks
• Cooking equipment
• Be creative — if you’re not sure what you have to offer, email me!

Thanks, everybody. That’s it from me …  for now.

—Bonnie (Alexis’s friend and soon-to-be CSA manager)
bonnie@bonniepowell.com