Pie Ranch

For 20 years, Pie Ranch has worked to create a Bay Area in which all people have access to healthy food, know and value where their food comes from and attain that food from a multiracial corridor of climate-friendly farmers, land stewards and ranchers in a symbiotic web that benefits both the people and the planet.

Pie Ranch offers transformative programming that educates youth and adults about organic food and farming, fosters early-stage regenerative farmers and collaborates with allies to build a healthy and just food system.

Our programs for K-12 learners and the public are grounded at the farm and provide inspiration for participants to affect food systems change in their communities. Visitors to the farm tend and harvest crops that are subsequently crafted into delicious meals (and pies!) for a seed to table experience that teaches about regenerative farming, fair labor practices for growers and nutritious eating. These programs reach approximately 1000 youth and over 50,000 members of the public every year.

Our Regenerator Farm at Cascade creates pathways for farmers, ranchers and land stewards to achieve business viability with an emphasis on providing equitable economic and wealth-building opportunities for womxn, Black, Indigenous and all people of color (BIPOC).  The Regenerator Program provides mentorship, workshops on farming, tools and machinery, contacts with local markets and most importantly, access to land.  The Regenerator Farm currently hosts 3 farms and is also home to the Native Plant Program.

The Native Plant Program is tended by the the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and Amah Mutsun Land Trust (who co-steward present day Pie lands in honor of the original inhabitants the Quiroste). Since 2014, The AMLT/AMTB have shared their wisdom and skills with Pie Ranch.  The Native Plant Progam at Cascade provides plants to revegetate regional lands, helping to restore our coastal prairies for a more fire resistant future.  

We believe in experiential learning, connecting people of all ages to new foods, soil, and open spaces. Visits to the farm provide a wide range of opportunities for groups to engage with all that Pie Ranch has to offer from field to kitchen to deepen their connection with the land and themselves.

Testimonials

As a YouthCorps member I help to fertilize the soil, sow the seeds and transfer them to the field. I weed - a lot - and I’ve learned how to run irrigation. And then I help with the best part - the harvest. Watching the final product of months of work get turned into things that people love to see and eat at the farmstand brings a smile to my face. I've been able to explore so many opportunities here. I’ve dipped my fingers into a little bit of everything, from farm work to retail. It’s wild that one moment I could be harvesting produce and the next preparing food for a fancy dinner. The people here encourage me to be myself fully, and spend time helping me learn skills that I’m curious about - they completely support my ambitions to learn for the sake of learning. 

-Xiaolan Bisson-Yang, YouthCorp Member at Pie Ranch

This year marks the 12th year anniversary of our relationship with Pie Ranch. As we continue working together to restore and revegetate the land that sustains us, we are healing the external as well as the internal landscape of our hearts. This process restores the sacredness of this land and brings a sense of belonging and dignity to its people. In a sea of well-meaning nonprofits with aspirational missions, Pie Ranch stands out as a beacon of care and wild tending. They go beyond land acknowledgement and they pave the way for others. I am grateful to Pie Ranch for planting countless seeds in our hearts and for creating the kind of conditions in which they will germinate, blossom and thrive.

Aylara Odekova, Native Plant Program Manager, Amah Mutsun Land Trust