Who We Are
When we started Farming Hope in 2016, we began working alongside folks still unhoused, and those who had made it out. The common theme was that everyone who “got out” had responsibility and ownership at the support organizations they worked with. We called this universal principle the “need to be needed.” We mean it when we say: You are needed to build this change. Over the years we’ve hired back seven graduates to permanent staff, and continue to build a team with deeper empathy and relatable experience. Thank you to the broader Farming Hope community for supporting our team and our Apprentices.
2016
Founded at Stanford FEED Collaborative
2017
Started farmers market popup
2018
Opened restaurant at Manny’s
2019
Three graduates hired to staff
2020
Served over 50,000 community meals
2021
Opened Refettorio San Francisco
Leadership and Program Team
Andie Sobrepeña
Co-Executive Director
Kerry Rodgers
Co-Executive Director
Haley Nielsen
Development Director
Jamie Stark
Co-founder, Senior Advisor
Phil Saneski
Culinary Manager
Vianney Trujillo
Apprenticeship Program Manager
Lisa Frare
Communications Manager
Kevin Madrigal
Co-founder, Advisor
Jacey Jeffrey
Garden Co-Manager
Adrian Lewis
Garden Co-Manager
Refettorio Community Food Hub Team
Allie Schaffer
Refettorio SF
General Manager (on leave)
Ramesses Olivares-Ochoa
Refettorio SF
General Manager (interim)
Anselmo Gonzalez
Refettorio SF
Kitchen Manager
Ricardo Paz Rosales
Cook and Trainer
Surey Saldana
Cook and Trainer
Farming Hope at Manny’s Team
Manolo Pizarro Briceño
Manny’s Kitchen Manager
Alexa Romano
Front of House Manager
Mauro Juarez Ramos
Cook and Trainer
Evilio Garcia Gomez
Cook and Trainer
Fernando Garza
Front of House Shift Lead and Trainer
Anand Upender
Front of House Crew Member
Jacqueline Medrano
Front of House Crew Member
Liam Kaplan
Front of House Crew Member
Sydney Jackson
Front of House Crew Member
Board of Directors
Shelley Dyer
Board Chair
Lyndsey Boucherle
Vice Chair
Ilana Lipset
Secretary
Michael Fu
Lucia Gaia Pohlman
Xochitl Hernandez
Sheena Jain
Savannah Schoelen
Salim Zymet
Join us in the fight
Farming Hope is different — we pay Apprentices while they learn in our program.
Paying people makes sense, but costs dollars.
