The Early Plate Project

Why we do this

In Sonoma County, two vital pillars of our community face the same challenge: making a living wage in a demanding economy. Our local farmers struggle to get a fair price for their hard work, and our early childhood educators operate on razor-thin margins.

This economic pressure creates a gap. Our youngest, most vulnerable children—who deserve the highest quality food—are often served surplus foods, processed products, or produce shipped from hundreds of miles away. At the same time, farm-to-school programs and food support systems frequently overlook early childhood education, focusing primarily on K-12 institutions.

The Early Plate Project was created to resolve both of these challenges at once.

We are a non-profit building a new system that directly connects farmers with ECE centers and family childcare homes. We don’t rely on donations from farmers; we pay farmers fair prices for their produce so their businesses can thrive. We then get that fresh, high-quality, nutrient dense food to children at a cost their providers can manage. We empower educators with the training and support they need to bring it to the table.

This is about more than just a meal. It’s about setting a standard. It’s about the tangible awareness a child gains when they know their food came from a field just a mile away. It’s about the unforgettable taste of a sweet, vine-ripened tomato or a blackberry picked fresh from the vine.

Once a child has tasted food this fresh, they will know the difference for the rest of their lives. We are cultivating a healthier generation and a stronger local economy, one plate at a time.

Our story didn't begin with a business plan; it began in the classroom.

In 2023, we wrote for a competitive a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to do something we were passionate about: connect our children at Fulton Community School & Farm with the agricultural abundance of Sonoma County.

Our goal was simply to provide the best possible nutrition for our children that we could never afford. We had no idea it would become the blueprint for something much larger.

The results of the program were transformative. We witnessed firsthand how children's relationships with food changed. We heard from farmers about the positive impact of a reliable new market. Educators were excited and empowered to participate with the children.

The experience led to an undeniable conclusion: the success we created at one school was a solution needed by our entire community. A dedicated, county-wide organization was necessary to make it happen.

That is why The Early Plate Project was established.

Our mission is to take the lessons and proven success from that initial program and build the infrastructure to offer it to every ECE program in Sonoma County. We are a new organization, and we are seeking seed funding to:

Build Our Foundation: Establish the core operations and partnerships for our new organization.
Hire Our Dedicated Team: Bring on staff fully dedicated to county-wide logistics and educator support.
Launch Our First Cohort: Replicate our success with the first group of ECE centers and family childcare homes.

An investment in The Early Plate Project is an investment in a vision that has already proven its worth. We invite you to help us build upon this organic success story.

To learn more about our launch and how you can become a founding funder, please contact us.