As usual, our farmers, plants and operations demand most of our attention once the growing season kicks into gear — but we figured it’s about time we sent some updates, amidst the mid-season hustle. Hi!

On the production end, having four returning staff members has made a massive difference! While there’s always room for improvement, things are running smoother than ever out there. We also have two new team members who bring so much knowledge, skill and insight to our crew. If you haven’t yet, get to know our farmers here!

The drought we’re experiencing has definitely been a challenge. All the grasses around the farm are golden and crackle as you step. It is unnerving for sure. We continue to make our way around the farm with our irrigation system, but wow it really does take a lot of time and energy!

That said, it has been great weather for tomatoes (one of our favorites!) so we hope we have a good crop this year. The first harvest is just around the corner, along with peppers, and our eggplants have already started.

Zooming out a bit, 2020 continues to be a very different season.

There is so much struggle, heartbreak and loss in our world. And there’s also a belated, but welcome, sense of urgency to address the vast inequities in our institutions and systems.

Since we were founded, Rock Steady’s mission has been about food access and social justice — as we work to overhaul a food system that fails so many of us.

Because of this, we’ve been able to hit the ground running as the influx of COVID response and food relief initiatives came our way.

It’s a surreal experience, to be honest, as a turn towards local food/farmers and food security concerns have hit more of the mainstream. The key is that these commitments and relationships begin this season and continue in the years to come; wealth inequities and structural racism have been around long before the pandemic and will take a lot longer to dismantle.

For the first time, the majority of our vegetables are going to low-income folks and regional food relief efforts!

We are packing about 400 CSA boxes each week! Out of those:

• 22% are “solidarity shares” provided at no cost through our Food Access Fund.

• 5% are discounted shares for those receiving SNAP (food assistance) benefits

• 25% are CSA members who are “low-income” on our sliding scale

• 29% are CSA members at the “middle income” price point

• and 19% are CSA members at the “upper income” levels on our sliding scale

The remainder of our vegetables are sold wholesale - 62% of those sales so far have been to local and regional food relief efforts. Wow, just did that math and it feels really good. We expect this percentage to continue or increase for the duration of the season.

Curious how we make this work? Check out this run down of some of our key community partnerships and how they fit into our social justice model.

We are celebrating all of this progress, while we also see the uphill climb ahead, when it comes to creating a just food system.

There is so much work to be done around land access, LGBTQAI+ health and visibility, farmworker health/rights, fair food pricing, economic resiliency for black and brown communities, and ensuring a future for small farms in the context of the climate crisis.

Thank you for joining us in this fight, for staying in touch, reading our updates, buying our vegetables, contributing to our Food Access Fund and showing up in all the ways you do!