CHICO — Despite uncertainty in the federal funding assistance, the Butte County Local Food Network is determined to keep local food from going bad.
In an effort to “jump to the next stage” as an organization, the Butte County Local Food Network appointed a new director this month, Jen Goddard, to replace founding member Pamm Larry, who helped start the nonprofit in 2020.
The nonprofit has become a staple to locals in recent years, partnering with schools for community gardens and hosting five “Garden Blitz” events, installing hundreds of gardens in homes across Butte County.
But the current federal administration, according to Larry, has cut “significant, local, important food programs,” which grew out of a need to stabilize supply chains that were disrupted during COVID-19 lockdowns.
“All of the food systems and pretty much every nonprofit in the United States is in a very interesting position right now with the new administration shaking things up and wanting to get rid of fraud and waste,” Larry said. “And while I applaud that, their solution to that has been pretty extreme.”
As funding sources have become unclear, the organization is “assessing the lay of the land” on how to move forward and looking to develop more community partnerships, Larry said — not rely so much on federal and state grants.
“This organization is poised to really jump into a new stage of expansion and serving community, and I think (Goddard is) the perfect person to establish us more on the back end,” Larry said.
As the new director, Goddard will be assuming the role as the primary grant writer for the organization. She brings more than 25 years of experience in agriculture.
Goddard is new to BCLFN, but not to Chico, having come in 1996 to attend Chico State from her hometown of San Jose. Here, she met her husband and decided to stick in the area.
Goddard said she took a temporary position at a large-scale agricultural company in Glenn County and worked her way up to an operations manager. She learned how manage most aspects of a farming business, such as directing people and making day-to-day farming decisions.
Now, Goddard said, she’s seeking to bring her confidence, experience and grant writing skills she learned in her career to BCLFN.
Expanding
The Butte County Local Food Network hosts three mobile farmer’s markets — in Forest Ranch, Concow and Magalia — on weekends and is seeking to expand to reach Oroville, Paradise, Thermalito and Gridley, according to Larry.
When the nonprofit started, there were only three community gardens in Butte County, and now there are 12 community gardens between BCLFN and other organizations.
Larry said federal grants for its school gardens and community food hubs have been cut — and that some of her dreams are “going to have to be revisited to find alternate forms of support.”
BCLFN delayed one new program this year it hopes to bring up soon, called Eat Your Garden, which supports a landscaping business to transform lawns into food forests and gardens, according to Larry.
While Larry transitions out of the director position, she won’t be too far as she plans to continue helping the organization, serving at the Feather River Health Foundation; at a regional rural economic group called California Jobs First; and on the California Food Policy Council.
Last week, Goddard was catching up with Larry on the new position. Goddard said said she sees in the forecast establishing at least one or two annual community fundraisers; expanding community and school gardens; and growing the nonprofit’s volunteer base.
Larry said she’s very confident in Goddard and that she appreciates her interest in the subject in food.
“I think you have to be (intrigued),” Larry said, “because it’s kind of convoluted and complicated and juicy and weird.”
