HEALTHY FARMED FOOD SOLUTIONS PROJECT
5,000 full meals a week, from a small farm in Summerland.
We grow food without pesticides or herbicides and deliver it, with a recipe for a full meal, to over 1,500 people across Santa Barbara County every week. Food is a human right, and clean food should be part of all of our stories.
501(c)(3) nonprofit · EIN 85-3329449 · Services in English and Spanish
This week's bag
Weight: 12–18 lb
Feeds: A full meal for 10, plus more
Protein: 12–18 eggs and farm beans
Recipe: Included
5,000
full meals every week
1,500+
people fed each week, across the county
150+
delivery locations every week
170
families on our waitlist today
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
The need is growing faster than we can grow.
Santa Barbara County has one of the highest poverty rates in California, and in two years the need we see has grown 600%. When a bag broke open at one of our drops, people ran into the street after the tomatoes. At one site, staff began putting stickers on the bags so they would reach the families they were meant for.
Right now 170 farmworker families are waiting for a spot. They harvest the food this county is known for, and they are waiting on fresh food for their own tables.
170
families on the waitlist. Every bag we add is a family that eats clean food this week.
OUR STORY
It started with a farm stand and a sign.
Summerland lost its last grocery store years ago. Our founder, Leslie Person Ryan, was farming land here without chemicals when it was threatened by development. Neighbors across Summerland and Santa Barbara came together and raised the money to save it, and we opened the Sweet Wheel Farm Stand on Lillie Avenue.
At the farm stand, we had a serendipitous experience. One of our farm stand workers disclosed, after working for us for three days, that her mother wanted her to work for us because they did not have food at home. We came to a new realization. If there were kids like her, there were others. We put up a sign: did anyone know a family that needed food?
Neighbors answered. So did VNA Health, the public library, parents and local schools. We started packing bags from the harvest and delivering them, at first to 53 people a week. We cooked 1,800 meals for local veterans.
In 2020 we formed the Santa Barbara Agriculture and Farm Education Foundation so the work could keep growing. Seven years after the first deliveries, every bag still carries the same promise: we will see you next week.
How we grew
First: Community saves the farmland from development
Then: Sweet Wheel Farm Stand opens on Lillie Avenue
The first bags: 53 people a week, and 1,800 meals for veterans
2020: The Foundation is formed as a 501(c)(3)
Today: 5,000 full meals a week to over 1,500 people
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO NEEDS FOOD?
You can nominate someone anonymously.
— The sign at our farm stand, where the food project began.
HEALTHY FARMED FOOD SOLUTIONS PROJECT
What goes into every bag
Every week our volunteers harvest, pack and deliver bags of 12 to 18 pounds to more than 150 locations across the county. Each one is built around a real meal a family can cook that night.
Packing list · one weekly bag
Dinner for 10: Every major ingredient and the recipe, often zucchini, potatoes and carrots
Kitchen basics: Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery
Protein: 12 to 18 eggs, by family size, and beans grown on our farm
Salsa makings: Tomatoes, onion, serrano and/or jalapeño, cilantro, lemon
Salad makings: Lettuce, kale, onion, shallot, dill, basil
A letter: How we farm, why we believe food is a human right, and our promise to see you next week
Some families get more, like sourdough bread, snacks and fruit, depending on what they are facing. Our recipes are reviewed by a physician on our board who works in nutrition.
Who it reaches
People living with cancer, MS and other serious illness
Elderly neighbors
Young adults raising younger brothers and sisters after losing a parent
Families facing food insecurity
Farmworker families at confidential sites
Trust comes first
At our confidential sites we count bags, never names. The trust of the people who work there matters more to us than any data we could collect.
Gleaning
We also rescue surplus produce from other local farms so it feeds people instead of going to waste. We only glean produce that has not been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. This year's goal is 35,000 pounds.
COMPOSTING PROJECT
Feeding the soil that feeds the county
Our Composting Project is for the whole community. It keeps waste out of the landfill and turns it into compost that feeds the soil.
Our farm sits on heavy clay. Compost is how we open that soil up, help it hold water through the dry months, and feed our crops without synthetic fertilizer. What is left after harvest goes back into the pile and returns as compost for the next planting.
It is also a hands-on lesson for every student who comes to work on the farm.
Harvest → Scraps → Compost → Healthier soil → Next harvest
FARM EDUCATION AND WHAT COMES NEXT
Teaching the next farmers, and building a farm that feeds more people
Water from the air
Water is what limits how much we can grow. With UC Santa Cruz and MIT, we are building Warka water towers that pull moisture from the air to irrigate the fields. We plan to build ten.
