Hi, I’m Patricia from In Good Heart Farm, and I want to share a bit about a program that’s been at the heart of our farm since the beginning: Farm It Forward.

We launched this initiative back in 2011–2012 with a simple but powerful belief: fresh, local food should be for everyone—not just those who can afford it.

Through partnerships with community health organizations, we started offering sliding-scale CSA shares to families facing food insecurity—especially those managing chronic conditions like pediatric diabetes. From the start, it’s been a community-powered program, with donors and CSA members helping to make shares accessible to others.

Over time, 10–20% of our CSA shares have gone to sliding-scale members, and that number has felt both impactful and sustainable for our small farm.

But here’s where we are now:

We’ve doubled the size of our CSA over the past couple of years, and while our overall membership has grown, support for Farm It Forward hasn’t kept pace. We know times are tight for many of us—we haven’t asked for broad community support in a couple of years. Thanks to a few generous donors, we’ve been able to maintain shares for our existing sliding-scale members. But we’re at a point where we can’t grow the program—or even sustain it long-term—without renewed support.

That’s why we’re asking now.

Your donation helps us keep this work going. It helps us say “yes” when someone reaches out in need. It helps us build a more just, more connected food system—where fresh food and community care go hand in hand.

Every bit helps. Whether you give $10 or $100, you’re helping us farm it forward.

Thank you for being part of this with us.