Support Mariposa Farm’s Flood Recovery

On December 10, 2025, communities across Western Washington experienced severe flooding, with especially heavy impacts in rural agricultural areas.

Mariposa Farm, located in Whatcom County, is one of the farms that was hit hard. For more than a decade, Mariposa has been growing food for our region—feeding families and strengthening the local food economy through the Bellingham Farmers Market and multiple Seattle farmers markets year-round.

Fortunately, Joaquin and his crew were able to move most vehicles and key farm equipment to higher ground before the worst flooding arrived. But things happened quickly, and it’s nearly impossible to relocate everything a farm needs across 13 acres to safe, dry space in less than 36 hours.

What’s been lost and damaged so far

Mariposa Farm lost all harvested crops, cover crops/seed, and crops still in greenhouses have also been lost as well as a small inventory of hand-made wreaths.

In addition, several appliances in the home’s basement appear to be damaged beyond repair, including the furnace, washer, and dryer.

Videos from Instagram:

December 10 - property under water

December 11 - assessing damage

December 12 - community shows up to help clean up

Current financial need

It will take time to fully assess all impacts to crops, equipment, and infrastructure, but based on what is known right now, we anticipate the need to be at least $25,000—depending on what assistance becomes available through insurance or disaster programs.

This fundraiser is intended to provide rapid, flexible support for the family’s unmet recovery needs—including basic living needs and other recovery-related expenses not fully covered by insurance or disaster assistance.

Every contribution—large or small—helps the Lopez family and Mariposa Farm stabilize, recover, and keep moving forward. Thank you for showing up for a local farm that has shown up for our community for years.

Mariposa Farm Instagram

Learn more about Mariposa Farm

Learn about the Flood in Whatcom County

FAQ's:

What’s been lost and damaged so far? It will take months to assess complete damage caused to equipment, crops, and infrastructure, but for now, we expect the need to be about $25,000 depending on what type of assistance is made available.

Who is involved in this fundraiser and effort to help Mariposa Farm? So. Many. People! Twin Sisters Mobile Market took the immediate initiative to accept donations on behalf of Mariposa Farm in the first days of the flood. However, their organization has a cap of $5,000 on how much it can receive on behalf of another entity, and thus, the decision was made to create another, less-restrictive place to receive and make funds available to Mariposa Farm.

There is an incredible community of neighboring farmers and who have shown up every day to help with cleanup, repairs, and efforts meet the urgent needs of the family.

There are also networks of non-profits and community organizations working collaboratively to organize additional funds and relief efforts across Whatcom and Skagit counties. None of this is happening in a vacuum, and everyone is staying in close contact and lending hands and resources as they are able.

Who is organizing this GoFundMe?

I am Maressa Valliant, a community member, and friend of Liz and Joaquin Lopez. In my professional capacity, I work to support farms and food businesses across Washington State. But on a personal level, I care deeply for my community of local farms, and am managing this gofundme to help take some pressure off of the Lopez family.

Didn’t Mariposa Farm experience major flooding in 2021? Why is this happening again?

Yes. Mariposa Farm was severely impacted by floods in 2021, and our community raised significant funds through a GoFundMe to help the Lopez family recover.

After 2021, Joaquin and Liz did everything in their power to rebuild and reduce risk. But it’s important to understand that flooding like this isn’t something an individual farm can “solve” on its own. Many of the vulnerabilities are watershed- and infrastructure-level issues that require county-scale flood mitigation and long-term protections—and with climate change, more frequent and intense flood events are increasingly likely.

This fundraiser exists to provide rapid, flexible support to help the Lopez family navigate the immediate aftermath and ongoing recovery needs not fully covered by insurance or disaster assistance, while broader community and public-sector solutions continue to be pursued.