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
Our Team
Andie Sobrepeña
Co-Executive Director
Kerry Rodgers
Co-Executive Director
Haley Nielsen
Development Director
Michelle Minori
Interim Culinary Director
Vianney Trujillo
Program Manager
Ramesses Olivares-Ochoa
Refettorio SF
General Manager
Anselmo Gonzalez
Refettorio SF
Kitchen Manager
Arnold Icasiano Events & Program Manager
David Gibson Jr.
Development & Communications Coordinator
Devon Jordan-McFeely
Cook and Trainer
Mauro Juarez-Ramos Cook & Trainer
Jacey Jeffrey
Garden Co-Manager
Adrian Lewis
Garden Co-Manager
Jamie Stark
Co-Founder
Kevin Madrigal
Co-Founder
Louisa Montes
Custodian
Melvin Perez
Lead Apprentice
Lisa Frare
Photography Consultant
Board of Directors
Salim Shariff
Board Chair
Stephanie Weiler
Vice Chair
Maddy Shannon
Treasurer
Dina Polanco-Mendoza
Board Member
Hector Calderon
Board Member
Joan Hanawi Carlock
Board Member
Tricia Chandiramani
Board Member
Kathy Gu
Board Member
Ilana Lipset
Board Member
Michelle Minori
Board Member
Founding Emeritus Board Members
Lyndsey Boucherle, Terri Dayal, Shelley Dyer, Michael Fu, Sheena Jain, Xochitl Hernandez, Lucia Gaia Pohlman, Savannah Schoelen
Reports
Farming Hope is a registered 501(c)(3) Tax ID: 83-2393341
See our Annual Reports (Gratitude reports) and 990’s below.
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.