Florence Fang Community Farm

????Earlier this May, we were delighted to host an event that celebrated the new #UrbanAgricultural initiative created by the USDA! ???? ?????We’re passionate about the growth of urban agriculture, and the vital resources these organizations provide for metropolitan areas. During this event we celebrated the launch of two upcoming #UrbanService centers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Both centers will be staffed by employees of the USDA Farm Service Agency and the Nrcs-National Resource Conservation Service. These knowledgeable and skilled organizations will help connect urban farmers with farm loan, conservation, disaster recovery assistance, and risk management programs. ?????? ???We’re truly grateful to be a part of the #UrbanFarm community! We’d love to have you along for the journey. Join us by signing up for a Saturday Open Farm Day. ????https://lnkd.in/gBV9R9M3

As we near the conclusion of our Decades of Harvest campaign, we want to honor the incredible legacy of Ted Fang and the countless contributions he made to the food equity movement and to the Bayview Hunters Point community. His vision and hard work turned a 1 acre barren plot of land above a train tunnel into a vibrant garden and community space. Over the last 10 years, the Florence Fang Community Farm, through numerous partnerships and countless volunteers, has grown into a beacon of food security and food sovereignty in San Francisco. The farm's produce goes directly to families in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, over 100 school aged kids come to the farm every year to learn from our farmers, and we partner with the SF-Marin Food Bank to serve as a food pantry with 350 participants. Ted’s dedication laid the foundation for much of the farm's ongoing success, and we remain deeply grateful for everything he created for our local community. In addition to the activities at the farm, Ted served on the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production; he played an integral role in the formation of two USDA Service Centers with a focus on urban farms, located in Oakland and Southern California; and under the leadership of Fiona Ma, Ted helped launch the San Francisco Farm bureau, which is dedicated to growing food in an urban setting.? Ted was a pillar to the entire San Francisco community, advocating for diversity, food sustainability, urban farming, and education. We’ll forever remember his charisma, kindness, and determination.?

It is with deep sorrow that the Florence Fang Community Farm announces the passing of Ted "Teddy" Fang on Monday, September 9, at the age of 61. He leaves behind his husband of 27 years, Tony Thompson, and his mother, Florence Fang (方李邦琴). Ted was a lifelong advocate for the health and well-being of San Francisco’s communities. As the President of the San Francisco Farm Bureau and Director of the Florence Fang Community Farm, Ted championed urban farming, making the farm a model for food sustainability. His contributions to uplifting communities of color and fostering unity through sustainable agriculture leave an enduring legacy. While we are heartbroken by this sudden loss, we are profoundly grateful for his decades of dedicated service to the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. His work in creating a community farm that uplifted Asian, African, Latinx Americans, and Pacific Islanders made a lasting impact on food sovereignty and community empowerment. We invite you all to join us in remembrance of Ted Saturday, September 21st, at 3rd Baptist Church. Additionally, if you are able to, any donations to organizations that Ted had championed or flowers through the QR codes on the second slide are very much appreciated.

????For our 2023 Decades of Harvest post, we’re excited to highlight the introduction of our chicken coop and our participation in San Francisco’s San Francisco Department of Public Health's Soda Tax Initiative. Over the past year, our chickens have brought an extra dose of life and joy to the farm, becoming fast friends with our #YouthProgram members and #Volunteers. Their presence has also allowed us to add fresh, organic eggs to our #FoodPantry. ???? ????In November of 2023, we proudly hosted the 5-year anniversary celebration of San Francisco’s Soda Tax. This was a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on the #PositiveImpact of #Community-Based grant programs. We were honored to be joined by fellow Soda Tax grantees to engage in meaningful discussions about how we’ve grown as organizations through this initiative. ???? ????As our Decades of Harvest campaign comes to a close, we’re asking for your support in the final weeks! Donations will directly benefit our beloved chickens by helping maintain their coop. Your contributions make a lasting difference: https://lnkd.in/eRjPMR-F #UrbanFarming #CommunityFarm #SocialImpact

??????We’re excited to share our #Milestone for our Decades of Harvest campaign! In 2022, we focused on enhancing our farm and #CommunityOutreach. We were able to build our greenhouse, which has been super helpful in expanding the variety of crops we’re able to produce. We also started our Open Farm Days, which allows for individuals to #Volunteer every Saturday. Open Farm Days have brought amazing volunteers to the farm, bringing us lots of joy and #Community! ???? ????We’re super grateful for the growth and achievements we made in 2022! Donations in the next few weeks will go towards upgrading our greenhouse. ???? https://lnkd.in/eRjPMR-F #UrbanFarming #NonProfitWork #OrganicFarming

