Nevada County, CA (October 17, 2024) – Last week Sierra Harvest hosted the organization’s annual fundraising luncheon, Seeding Our Future, on Thursday, October 10, 2024. Among the many highlights, the Sierra Harvest Board of Directors announced their decision to hire Eli Bacon as the nonprofit’s new Executive Director. Eli had been with the organization for two (2) years as the Director of Development and Communications before the Board made them the Interim Co-Executive Director in March of this year. Nita Mizushima, Sierra Harvest Board President commented, “We are so excited to be at the beginning of this next phase of Sierra Harvest’s growth and for Eli to lead this visionary work. Our founders have put so much effort into getting us to this place in our organizational development and we are poised to build on that strong foundation. Collaborating with our partners, we hope to build a food system that supports a healthier community with affordable access to delicious, local food.”
Seeding Our Future featured several exciting highlights that showcased the strength of Nevada County’s agricultural community. One standout moment was the recognition of both new and established farmers, including a video spotlight on young farmers Mira and Aaron Brinkman of Brinkman Family Ranching. They have actively participated in various Sierra Harvest programs, such as their mentorship program, Ag Skills, Farm Biz, and land matching services. The lunch itself featured products from Feeding Crane Farm, Rondoni Ranch, Super Tuber Farm, and Mountain Bounty.
Additionally, Sierra Harvest proudly announced close partnerships with local organizations, including the Nevada County Resource Conservation District (NCRCD), Nevada County Farm Bureau, Bear Yuba Land Trust, and the County of Nevada.
Together, they are collaborating on the Sustainable Agriculture Lands Conservation Program (SALC) Grant awarded to NCRCD earlier this year. The award will be used to establish a comprehensive Agricultural and Working Landscape Conservation Plan to address the future of agriculture in Nevada County.
Another huge achievement highlighted at the event, was the hiring of an Executive Food Services Director, Sam Koneffklatt, by the Nevada County School Food Services Agency. The agency is a joint power of authority which involves all eight school districts and the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools. The creation and fulfillment of this instrumental position has huge implications for school food throughout Western Nevada County and is the culmination of over 15 years of work by the nonprofit; advocating and mobilizing to make school food fresh, local, and equitable for all Nevada County students.
Dana O’Callaghan and Lucas Willms shared their personal experiences with school food and the Sierra Harvest Farm-to-School programs, like Garden Education. Dana, participated in field trips to Food Love Farm as a student at Seven Hills. Dana was reintroduced to Sierra Harvest last year through Connecting Point after she requested to be connected to jobs working with plants and in nature. This year, she is a Garden Educator and manages the after-school garden clubs at Scotten, Gilmore, and Our Schools Place. Lucas is a current student at Chicago Park Elementary which features a half acre garden and chickens. Students are invited to feed the chickens scraps, collect eggs and tend to the garden as part of their classes with Lauren Valentino, Sierra Harvest Garden Educator.
The event concluded with a moving ask from co-founder Malaika Bishop and local business owner Haven Caravelli, inspiring collective support for the organization’s vision for a sustainable food system in Nevada County. Eli Bacon shared, “We are so grateful to everyone who attended this year’s Seeding Our Future and for the community supporting Sierra Harvest. We are excited to transform this event next year into a farm-to-table dinner that is 100% locally sourced with the help of our local chefs, ranchers, and farmers. It will be a fun challenge and we look forward to the community celebrating local food in this way. We hope to see everyone there.”
For more information about Sierra Harvest or Eli Bacon please visit sierraharvest.org.