"Food is memories." - José Andrés You are the sum total of your experiences, and the idea is to go off the beaten path to learn more about food and the people enriching our lives. In this case, our story begins with a trip to the Florida Panhandle, a long drive out to a place called Carabelle, where the river meets Saint George Sound. An unsuspecting little town on Route 98, where the sugar sand and iridescent blue waters shimmer as the Pelicans make homes on the nearby pilings. You can see Bald Point in the distance, a small village of locals sustained by tourism and wild-caught shellfish ..read more

“Our kitchen is where passion becomes a masterpiece.” ~ Unknown ..read more

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you.” ~ Anthony Bourdain ..read more

“Thanks to Phoenician and Greek navigation routes, olive trees reached the coasts of Sicily and Spain, where they spread widely in the 5th century BC. Between the 6th and 4th century BC, its cultivation was established in many regions of Italy and Spain by the Romans.” - Juan Vilar Hernandez  The olive is sacred and symbolizes permanence, renewal, peace, and joy. It is the emblem of the State of Israel. The Hebrew name Illan means a tree rooted in strength and a bright light. Olives are also symbolically connected to the concepts of joy and prosperity as they relate to living a rich and ..read more

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett Grant awards and acceptance require diligent management coordination with bookkeeping, finance, and legal counsel. Each granting agency has its own set of procedures; it is important to coordinate with the grantor and honor time-frames and grant acknowledgments. Grant Award Acceptance And Project Start-Up Upon award, your organization receives a Notification and Acceptance Letter; it is your responsibility to respond with a Letter of Acknowledgement. The Contract should be reviewed by ..read more

“We run annual "crowdgrants" with detailed step-by-step application instructions here and answers to frequently-asked questions.” - Roger Doiron Roger Doiron, founder of Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI), now known as SeedMoney was founded with the purpose of funding and supporting community farms and food bank gardens around the globe. They have raised just under $1M and helped 1,100 programs from 50 states to just over 30 countries.  The grant awards range from $100- $1,000. If your project qualifies for bonuses and additional funding, your award totals could reach as much as $3 ..read more

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett Planning is key to success when building your program - having your project plan in place, along with the amount needed to accomplish your goals is important. We’ll cover this in an upcoming video because when it comes to communicating with your grants manager, they will want to see your plans, timeline, receipts, videos, pictures, success story, and a Case Study to share how the funds were used with your organization and the success you have achieved because of the funding.  Plan ..read more

“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation & perfection of human beings.”  ~ Masanobu Fukuoka 2004 marked a major milestone for me; I gave birth to my son in San Francisco, welcoming him into a beautiful life. The world began shifting, and high-tech was moving at a crazy pace. I knew it was time to slow it down and seek out the blessings. Slowing it down meant creating a deeper community and focusing on a movement that suited me: having a family.  Living in Sonoma County, I did just what I set out to do: join a community of food movers and p ..read more

“Texas is a big state, and we have a big opportunity to grow if we can continue to fix these kinds of anti-competitive, antiquated laws limiting Texas brewers' access to the market.”  ~ Caroline Wallace, Executive Director, Texas Craft Brewers Guild Texas craft breweries produce over 1,519,691 barrels annually, ranking 3rd in barrels of craft beer produced yearly. Barley farming in Texas tops out at 30,000 acres, and according to the USDA Agricultural Statistics Department, most Barley farming is done in Montana and The Dakota region - in colder climates.  Once all that Barle ..read more

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.” ~ John Wooden, Coach/Leader Defining & Designing a good grant plan is a way for business owners or non-profit organizations with a purpose for the greater good to seek funding for well-curated projects to be accomplished. Designing grant plans for your organization and sharing that vision early with the community is key to getting people interested in you and what you provide. The design phase of any good grant plan must articulate where you are as an organization and where you plan ..read more