Goals & Needs

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Project One

​CAFF has been working for over 40 years to build sustainable food and farming systems that benefit family farmers, communities and ecosystems. We have programs in four main areas: Farmer Services, Farm to Market, Policy Advocacy and Ecological Farming. Our Wildfire Resilience Program is a new part of our Farmer Services Department. CAFF’s wildfire work started informally in 2017 in response to the need to support farmers in the North Bay region as they were responding to catastrophic wildfires and suffering significant losses and negative impacts. Since then, we have expanded our Emergency Fund efforts and online preparedness and recovery resources. The new full time Wildfire Resilience Specialist position will expand upon the resources available to agricultural operators through various mediums (podcasts, vidoes, factsheets), conduct in-person events such as town halls and field days where growers can learn from each other and about best practices to prepare their farm, and continue to run the Emergency Fund. A typical week for the Fellow would involve meeting with CAFF staff, partners, vendors, and contractors to help coordinate resource development, organizing field day and town hall events, attending relevant trainings (remote and/or in person), and assisting with communications to stakeholder groups. There will be a significant amount of time spent helping develop new educational and programmatic related resources, supporting literature collection and review of wildfire and agriculture related research and traditional knowledge, and identifying possible Wildfire program funding opportunities/grants and/or helping with emergency fund application review and processing. 

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There will also be 6+ opportunities to attend field days and town halls and interact with growers directly, as well as fieldwork supporting the Ecological Farming team on related projects across the state. There will also be opportunities to participate in CAFF Wildfire Advisory Committee meetings as well as meetings with collaborating organizations. This Grizzly Corps position will contribute towards helping farmers in California, particularly small-scale and underserved farmers, adapt, respond to and prepare for wildfires so that their farms can be as resilient in the face of disaster as possible. Farmers are part of the foundational fabric of a community, especially during disasters. Supply chains are disrupted and local farmers are able to feed people when traditional systems fail. This GrizzlyCorps position will significantly improve local community resilience by helping identify gaps, expand program access and support, and guide farmers in becoming more resilient during wildfire events. 

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Project Two

CAFF has been working for nearly 45 years to build sustainable food and farming systems that benefit family farmers, communities, and ecosystems. We have programs in four main areas: Farmer Services, Farm to Market, Policy Advocacy, and Ecological Farming. CAFF hosts in-person and virtual events (from on-farm field days to the annual California Small Farm Conference) where farmers and agricultural advocates can gather to share resources, trade best practices, learn, and collectively advocate for family farms and sustainable agriculture in their community. 

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Working with our Membership, Communications, and Farm to Market teams, the GrizzlyCorps Fellow will be involved in growing community connections to strengthen our California farming community. A typical day could include a mixture of working independently (designing outreach materials, editing a short video, creating social media graphics, etc.), working as part of a team (via meetings or other collaborative projects), and connecting with farmers (phone, email, text, or other outreach). There will also be occasional opportunities to travel and interact with growers and buyers in-person by attending field days or other on-farm and farm to school events as well as town halls.  

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CAFF recognizes that all farms and communities benefit from healthier and more resilient agroecosystems, particularly in the face of climate change and loss of biodiversity. This Fellow would help provide information and resources to meet farmers where they are and support them according to their unique circumstances so that they may become better, more ecologically-focused land stewards. They will contribute towards CAFF’s work in helping farmers in California, particularly small-scale and underserved farmers.

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Capacity Building Projects

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Project One

The Fellow will work primarily on Wildfire preparedness for the new program CAFF is developing. This consists of several components. Firstly, the Fellow will work with the Wildfire Specialist to identify relevant, high quality data and information/traditional knowledge as it pertains to the intersection of wildfire impacts on agriculture. A specific example of this would be working with tribal groups to gather and organize information on cultural burning practices for the purpose of increased ecosystem resilience, soil health, nutrient release/management. They would use this information to identify and share out via town halls, online webinars and field days, the implications of certain practices or methods for agricultural operations and land stewardship/natural resource goals. 

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Secondly, the Fellow will assist with gathering information and research as it relates to the recovery needs expressed by farmers that have experienced direct wildfire impacts. Some examples of this are helping CAFF and project partners find more effective and appropriate ways to support farmers in navigating the gaps in fire insurance coverage for high risk regions, improving advocacy efforts on behalf of small farmer needs, providing technical assistance for emergency funding access and application processes, and developing materials which guide farmers with cost-share recovery funding programs, etc.  In their role supporting the Wildfire Resilience work at CAFF, the Fellow would also serve as a liaison to CAFF’s Ecological Farming program and support cross-programmatic work to serve farmers as they work to build resilience to wildfire as well as recover and regenerate after experiencing wildfire. Finally, in partnership with the Ecological Farming program, the Fellow may increase capacity around on-farm research of climate smart farming through participating in occasional soil health assessments in the field. Each of these roles will help with growing the network CAFF is building across the state, and it will improve farmer access to support and learning opportunities around Wildfire Resilience. 

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Project Two

The Fellow will work primarily on multimedia outreach and engagement, with the overall goal of relationship-building and increasing community connections to strengthen our California farming community. This consists of several interrelated components related to CAFF’s membership, communications, and Farm to Market programs, all of which will increase CAFF’s capacity around sharing resources and information with the farming and sustainable agriculture community. 

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The Fellow will work with our communications team to create and update outreach materials and resources (including CAFF’s website, blog, and the California Farm Directory) as well as be involved in generating farmer storytelling media, including photography, graphics for social media, and short videos. The position will work within all of CAFF's programming, with an emphasis on the Farm to Market program: including developing signage and educational materials for school districts to highlight their local purchasing; leading graphic design, outreach, and promotions for two statewide, school based events: Crunch Lunch and the Good Food Showcase; supporting development and dissemination of promotional communications for the CAFF school food purchasing software (www.bidgenerator.org), school food buyer and farmer guides. By working on multimedia communications, outreach, and engagement, the Fellow will work towards relationship-building and increasing community connections to strengthen California's farming community.

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Each of these roles will help with growing the network CAFF is building across the state, and it will improve farmer access to support and learning opportunities. This position will be housed within CAFF’s Membership and Communications team.

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Organizational & Community Highlights

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CAFF is a values-driven organization (CAFF values include ecological stewardship, justice & equity, practical solutions, economic fairness, centering farmers, and strong local communities); and the staff are strongly committed to the mission we are serving: “to build sustainable food and farming systems through policy advocacy and on-the-ground programs that create more resilient family farms, communities, and ecosystems”. While CAFF staff members work very hard on our various programs and projects, the culture is one of friendliness, good humor, and encourages a healthy work-life balance. People at CAFF are working on things they care about, while also finding time to connect with others. CAFF encourages creativity in problem solving, collaboration, and regular reflection on whether the work is in fact meeting the needs of the community, as such, it's a great place to work on professional development. CAFF staff work throughout the state of California, and CAFF’s main office is in Davis, located at the beautiful TS Glide Ranch, about 5 miles heading west of town. Davis is surrounded by agriculture and is also a university town (UC Davis), which makes for an engaging community, especially for folks interested in agriculture. Davis is also very close (about 14 miles) to Sacramento, which is America's Farm to Fork capital.

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