The Future of Food is local, seasonal, organic, and regenerative! At our Organic Garden Club meeting, Mike Roberts, owner of Baby Root Farm, a part of McGrath Family Farmers, and Farmivore, an organic food hub, told us about his adventures in learning every part of farming. 

He started growing and producing crops in his Baby Root Farm on a plot on McGrath Farm. He packed boxes for McGrath Family Farms for their community supported agriculture (CSA) to deliver locally. Then he joined other famers at McGrath Farm and went to several Farmer’s Markets in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, where their organic veggies, flowers, and strawberries were popular with buyers.

He met many local organic farmers at the various Farmers Markets and became excited about the possibilities of local organic food systems: Food Hubs, Community Organic Food Co-ops, and Farmers Markets! He gathered many of these organic farmers to form the organic food hub, Farmivore, who delivers organic seasonal produce to five Ventura County school districts as well as CSA boxes to local buyers. https://farmivore.localfoodmarketplace.com/Index

Organic Garden Club Members enjoyed a delightful tour at McGrath Family Farms with Farmer Mike. We saw companion planting in action as the strawberries, squash, beans, and cilantro were resilient and productive in the field together with pollinator flowers. We learned about the growing of crops, the importance of cover crops, and the science of the soil with our past speakers, Dr. Arianna Bozzolo and Dr. Jacob Pecenka, at Rodale Institute’s California Organic Center on McGrath Farm.