Honoring KPN: Building What Comes Next

After five transformative years, the Klamath Promise Neighborhood (KPN) initiative has come to an end. This represents a significant loss of funding for the Community Food Council—funding that supported dedicated staff, expanded hands-on programs, and strengthened relationships among schools, families, farmers, and community partners.

KPN helped build a shared understanding of the importance of fresh, locally grown food. Its impact can be seen in the children who learned to grow vegetables, the students who discovered agricultural careers, and the community members who found connection at the Crescent City Food Forest.

Youth at Crescent Elk Middle School Garden participating in the Youth Entrepreneurship Program 2026.

School Gardens

KPN implementation in the school gardens spanned four school years, from the 2022/2023 school year, through the start of the 2026/2027 school year. During that time more than 3,250 students participated in seven school gardens, planting and growing more than 400 crops a year. Students learned to grow food from seed, harvest and taste fresh vegetables, and prepare recipes such as Medicine Salad, which inspired many students to discover a love for kale.  These were not one-time lessons. Students returned to the gardens throughout the seasons over four continuous years, building confidence, and experiencing the full journey from soil to plate.

Students helping make samples for Harvest of the Month with School Gardens Program.

Crescent City Food Forest

KPN helped the Food Forest grow into a vibrant community learning space. Over five years, it hosted more than 25 field trips, serving over 800 students, 10 weeklong Food and Farm Camps, reaching approximately 300 youth.  It also served as a learning site for Seed to Supper classes, a Pruning workshop series, and several hands-on workshops, Weekly Garden Parties, and the annual Harvest Festival celebrating local food.

KPN funding provided the dedicated staff needed to maintain the garden, welcome visitors, and offer meaningful educational experiences. It also helped us build a committed group of volunteers and expand our internship programs, creating more opportunities for community members to learn new skills, gain hands-on experience, and contribute to the care of the Food Forest.

Although we no longer have funding for a full-time Food Forest staff position, the volunteer and internship networks developed through KPN provide a strong foundation for the future. We will continue offering Garden Parties, field trips, workshops, and hands-on learning opportunities. Moving forward, continued community and partner participation will be essential to keeping the Food Forest active, welcoming, and well cared for.

UC Master Gardener, Terry Allaway, hosting a 2026 summer pruning workshop at the Crescent City Food Forest.

Agricultural Career Pathways

Klamath Promise Neighborhood funding helped connect the Crescent City Food Forest with students at Del Norte High School and College of the Redwoods Del Norte. The Food Forest became a hands-on learning space where high school and college students could explore food production and gain practical experience. The grant also supported events, workshops, and an agricultural speaker series that introduced students to agricultural careers and entrepreneurship. This work strengthened partnerships that will allow the Food Council to continue collaborating with College of the Redwoods on student engagement and with Del Norte High School agriculture classes on hands-on education.

Through more than 35 events, these programs reached over 1,000 students over 4 years of implementation.  High school students explored youth enterprise by planting strawberries to sell at the Seed and Plant Exchange, participating in the Farmers Market, and learning what is required to prepare and sell agricultural products. Klamath Promise Neighborhood also provided small grants to support high school Career Technical Education projects and student-led enterprises. Future Farmers of America students received additional support through classroom activities, club meetings, banquets, school-farm experiences, mentorship, and other hands-on learning opportunities.

Honoring Our Staff

The hardest part of this transition is saying goodbye to the passionate and purposeful staff members whose positions were supported by Klamath Promise Neighborhood funding. As the grant came to a close, these grant-funded roles also ended, and these valued team members have transitioned out of their positions with the Food Council.

Their care, creativity, and commitment made these programs possible. We are deeply grateful to Amber McAdams, Jason Pettit, Javier Gomez, Kassandra Grimm, Riley Bennet, Walter Campos Sr., and Yarrow Zog, as well as everyone who consistently showed up for local youth, families, the Food Forest, and the school gardens throughout the five years of this grant. Although they are no longer part of our staff, their contributions will continue to be felt in the gardens, programs, partnerships, and community connections they helped build.

Carrying the Work Forward

Klamath Promise Neighborhood funding has ended, and some programs will change or scale back, but its impact will continue through the relationships, knowledge, and systems created over the past five years. We are grateful for all the initiative made possible and committed to carrying its momentum forward as we continue working toward a healthy, resilient community with access to fresh, local food.

If you would like to support the Community Food Council during this transition, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our non-profit organization. Your contribution will support our continued work to strengthen our local food system!

Interested in Getting Involved?

The Del Norte & Tribal Lands Community Food Council (DNATL CFC) is welcoming interest from community members and partners who would like to become more involved in strengthening our local and Tribal food systems.

We are currently seeking prospective members for our Board of Directors and Steering Committee as we prepare for 2027. These two groups play different but complementary roles in helping guide the Community Food Council’s work, partnerships, and priorities throughout Del Norte and Tribal Lands.

Interested in learning more? Please start by completing our short interest form:

After receiving your form, a staff member will follow up with more information and opportunities to connect. Depending on your interests, prospective members may be invited to attend our next Board Meeting (October 8th) or Steering Committee Meeting (November 5th) to meet current members, learn more, and ask questions to get a better sense of which role may be a good fit. Meeting space for prospective members is coordinated in advance, so please complete the interest form!

There is no commitment required to complete the form or attend an introductory meeting. We want prospective members to have an opportunity to learn about our organization, governance structure, and member expectations before deciding whether they would like to be involved. We plan to welcome new members to both groups for 2027 and will also have an opportunity to revisit meeting schedules to better accommodate new members.

Questions? Contact: info@dnatlfoodcouncil.org