Small Farms Fed the Bay Area During COVID. But Now Face Federal Cuts

On a recent Friday morning, surrounded by rows of corn, squash, beans, and colorful hints of sunflowers, zinnias and cosmos, Héktor Calderon-Victoria surveys the land he cultivated for the past three years with his business partner Dilip Sharma.

He and Sharma co-founded Three Feathers Farm, a small 5-acre site in Morgan Hill, with a mission to preserve their heritage by cultivating crops that are rooted in their Mexican and Indian cultures, respectively. For Calderon-Victoria, this land is a reconnection to his roots, a form of community building, and a blueprint for future farmers of color.

“My inspiration has really been my great-grandfather,” Calderon-Victoria said, sharing that although his parents and grandparents were never into farming, his ancestors were. His great-grandfather provided fresh produce, including milk, cheese, and meat, to his community in Mexico. “That’s the legacy I’m trying to bring back.”

In Santa Clara County, where more than half of all farmland is located on parcels of 40 acres or less, small farms like Three Feathers play a significant role in the local food system — a contribution that accelerated during the pandemic, when industrial supply chains broke down.

The farm and other small operations rerouted their produce to food banks, school districts, and families in need. However, now state and federal programs that once supported these operations, including grants that purchased food for under-resourced communities, are shrinking or disappearing altogether.

Small farms increasingly partner with schools, hospitals, and food hubs to reach underserved populations, stepping in where large-scale industrial supply chains fall short, said Lucy Diekmann, a county urban agriculture and food systems advisor with the UC Cooperative Extension.

“Across the country, and in our region, small farms’ ability to adapt rapidly to changing market conditions while responding to local needs at the start of the pandemic demonstrated their importance to food system resilience.”

The loss of these programs is existential for farmers like Calderon-Victoria, who face rising costs for land and infrastructure in one of the most expensive regions in the country.

Calderon-Victoria has farmed for about a decade and uses traditional practices such as milpa — the “three sisters” intercropping system of planting corn, beans, and squash together. The plants grow symbiotically, improving the nutrients available in the ground, breaking up compacted soil, preventing erosion and nourishing the land. Corn provides a structure for the beans to climb, beans fix nitrogen in the soil for other plants, and squash helps suppress weeds.

At the farm, he grows crops like green Oaxacan corn — which is primarily used to make masa, dough for tortilla and tamales — peppers, beans, and squash alongside vegetables from Dilip’s Indian heritage like okra, spinach, garlic, eggplant, tomatoes, and cucumbers, in addition to other crops like lettuce, radishes, and flowers.

“Where I come from in Mexico, corn is one of the biggest crops we consume daily,” Calderon-Victoria said. “Growing it here is an extension of who I am and the people I want to nourish.”

Instead of relying on farmers’ markets, Three Feathers partners with food banks, school districts, and local food hubs, warehouses and distribution centers to reach low-income and under-resourced communities. “Farmers markets, as much as they’re great, are also a privilege,” he said. “We’re trying to feed people who can’t afford to shop there.”

Calderon-Victoria’s work aligns with county efforts like the Santa Clara Valley Agricultural Plan and the County Food System Workplan, which promote climate resilience and farmland protection.

From 2021 to 2023, the county’s Agricultural Resilience Incentive Program helped sequester over 3,000 tons of carbon through composting, cover cropping, and hedgerows — all practices Three Feathers embraces.

“There are many climate-smart practices farms can use,” Diekmann said. “And as climate change accelerates, these small farms play a big role in how we adapt.”

But adaptation isn’t easy — especially for immigrant and first-generation farmers like Calderon-Victoria, who struggle with buying land around the Bay Area, a region that is increasingly unaffordable.

“Land access is one of the biggest things that prevents small-scale producers like me from scaling,” Calderon-Victoria said. “We don’t have the privilege of paying premium prices for land in California.”

Without stable long-term leases, it’s hard for farmers to invest in the infrastructure needed to scale. And recent cuts to USDA grants, like the cancellation of two federal programs that provided about $1 billion in funding to schools and food banks to buy directly from local farms, ranchers and producers, could make it harder.

Calderon-Victoria serves as a liaison for the Southwest Regional Food Business Center, a USDA-funded program supporting small producers through training and resources. The center will lose funding in September. “It’s really unfortunate,” he said. “We built relationships and made impactful changes. And now it’s gone.”

Three Feathers also participated in Farms Together, which purchased food from small farmers and distributed it to food-insecure communities across California.

The Farms Together network alone provided over 5 million pounds of food to families and $11 million to small-scale farms and food businesses, Diekmann said. “Unfortunately, the federal funding for this program is not going to be renewed,” she added.

Programs like Double Up Food Bucks at farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture farm boxes have helped low-income families access fresh food while keeping small farms afloat. But those programs depend on ongoing investment.

She sees opportunities to strengthen the food system: improving land access, funding infrastructure, creating farmer-friendly policies, expanding training, and building regional markets through schools, hospitals, and other institutions.

Despite the uncertainty, Calderon-Victoria is committed — not just to growing food, but to growing and supporting the community. “We’re not just a farm. We’re a space for people to feel safe. A space of cultural exchange,” he said.

He dreams of launching a farm collective where small producers could share tools, equipment, and markets, reducing costs and competition.

“At the end of the day, we’re all just farmers trying to make a dignified life,” he said. “How can we do that together, rather than separately?”

He also wants to inspire young people, especially youth of color, to see farming as a viable path. “I’m a big believer that we have to inspire seven generations,” he said. “Farming is hard work, yes. But it’s deeply dignified. It’s a public service. Farmers should be paid like doctors.”

In Santa Clara County, that next generation is critical. The average age of farmers here and across the country is around 60, Diekmann said, which means a massive transfer of land and knowledge is coming in the next 20 years or so.

“Farms like Three Feathers help build that bridge to the future,” she said. “But they need support — affordable leases, mentorship, investment in infrastructure, and policy reform to reduce the red tape they face.”

There are also growing concerns about climate change and water access, especially as the region faces more frequent droughts. Urban and small-scale farmers have responded by adopting water-saving practices and efficient irrigation systems. But Diekmann warns that support for climate-smart agriculture is shrinking.

“Many state and federal programs that helped farmers adapt to climate change have been frozen or canceled,” she said. “Without those funds, it’s much harder for farmers to recover from extreme weather or invest in sustainability.”

Still, Calderon-Victoria remains grounded in hope and in the connections food can create. “Food is what connects us,” he said. “It reminds us of our culture, of tastes, of memories. And that’s what I value most — that connection.”