Students on the farm
Students from Carpinteria High School, Summerland Elementary, Cate School, San Marcos High School and SBCC learn here. This fall, five UCSB Climate Scholars are planting pollinator hedgerows along the farm's edges.
Room to grow
Deer fencing, a walk-in cooler, underground irrigation with sensors and farm roads, so we can grow more of the food we give and buy less of it.
“Sweet Wheel Farm has been a godsend. I reached out and immediately they were there to help. … My situation is a bit embarrassing, yet they have been discreet and respectful.”
R.D., FOOD RECIPIENT
VISIT THE FARM STAND
Open every day at 2325 Lillie Avenue, Summerland
Produce, flowers and baked goods. Every dollar spent at the stand goes back into the food program.
WAYS TO HELP
Thank you for helping us see every family next week.
Give
Your gift goes to growing, packing and delivering food, and to reaching the 170 families waiting for a spot.
Volunteer
Harvest on the farm, pack bags, or help with deliveries. Volunteers are welcome every day, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Need food?
If you or someone you know needs food, call us. We start with an intake interview and income and health verification. Atendemos en español.
LEADERSHIP
The people responsible for this work
Our Board of Directors governs the Foundation and is accountable for its finances and programs. Our advisors, staff and committee members bring experience in medicine, nutrition, farming, engineering, architecture and fundraising.
Board of Directors
Leslie Person Ryan — President & CEO, Founder
Founded Sweet Wheel Farms and leads the Healthy Farmed Food Solutions Project. Past president of the Coast Village Business Association, Summerland Beautiful and the Junior League of Santa Barbara.
Jasmine Jefferies — Secretary
Organic farming expert with a master's degree in organic farming.
Ottocina Ryan — Treasurer
Owner and publisher of Santa Barbara Life & Style Magazine. B.S. in Luxury Marketing, Babson College; studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Comes from a farming family.
Lisa Blades — Director, Community Advocate
Carpinteria resident with deep ties across the Santa Barbara community and a longtime believer in the food project.
Staff
Leslie Person Ryan, President & Chief Executive Officer
Alma Mainz, Chief Financial Officer
Mariam Mosinyan, Secretary to the Board
Advisory Board
Elizabeth Raskin, M.D.
Colorectal surgeon; Surgical Director of the Margolis Family Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Susan Kalt, M.D.
Physician working in nutrition; reviews the recipes that go into every bag
Julie Etra
Botanist
Diane Pannkuk
Montecito civic leader and founder of the Village 4th celebration; B.A., UCLA; M.B.A., George Washington University
Michael Patrick Porter
Santa Barbara architect focused on sustainable design; 2022 AIA Santa Barbara Design Award
Bruno Rocca
Engineer in Ventura with a farm in Northern California; advises on water, irrigation and growing chemical-free at scale
Susan Petrovich and Rebecca Cross
Attorneys; legal counsel to the Foundation
Fund Development Committee
Palmer Jackson Jr., Honorary Chair
Sharon Bradford · Margie Bushman · Jane Glanville · Dani Ison · Susan Kalt, M.D. · Diane Pannkuk · Wes Roe · Amy Sweeney · Kelly Vincent
FINANCIALS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Our books are open
The Santa Barbara Agriculture and Farm Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit. Our tax filings and governing policies are posted here. If you have a question about how we use donations, call or write to us and we will answer it.
Documents
IRS Form 990, 2024 — Annual federal tax return
IRS determination letter — 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
Financial statements — Prepared by an independent CPA [Add PDF]
Conflict of Interest Policy — Adopted by the board [Add PDF]
Whistleblower Policy — Adopted by the board [Add PDF]
Document Retention and Destruction Policy — Adopted by the board [Add PDF]
Equal Opportunity Policy — Adopted by the board
Harassment Policy — Adopted by the board
At a glance
Legal name: Santa Barbara Agriculture and Farm Education Foundation
Tax status: 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit
EIN: 85-3329449
Founded: 2020
Mailing address: PO Box 1033, Summerland, CA 93067
Governance: Four voting directors. Full minutes are kept for every board meeting.
Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Donor privacy policy
We will not sell, trade or share a donor's personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations.
We use donor information only to process gifts, send receipts and thank-you letters, and keep donors informed about our work. You may ask to be removed from our mailing list at any time by calling 805-453-1465 or writing to sbafefoundation@gmail.com. Online gifts are processed by PayPal under its own privacy policy.