Who We Are
From 2019 to 2022 we were a 501(c)3 non-profit, organic certified farm and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and women-led worker collective in Ventura County, California that seeks to transform our food system towards justice, liberation, and increased health for all people, while caring for the land and all who tend the land.
The Abundant Table was a democratic workplace where workers have equitable say in the decisions that affect how we relate to the farm, to our community, to Mother Earth, and to each other.
We incorporated sustainable growing practices like water conservation, crop rotation, and cover cropping to grow mixed vegetables, strawberries, and flowers for those seeking an alternative to conventional food systems.
We created greater access to sustainably grown foods for the benefit of all Ventura County residents, produced from a consciousness of ecological, social, and spiritual well-being.
Along with growing food for our local community, we offered a variety of immersive and educational experiences both on and off the land that grow community, capacitate, and cultivate a deeper spiritual connection to the land and the food we grow.
Farm-Based Education
We welcome K-12, university, and informal learning educators to arrange farm-based education with us covering a variety of topics, such as climate change, soil science, seed saving, Indigenous agricultural practices, and more.
Farm to School
In collaboration with Ventura County Farm to School (VCF2S), we work with school districts, child nutrition services directors, teachers, and cafeteria teams to promote local food, healthy eating, and hands-on agricultural education in classrooms.
Farm to Faith
Through our Farm Church, the Interfaith Labor Day Harvest, and spiritual immersive retreats, we invite people of all faith and no-faith traditions to explore spirituality in connection with the land.
BIPOC Land Healing
Our Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) land-healing farm immersions are an initiative inspired by D-Town Farms in Detroit and Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York to help heal historical traumas many of our community members have with agriculture.
Open Farm
Every month, we hold English-language and Spanish-language Open Farms where community members can volunteer their labor while learning more about food and farmworker justice, environmental stewardship, and our community programs.
Food Justice
Our Indigenous CSA box provides culturally relevant organic produce to our migrant farmworker community at affordable prices, as well as special invitations for farmworker families to feel at home at the farm and share their ideas about improving the food system.
The Abundant Table video from Megan Stone
Our farm produces a diverse yield of crops, grown using sustainable, organic principles, which we provide to local schools, sell as part of our community supported agriculture (CSA) program and donate to the local community through food banks and faith-based institutions. The Abundant Table offers innovative, farm-based programs for public schools and school-aged children to promote healthy eating, good nutrition and a greater connection to our diverse agricultural community, as well as youth development and leadership opportunities through our Rooted Futures, Seedlings Youth Immersion Project, and Episcopal Service Corps internship programs. A grassroots, farm church community nurtures and guides our social justice and community work.
History
The Abundant Table established its roots in 2004 as a campus ministry at California State University, Channel Islands and quickly evolved into a progressive ministry of the Episcopal and Lutheran churches, engaging people from the university and wider community in a mission to transform our food system towards increased health for all people, while practicing responsible stewardship and connection to the earth.
In 2009, through the generous support of Trinity Wall Street and DeBusschere Ranch, The Abundant Table started a one to two year Episcopal Service Corps internship for young adults to work on a local, sustainable farm, live in intentional community and engage in social justice building in their community and through the farm church. The interns are integral in supporting The Abundant Table’s mission to change lives and systems by creating sustainable relationships to the land and local community.
Transforming young lives
The Abundant Table has expanded its commitment to youth through the development of two key farm education programs:
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- Rooted Futures —an experiential farm-based health and nutrition program for youth living within under-served communities.
- Seedlings Youth Immersion Project –a one-day to week-long transformative journey (pilgrimage) focusing on responsible stewardship of the earth, justice for farm workers, and spiritual formation.
Both projects focus on empowering youth to become agents of change and problem solvers in their homes, schools and communities on issues of sustainable living, food system change and healthy eating. In 2010-2011 over 1,000 youth and young adults participated in our programs.
Abundant Table Farm Historical site 