In partnership with the Community Food Co-op and its Farm Fund, the Whatcom Food and Farm Fund supports the long-term resilience of Whatcom County farms in the face of increasing climate and economic challenges.

Local farms are essential to our region’s food system, economy, and sense of place. Yet climate-driven events — from flooding to drought — are becoming more frequent and disruptive, threatening growing seasons, infrastructure, and livelihoods.

This fund provides flexible, responsive funding to farmers when unexpected events impact their operations — helping them recover losses, restore productivity, and adapt for the future. By investing in both immediate response and long-term resilience, the fund helps ensure farms can withstand and rebound from future disruptions.

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Connecting local farmers and students just makes sense. Since 2009, Whatcom-Farm-to-School, supported by the Foundation’s Sustainable Whatcom Fund, has changed the food purchasing and education practices at many Whatcom County schools as well as early care and education sites by ensuring that students have access to healthy, local food.

In addition, educational opportunities such as school gardens, cooking lessons and farm field trips are made available, encouraging children and their families to make informed food choices and support local food producers.

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The U.S. lost 11 million acres of farmland in the past 2 decades according to the American Farmland Trust. In response to the loss of local farmland, Whatcom County created the Whatcom County Purchase of Development Rights Program (PDR). This program is voluntary for farmers and compensates property owners for the value of their unexercised residential development potential and enacts an agricultural conservation easement.

By protecting our agricultural land, we are supporting the local farming industry for current and future generations.

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