Our Story: A Letter From The Founder

Hi Foodocracy Family,

From the San Francisco Chronicle to the Today Show, there's been a fair amount of noise lately about certain trademarks and how they can affect small farms. We've been called by reporters to comment, and it has me thinking about how we started.

Foodocracy received our 501(c)3 nonprofit status in 2020 with a mission to support a more independent food system — one that is better for us, better for the planet, and better for the people who grow our food. 

In 2021 we launched the Heirloom Bean + Grain Project to provide direct assistance to the small farms supplying local food systems with healthy, biodiverse beans and grains. It was the pandemic and interruptions in global supply chains underscored the importance of created more resilient community food systems with beans and grains.

At the heart of that project was a subscription club which we logically called the “Heirloom Bean + Grain Club” — a way to connect home cooks directly with the farmers growing their food, support small farms that were struggling to survive, and raise funds for grants to women and minority-owned farms.

We were tiny at first. Just a few dozen of us supporting the kind of food system we wanted to see in the world. I packed every single box myself in my basement.

The club grew. We were able to help more and more farms find new audiences and create meaningful change through direct assistance and education programs. Eventually we transitioned from a nonprofit to a for-profit — not because the mission changed, but because we found we could do more good without the restrictions of 501(c)3 status.

The mission has never been stronger. We find ourselves in the crosshairs of fierce debates sometimes, but we're up for it. Food and agriculture are for everyone— this is the work. It always has been.

Thank you for being part of it.

With love and beans,

Lisa Riznikove

Chief Bean Officer

Primary Beans + Foodocracy