????This past month, we had the pleasure of hosting the team at Provident Credit Union for a day of #Volunteering, gardening, and sunshine! These wonderful volunteers helped us replenish our garden beds with our most recent shipment of compost soil. They also were able to help out with the chickens! ???? ????Thank you so much to Provident Credit Union for coming out to the farm! We truly appreciate the connections and joy our partners bring. We’d love to host your friends and colleagues for a day of volunteering. You can sign up on our website! ???? https://lnkd.in/gBV9R9M3 #UrbanAgriculture #SocialImpact #NonProfit

????For this week’s Decades of Harvest post, we’re excited to spotlight the incredible milestones we achieved in 2021! After significant growth in 2019 and 2020, we were proud to become San Francisco’s first USDA certified farm in August of 2021. This certification has allowed us to provide high standard, organic produce to our local Bayview-Hunters Point families.? ???? ????Achieving organic certification has strengthened our #Mission to nourish our community with healthy, fresh produce. Our commitment to #FightingHunger even caught the attention of U.S. Representative Jim McGovern, who visited us to discuss this important cause with our volunteers and farmers. ???? ????Throughout 2021, we saw exponential growth in both our harvests and the quality of our produce. Donations made in the next few weeks will be dedicated to enhancing our crops and garden beds. ????https://lnkd.in/eRjPMR-F #SocialImpact #UrbanAgriculture #NonProfit

????Our summer programs are in full swing, and this week we wanted to highlight our #Youth from HandsOn Bay Area. Through their HandsOnTomorrow program, they send young leaders across the Bay Area to lead projects and give back to their communities. We’ve been incredibly grateful to host these inspiring youth for the past few years. ???? ????This summer, our HandsOnTomorrow youth led an exciting project for our chickens and local birds. They built? nesting boxes for our chickens and birdhouses for our feathered neighbors. Our birds are super excited for their cozy new homes! ???? ????Big shout out to HandsOn Bay Area for being a part of our #Mission of educating youth about #CommunityFarming and healthy food habits! We’d love to have you join in the fun–sign up on our website for a Saturday Open Farm Day. ???? https://lnkd.in/gBV9R9M3 #Volunteerism #SocialImpact #UrbanAgriculture

????This week’s Decades of Harvest post encompasses a challenging and impressive year for the farm! The pandemic in 2020 hit the farm hard, limiting the amount of #Volunteers we could host and taking away the #Community space we had built. With these hardships, we looked at our #Mission and decided to deepen our focus on feeding our community, teaching the #NextGeneration about farm to table processes, and expanding to different demographics. ???? ????We were able to instill new positive programs on the farm in 2020, including our beloved Youth Program and Black Organic Farm. Big shout out to FACES SF for being our first partner in providing us a youth program about gardening. These two programs are still going strong and expanding today, and we are deeply thankful for all of the #HardWork and #Dedication our volunteers and partners have put into them. We also deepened our mission of #Inclusivity and #Diversity by changing our name from “Florence Fang Asian Community Garden” to “Florence Fang Community Farm.” ???? ????2020 was a huge year for us, and we couldn’t be more thankful for the teams that keep these new programs alive! Donations in the next couple of weeks will go to improving our Youth Program and Black Organic Farm. ???? https://lnkd.in/eRjPMR-F #SocialImpact #Covid #NonProfit

????This past week we wrapped up our #Summer #YouthGroup by making fresh kale chips and coleslaw! This summer, we hosted youth from Bert Hsu Academy and Vision Academy. These bright kiddos were mentored by our Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church interns, Jordan and Melanie, and one of our farm’s interns from Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund, Katalina Huazano. The youth were able to pick their own crops, plant them, take care of them, harvest them, and prepare meals. ???? ????For the past couple of months, our youth group took seeds from farm to table, learning farming techniques and healthy food options. One of our youth, Luis, said “I learned so much about how food starts as seeds and turns into tasty vegetables. It's really fun to see them grow every day! I'm super excited to take my lettuce plant home and help it grow. I can't wait to show my family and grow our own food together. They'll be so happy with me!" Additionally, they were able to hang out with our chickens. They even named a few of them, including our beloved chicken, Gaby!???? ???? Big shout out to San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF) for helping us keep our Summer Youth Program #Enriching and fun! Farm to table enrichment is always the most fun in the summer. We’d love to have you join us for a sunny Saturday Open Farm Day. Sign up on our website https://lnkd.in/gBV9R9M3 ???? #Volunteerism #SocialImpact #NationalSummerLearningWeek