Sweet Farm Foundation

SWEET FARM IS THE FIRST EVER CLIMATE SANCTUARY. FOUNDED IN 2016 AS A IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL THE STORY OF HOW OUR FOOD SYSTEM AND CLIMATE FOOD COMES FROM. BY THE END OF 2017, THE ORGANIZATION HAD BUILT OUT ITS PROGRAMS TO INCORPORATE REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE AND TECH & INNOVATION. THROUGH OUR PROGRAMS WE ADDRESS THE IMPACTS OF FACTORY FARMING ACROSS ANIMALS, THE PLANTS, AND THE PLANET. BY LINKING CLIMATE EDUCATION, REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE, FARM-ANIMAL RESCUE, AND THE TECHNOLOGY THAT IS SUSTAINABLY DISRUPTING FOOD AND AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION SWEET FARM IS FOCUSED ON DRIVING CHANGE TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.

SWEET FARM,ESTABLISHED IN 2016, INITIALLY BEGAN AS A FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARY. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT OUR FOOD AND CLIMATE SYSTEMS ARE SO DEEPLY INTERTWINED THAT THEIR STORIES CANNOT BE TOLD INDIVIDUALLY. TO DRIVE TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE, OUR CO-FOUNDERS REALIZED IT WAS ESSENTIAL TO CONSIDER ALL ASPECTS OF OUR FOOD SYSTEM AND ITS TIES TO ENERGY, WASTE AND MATERIAL SYSTEMS. BY 2017, SWEET FARM HAD EXPANDED ITS INITIATIVES TO ENCOMPASS REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE AND TECH & INNOVATION, DRIVING IMPACT FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL SCALES. AS THE FIRST CLIMATE SANCTUARY, OUR FOCUS REMAINS ROOTED IN FOSTERING CLIMATE-CONSCIOUSNESS AND AMPLIFYING IMPACT THROUGH HOLISTIC, SYSTEMS-BASED APPROACHES.SWEET FARM HAS EXPERIENCED THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE FIRST HAND; EVACUATING OUR ANIMALS DUE TO WILDFIRES IN 2020 AND BEING FORCED TO CLOSE OUR AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS IN 2021 DUE TO CALIFORNIA'S DROUGHT. WITH NO END TO THESE CLIMATE DISASTERS IN SIGHT, IN 2021 WE MADE THE DECISION TO RELOCATE OUR FARM, ANIMALS AND PROGRAMS TO THE MORE CLIMATE SECURE REGION OF UPSTATE NEW YORK. THIS MOVE WILL BE COSTLY FOR OUR ORGANIZATION, BUT OUR NEWLY BUILT 50 ACRE FARM WILL PROVIDE A MORE SUSTAINABLE HOME TO ALLOW US TO GROW THE IMPACT OF OUR PROGRAMS IN THE LONG TERM.OUR EXPERIENCE AS CLIMATE REFUGEES PUTS US IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO CONNECT OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO THE REALITIES OF CLIMATE CHANGE. WE ALWAYS TAKE A PRAGMATIC AND POSITIVE APPROACH IN OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, AMPLIFYING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT CAN MOVE THE NEEDLE FORWARD TOWARDS A MORE COMPASSIONATE AND SUSTAINABLE WORLD.CENTRAL TO OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ARE THE STORIES OF OUR FARM ANIMAL RESCUE ANIMALS ALSO KNOWN AS OUR ANIMAL AMBASSADORS. AS OF 2022, SWEET FARM NOW CARES FOR OVER 100 RESCUED FARM ANIMALS ON THE FARM. THIS YEAR WE RESCUED 2 ELDERLY FARM PIGS FROM A MEAT PRODUCTION FARM, 5 FERAL BARN CATS AND 9 SHEEP AND GOATS FROM ANOTHER SANCTUARY THAT WAS CLOSING DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS.IN ADDITION TO THESE RESCUES, SWEET FARM KICKED OFF A TRANSFORMATIONAL PARTNERSHIP WITH MISSION BARNS. LOCATED IN SAN FRANCISCO, MISSION BARNS IS A FOOD COMPANY CULTIVATING PORK FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM. ITS PRODUCTS ARE AMDE WITH CULTIVATED PORK AND PLANT PROTEIN, REQUIRING ONLY A SINGLE ANIMAL COMPONENT-A HARMLESS STARTER SAMPLE FROM A PIG-WHIC IS FED PLANT BASED NUTRIENTS IN A CULTIVATOR. TWO PIGLETS, NAMED DWN AND DUSK, PROVIDED A SMALL SAMPLE TO DONATE THE INITIAL CELLS TO MISSION BARNS FOR ITS PRODUCTS, THE JOINED A PIG SOUNDER HERE ON THE FARM. THIS TRANSFORMATIVE TECNNOLOGY COULD PRODUCE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MEAT AS MILLIONS OF FARM ANIMALS, HELPING TO CREATE A WORLD WITH FEWER GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, REDUCED LAND AND WATER USAGE, AND FREE FROM ANIMAL HARM-ALL