Malaika Bishop is a CCOF Foundation Transición orgánica Subvencionado.
Both of Malaika Bishop’s grandmothers were raised on farms; one was a sharecropper in Oklahoma, and the other was raised on a self-sufficient dairy farm in Indiana. “I grew up gardening with my father as a child and have never stopped growing food,” Bishop says. “I have always wanted to make a positive difference in the world and believe that how we eat and grow our food has a huge impact on the health of our air, water, planet and our own physical health.”
Bishop’s career has focused on running California food and farming education nonprofits, such as YES! in Santa Cruz; People’s Grocery in West Oakland; and Sierra Harvest in Nevada County. She was raised around pioneers of the organic movement and has worked on multiple farms, so organic food has always been a valued ethic in her life. “I hope to bring health to the land I work, to the people who eat my produce, and joy and mental health to people through the beauty of the flowers I grow,” she says.
Bishop studied environmental studies and sustainable agriculture in college, which furthered her commitment to a way of farming that she saw as harmonious with the natural world. She is currently starting her fifth full growing season with Bluebird Farm, which produces food for four grocery stores, a CSA, a food hub, several schools, a handful of restaurants, and individual wedding and floral design clients, as well as hosting school field trips and workshops.
Through the CCOF Foundation grant, Bishop’s operation has been gradually transitioning to fully organic as she consolidates her farm onto one main growing site. She had previously certified one of her farm sites as organic, but the other two took more planning “because we grow flowers, microgreens and make our own compost, and are opening new growing areas,” Bishop says. “I look forward to eventually having the whole farm certified organic.”
Although Bishop already used ecologically sound practices whenever possible, she was still eager to receive her full organic certification. “I believe that certifying organic sends an important message to consumers about what they can expect from the product and the practices that are in place on the farm,” she says. “I hope that more people will choose to buy from farmers because they are certified organic and so I want to ‘walk my talk’ by having my farm fully certified as well.”
Bluebird Farm implements organic-friendly practices including buffer zones, compost application, cover crops, crop rotations, herbaceous wind barriers and field borders, mulching, perennial planting, and habitats that protect pollinators and wildlife. With the help of the CCOF Foundation grant, it has been able to expand these practices to be even more effective, as well as pursuing new solar and irrigation infrastructure.
“From an ecological perspective, I am aware of all the damage done to natural ecosystems and to human health due to the use of pesticides and herbicides,” she says. “I am grateful to not participate in that type of agriculture.”
Los envases de la Fundación CCOF is proud to support producers like Malaika Bishop with the Organic Transition grant, which provides three-year grants of $10,000 per year to farmers transitioning their land to organic production. Grantees receive multi-year funding and 1:1 organic technical assistance.
Si desea contribuir al éxito de Transición orgánica grantees like Malaika Bishop, please contact the CCOF Foundation’s Donor Relations Manager, Shawna Rodgers at srodgers@ccof.org para saber más.
