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Menlo Park Farmers Market staple Heirloom Organic Gardens is struggling to make it after the COVID-19 pandemic, leading owner Grant Brians to start a GoFundMe asking the community to help.
“The last several years have finally taken their toll,” Brians wrote. “An accumulation of difficulties has led to the need for funds.”
According to the GoFundMe, Brians began farming at only 4 years old, imitating his grandmother’s victory garden, a wartime vegetable garden. He began his first market garden in Los Altos at 11 years old, and began commercial farming when he was 14. According to Brians, Heirloom Organic Gardens was the first organic farm in the Santa Clara Valley in 1976.
Today, Brians and Heirloom Organic Gardens are in a rough spot and are reaching out for help, and not just because COVID-19 cut down on business. He wrote that 105 acres of the farm flooded this year, there have been issues with farm machinery and vehicles, and several restaurant closures have affected their primary customer base, leading to the decision to ask for help from the community.
Messages from those who donate have a consistent theme of support from farmer’s market patrons who see the stand as a valuable addition to farmers markets. Donors have pledged over $46,000 of Brians’ $100,000 goal as of Tuesday, Nov. 21.
“Farms like yours are vital, and your farmers market stand is uniquely great,” Teddy Framhein wrote.
Heirloom Organic Gardens grows about 80% of its own seeds, according to Brians on GoFundMe, and many of the vegetables he sells are not widely available. This includes edible flowers and Spigariello and Mandurian cucumbers, among others.
The GoFundMe for Heirloom Organic Gardens can be found at tinyurl.com/heirloom-gofundme.