WHILE KEEPING US SAFER ANUMAL-BORNE DISEASES. MEANWHILE, DAWN AND DUSK LIVE HAPPY, HEALTHY LIVES AT SWEET FARM. TOGETHER WITH MISSION FARMS, SWEET FARM WILL TELL THE STORY OF HOW THESE TWO PIGS WILL CHANGE THE FOOD SYSTEM FOR THE BETTER. ADDING NEW RESCUES TO OUR SWEET FARM FAMILY WAS DONE THROUGH CAREFUL INTEGRATION. THE CARE OF OUR ANIMALS IS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY, WHICH INCLUDES DAY-TO-DAY CARE, MEDICAL CARE AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES TO MAKE SURE OUR ANIMALS ARE HAPPY AND HEALTHY. IN 2022 WE ALSO HAD TO CONTEND WITH HIGH COSTS FOR MEDICAL CARE FOR OUR ANIMALS. MANY OF OUR ANIMAL AMBASSADOR SPECIES ARE TRADITIONALLY RAISED FOR FOOD AND NOT FOR LONG LIFE, WHICH LEADS TO A HIGH FREQUENCY OF MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS AS THE ANIMALS AGE.IN 2022, OUR VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS REMAINED STRONG, WHILE IN PARALLEL WE WERE ABLE TO RAMP UP OUR IN-PERSON EDUCATION IN OUR NEW LOCATION. WE DEVELOPED A WIDE VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS RANGING FROM: A) TECH AND INNOVATION TRENDS IN FARMING, B) MUSHROOM CULTIVATION AND FORAGING, C) DEBUNKING PLANT BASED MYTHS TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO SHIFT TO A MORE PLANT BASED DIET, D) BACKYARD COMPOSTING AND WINDOWSILL HERB PLANTING, AND, E) KIDS PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON ANIMALS, PLANTS, AND THE PLANET. WE WERE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF THE GROWING PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR THREE COLLEGES (KEUKA COLLEGE, HOBART & WILLIAM SMITH, AND STANFORD) THAT ARE BRINGING STUDENTS TO THE FARM FOR VOLUNTEER WORK AND SEMESTER-LONG INTERNSHIPS. ON THE POLICY SIDE, SWEET FARM ENGAGED THE PUBLIC IN AN EVENT THAT WELCOMED NEW JERSEY SENATOR COREY BOOKER ALONG WITH FARMERS, STUDENTS, AND ENTREPRENEURS TO DISCUSS WHAT IS BEING DONE ON CAPITOL HILL TO ADDRESS THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURE AND HOW EACH OF THESE COMMUNITIES ARE BEING SUPPORTED IN THE TRANSITION TO A MORE JUST FOOD SYSTEM.OUR TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION PROGRAM REMAINS A CORNERSTONE OF HOW WE SCALE OUR IMPACT GLOBALLY. START-UPS THAT ARE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SWEET FARM HAVE NOW COLLECTIVELY RAISED OVER $500M AND ARE BUILDING PRODUCTS THAT WILL DISRUPT OUR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SYSTEMS FOR THE BETTER, WITH IMPACT AT A GLOBAL SCALE. IT'S EXCITING FOR US TO SEE SOME OF OUR EARLIEST TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM PARTNERS MAKING THEIR IDEAS A REALITY IN 2022. THIS YEAR THE EVERY COMPANY LAUNCHED ITS FIRST PRODUCTS TO MARKET, WITH A CULTIVATED EGG PROTEIN, CREATED IN PART BY COMPARING PROTEINS TO THOSE FROM EGGS FROM THE SWEET FARM ANIMAL AMBASSADOR CHICKENS. AS CULTIVATED MEAT NEARS ITS FDA APPROVAL IN THE COMING YEAR, WE EAGERLY ANTICIPATE OTHER SIMILAR PARTNERSHIPS REACHING CONSUMERS' HANDS.IN 2022, OUR REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PROGRAM IS GROWING ROOTS AS WE PREPARE TO KICK OFF OUR FIRST FULL SEASON OF GROWING AT OUR NEW LOCATION IN NEW YORK STATE. WE HAVE ALREADY PLANTED OVER 1,000 GARLIC BULBS TO OVERWINTER, WITH HUNDREDS OF PEONY AND DAHLIA TUBERS IN THE GROUND FOR THE FLOWER PROGRAM. WE ALSO HAVE OVER 4,000 HEIRLOOM PLANT SEEDS WARMING IN THE SOIL AT THE GREENHOUSE. WE ARE EXCITED FOR THESE PLANTS TO SHOWCASE THE BEAUTY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY IN OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS NEXT YEAR, WITH THE PRODUCE GOING TO LOW INCOME FAMILIES IN THE COMMUNITY.AS WE LOOK TOWARD OUR FIRST FULL YEAR IN ONE OF THE LAST REMAINING CLIMATE STABLE REGIONS IN AMERICA: THE FINGER LAKES REGION IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, WE SEE OUR VISION BECOMING REALITY. SWEET FARM IS TRULY BECOMING A ONE OF A KIND LOCATION THAT TELLS THE STORY OF A BETTER FUTURE FOR THE PEOPLE, ANIMALS, PLANTS AND PLANET.