Farm to Mouth


Therapeutic Gardening for Mental Health 

The Farm to Mouth Program at YCCC Farmhouse is a unique program which provides vocational training and therapeutic gardening experience to individuals receiving mental health services in Yolo County, CA.

The Farmhouse, located on 10 acres in rural Davis, has a half acre dedicated to growing vegetables (through organic methods) which become part of residents’ daily meals. Three main things happen on the farm:

  1. Vocational training: Residents, many of whom haven’t had a job in many years, work under the supervision of the Farm Manager, have the responsibility to show up and work or communicate otherwise, and have the opportunity to move into more long-term farm roles with added responsibilities and benefits (i.e. Animal Caretaker, Greenhouse Manager).
  2. Therapeutic experience: The Farm provides an opportunity for residents to get out of the house and experience the joys and rewards of gardening. The garden is an escape from indoor activities and stresses of the community living environment. It is an opportunity for residents to create a deeper relationship to the food they eat by participating in growing it. It is an opportunity to productively engage in hands-on work that results in beauty, food, and transformation.
  3. Farm to Mouth (F2M): Finally, the Farm provides a paid work day once a week, open to both residents and individuals from the larger Yolo County community who are receiving mental health services but living more independently, through the Farm to Mouth (F2M) program. In addition to offering vocational training and therapeutic experience, the Farm to Mouth program provides employment - to individuals in need of income, who are able to work in a limited way but may not be ready or able to fully join the workforce.
Farm to Mouth and the Farmhouse are unique programs in need of community support to continue operating and offering the opportunities they do, opportunities not currently available to people with an identified mental illness in Yolo County, and rarely available to mental health consumers nationwide.
 
The following areas are in need of ongoing funding:
  1. Paying F2M employee wages
  2. Seed and fertilizers for the vegetable garden
  3. Perennial herbs and plants to enhance both the landscaping around the house and the vegetable garden itself, attracting pollinators and increasing the therapeutic environment
  4. Construction projects - tables, benches, gazebo - to increase residents’ motivation to spend time outside and in the garden

Your donations will go directly toward one of these areas of our program, helping a unique and loved program in Yolo County to thrive and expand.

Thank you for your support!
 
Gratefully,
 
Sonya Ekstrom
Farm Manager and Program Coordinator
YCCC Farmhouse and Farm to Mouth
 
To donate to the Farm Program directly through YCCC, click here to go to our donation page.  Don't forget to designate Farm to Mouth on your donation. 
 
Thanks so much for your support of Farm to Mouth. 
 
 
 

Yolo Community Care Continuum is a 501(c)3, tax exempt nonprofit organization established to better the lives of people with mental illness through direct services, advocacy, education and volunteer efforts. Copyright © 2012, Yolo Community Care Continuum. All rights reserved.
 
 
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