Farm to Families Program

Our goal at Boochcraft is to make a positive impact in the community, specifically the ones in which we have the greatest effect. Last year we decided to start right in our backyard. In May of 2018 we co-created and launched the Farm to Families program with co-sponsor Dr. Bronner's, and Wild Willow Farm in Imperial Beach, CA just a couple miles from our brewery. The program is a hands-on, family oriented food skills education program. Using fresh fruit and vegetables grown at the farm, participants learn how to cook, grow, harvest and preserve healthy food. 2018 Program Highlights

Program Synopsis 6-month bilingual (English/Spanish) program. Participants were provided fresh fruit and vegetables from Wild Willow Farm. Every other Saturday participating families met as a group to pick up their veggie boxes, prepare a meal together and take a class on varying subjects, including diet and nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes prevention, vegetable gardening. Culminating the program were educational Garden Builds, where families work with each other and farm staff to set up a vegetable garden at their home. Qualifying Participants South Bay families with a genuine commitment to health improvement and who agreed to attend all the classes and garden builds. Participants complete questionnaires about health, family history, and eating habits. Additional health bio-metrics may be conducted in order to gather data on the continuing benefits of the program. Program Goals Measurable health improvements Increased consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables Transition to healthy outdoor activities, inclusive family events, community building activities, and supporting local regenerative agriculture. Reunions and other alumni events are ongoing to grow the social bonds formed during the program. Evaluation Results On a scale of 1 to 10 only one participant rated the quality and diversity of the vegetables with a 9, the rest rated with a 10 the quality and diversity of vegetables in their weekly box. 80% of participants believed that the quantity of vegetables was just right, while 20% would have liked more vegetables. 100% of participants identified that Farm To Families impacted their Family’s health for the better! Participant Testimonials “The diversity of the vegetables was amazing and having my family try that was great.” “Better choices, more veggies, and exercise.” “Teaching me to eat better choices.” “In brining a better variety of vegetables, learning new recipes and ideas to incorporate them into our lives.” “We will try any vegetable or fruit now, before we were eating the same traditional fruits.” What Participants Enjoyed Most “The gardening part, I love Wild Willow Farm” “Everything, my family participating and learning” “Cooking, planting, and worms” “Meeting new people, and learning about new vegetables” “The classes and the weekly vegetable box” The next round of the program will begin again mid year in 2019 and our hope is to expand it to other locations. If you are interested in helping to fund the program please email us at info@boochcraft.com!