Growing Better Every Day
We love what we do, and we are proud of all we’ve accomplished together. Amber Waves is a leader in our regional food system: as both a production farm and an educational institution we are uniquely positioned to provide highly impactful education and experiences to eaters and growers alike. We are not only focused on growing food for our community and stewarding healthy soils, but also modeling how sustainable agriculture can bolster a community’s health, contribute to a strong local economy, and protect our environmental resources.
As a nonprofit organization we rely on your donations, and your support is integral to our growth and success. Our year-end Annual Appeal is underway, and this is your opportunity to make a tremendous difference. Our fundraising goal is $250,000 and making a generous gift online today ensures the success of our mission: uniting food and community by providing educational opportunities in agriculture for aspiring growers, thoughtful cooks, and eaters of all ages.
Your donation supports our four programs:
- Farm to Food Pantry: The perceived wealth on the East End can mask the desperate challenges some of our neighbors face just to feed their families. This year we donated more than $100,000 of vegetables, flowers, plants, and prepared foods to six local food pantries, including more than 20,000 lbs of farm fresh produce. Can you make a donation of $100 to provide 50lb of squash (that's 100 servings!) to your hungry neighbors?
- Farming Apprenticeship: We are a national leader in farmer workforce training teaching new farmers the skills required to start their own farm. With more than 60 alumni and counting,15 graduates have started their own farms and food businesses! Will you join us in training the next generation of farmers with a gift of $250 towards housing, tools, books, and training?
- Public Access to the Farm: Folks are hungry for a place that inspires connection and conversation grounded in nature and health. We are committed to providing and maintaining open and free access for the public to visit a working farm. We welcomed more than 90,000 visitors onto the farm this year! Please pitch in $50 to keep our gates open and paths mowed for all to freely wander the fields.
- Children’s Education: Our farm educators are experts in guiding children through an interactive farm experience that solidifies vivid food memories and empowers them with the farming knowledge to respect our resources, make healthy food choices, celebrate seasonality, and to have fun. We hosted more than 100 field trips with community partners and public schools and taught more than 8,500 children in our outdoor classroom via free and low cost field trips. Your gift of $375 covers a school field trip to the farm, can you help?
Can you help us make a bigger impact? We have big goals for the next several seasons and we are investing in our community by:
- Building our campus to serve more children and families by adding programming and improving on-farm infrastructure
- Training more farmers in our apprenticeship program to solve the urgent need of workforce development in agriculture (no farmers, no food Yes farmers! Yes food!)
- Employing more educators to ensure more children have access to the farm
- Cultivating more land to grow nutritious vegetables for our community and food pantries
As you reflect on your relationship with the farm and your meaningful experiences here, please consider making a donation that will help us build on our successes, achieve our goals, and launch into next season to fund the programs that profoundly impact all of us. Every contribution, big or small, helps us plant the seeds for a brighter, more sustainable future. Thank you for making Amber Waves such a special place—we couldn’t do it without you!
With our deepest gratitude,
Katie & Amanda