Agricultural Institute of Marin

The Center for Food and Agriculture

Model and Strategy

The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM)’s mission is to educate, inspire, and connect communities, responsible farmers, and producers as part of a healthy, earth friendly, equitable local and regional food system. To fulfill its mission, AIM operates seven year-round certified farmers’ markets and two certified seasonal markets in the San Francisco Bay Area, and offers a holistic set of community education, farm-fresh nutrition access, and training programs connected to those markets.

AIM’s programs include: 1) Diggin’ on the Farm and Diggin’ at the Market, which teach children about local food and agriculture through hands-on learning; 2) Rollin’ Root, its mobile food truck bringing fresh food to older adults and low food-access communities; 3) Bounty Box, a weekly multi-farm produce box offered for sale and donated to low-food access communities of color; 4) Growing Success, providing technical assistance and training to small-to-medium and beginning farmers and ranchers; and 5) Food systems policy initiatives to enable small-scale and socially disadvantaged producers and communities to access resources for growing, processing, and distributing local foods. Taken together, these programs aim to make California-grown produce more accessible and affordable to communities while providing economic stimulus and training to small-scale and medium-size farmers.

Beyond its year-round programs, core to AIM’s work is a major capacity-building project that will strengthen the region’s food supply chain: building the Center for Food and Agriculture. The Center is a place-based model where AIM will operate its zero-waste certified farmers markets with permanent amenities for farmers and educational spaces dedicated to healthier food culture.

The Center has evolved from an inspired idea to a Marin County ballot measure that passed with 84% of voters. From 2019-2021, AIM developed the vision in close collaboration with local communities, farmers, and food policy specialists. With a planned opening in 2024, the Center will include a commercial teaching kitchen, indoor-outdoor classrooms and meeting spaces, and a regenerative farm garden that will be a physical hub for beginning farmers and ranchers to receive mentorship, one-on-one technical assistance, meet peers and job seekers, and access resources. It will serve as an essential connection point between those who need quality, nutrient-dense foods and those who make their livelihoods in a way that protects soils, pastures, and seas.

Impact

AIM currently serves over 390+ small-to-midsize farmers, ranchers, dairy producers, fishers, and small food businesses from 44 California counties at its Bay Area farmers’ markets. It creates lucrative markets for these producers, who receive over 90 cents on the dollar at farmers markets (after fees) versus 15-17.4 cents for products sold through wholesale channels. When the Center opens, the additional market spaces and days of operation will allow AIM to accommodate even more local farmers and small food businesses, increasing their direct sales and revenue while stimulating the local economy. “The Center’s marketplace will prioritize space for climate-friendly producers and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) producers, who have historically been denied access to capital, wealth, and markets, along with other socially disadvantaged producers including women, LGBTQ folks, immigrants, and veterans. AIM has established a Racial Equity Fund to invest in a group of BIPOC producers to position them for success at AIM’s markets and beyond, and a Farmers Markets Incubator Booth training first-generation immigrant BIPOC farmers hands-on. These and other equity programs will be a permanent feature of the Center. Equally important to the producers are the thousands of shoppers who will be served each week. The Center will serve a diverse demographic base, drawing from over 600,000 households and local area chefs in Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco counties, and area visitors. While the Center and Farmers Market will be open to all community members, AIM’s priority outreach is to low-income communities. The Center will be a hub for equitable food access with a convenient location for Marin County to enroll families in CalFresh and offer them access to farm-fresh nutrition programs like WIC and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition program. In 2021, AIM redeemed over $572,000 in CalFresh benefits – it anticipates a 400% increase with the opening of the Center. AIM also distributed more than $388,000 in Market Match incentives for free fruits and vegetables from the farmers’ market in 2021, a figure likewise anticipated to grow.
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Leadership

  • Andy

    Andy Naja-Riese

    CEO

  • Cameron

    Cameron Crisman

    Board Chair

  • Priscilla

    Priscilla Lucero

    Secretary

  • Chris

    Chris Dacumos

    Treasurer

  • Jonathan

    Jonathan Mi

    Board Member

  • Peg

    Peg Smith

    Board Member