Farm to Fight Hunger, by Bruce Mentzer
Bruce Mentzer of Farm to Fight Hunger was our speaker for Thursday, October 30, 2025. Bruce and his partner moved to Sonoma County a few years ago and almost immediately started taking classes in sustainable agriculture from the SRJC. Bruce had an amazing experience at SRJC’s Shone Farm, where he learned the details of sustainable agriculture. He bought a 5-acre vineyard property, tore out the vines, and started Farm to Fight Hunger, a 501c3 dedicated to growing, harvesting, and delivering nutritious produce and eggs, free of charge, to those in need in Sonoma County.
According to the Press Democrat, hunger in Sonoma County is a daily reality for thousands. Farm to Fight Hunger was started to fight this horrible reality. They started the farm in 2019 and are now in their 7th growing season. Their motto is “Grow Gather Give.” The farm is located in Healdsburg on Los Amigos Road. Farm to Fight Hunger partners with Zeke Guzman and his “El Jardin Del Pueblo,” which operates a community garden in Healdsburg. They also work with 3 other satellite farms in Geyserville, Fulton, and Sonoma. Farm to Fight Hunger’s mission is to sustainably grow nutritious culturally relevant vegetables, and to produce pasture-raised eggs, all for donation to those experiencing food insecurity. The farm uses the sustainable agriculture practices learned at Shone Farm, including cover cropping (fava beans and winter rye), natural pest control, hedgerows, swales, compost, and bees. Since 2019, the farm has donated over 210,000 pounds of culturally appropriate vegetables (840,000 servings) and over 109,250 eggs to the community. Culturally appropriate vegetables include those often used in Hispanic cultures, including chili peppers (serranos, poblanos, and jalapenos), nopalitos, squashes, and banana tree leaves, among others (Not eggplant!). Farm to Fight Hunger also has 100 producing chickens and another 200 baby chickens.
Most of the labor required to grow, harvest, pack, and deliver their products is done by volunteer farmworkers. The company has only 2 paid employees, both of whom are also farmworkers. The company partners with the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Healdsburg Food Pantry, Alliance Medical, and Corazon Healdsburg for shipping and distribution. They are in the process of converting 2 acres of neighboring vineyards per year starting in 2026.
Many thanks to Bruce for the fantastic presentation and for all the good work he and his partner are doing to help fight hunger in Sonoma County! It is an amazing story.
Click HERE to view a limited time recording of Bruce's presentation.
