Mission: Co-creating a regenerative grow-to-donate farming and learning community that shares accessible, healthy food with underserved families, develops paid apprenticeship pathways to livable-wage jobs, and thoughtfully uses open, collaborative IoT and AI tools to deepen contribution.
Vision: A participatory network of local food systems and learning and working communities that unites people in the joy of growing, donating, preparing, and sharing healthy, delicious food, while cultivating meaningful apprenticeships and selectively applying human-centered IoT and AI tools to support this work.
DEI: At Open Source Ag, we believe that the strength and vitality of our regenerative, grow-to-donate farming and learning community depend on including people from all backgrounds and experiences. Our mission to co-create accessible food systems and livable wage jobs is rooted in the conviction that everyone deserves a seat at the table—literally and figuratively.
We are committed to stewarding a participatory network where diversity is celebrated, and equity is actively pursued. We welcome and support families, individuals, and communities of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and lived experiences. We recognize the systemic barriers that have historically limited access to healthy food, land, education, and fair employment, and we strive together to dismantle these barriers through our programs, partnerships, and practices.
Our Team
The Open Source Ag 501 (c)(3) small farm site is owned by Curt and Kelly Cooper. The farm is leased to Open Source Ag for $1 per year. The Coopers don’t collect wages, salary, or benefits from the nonprofit. They donate between $35,000-50,000 of personal funds each year toward growing and donating food. All produce is donated, none is sold.
We are grateful for the community of friends and partners supporting our efforts to grow, donate, and scale.
Our partners and sponsors are impressed by our operational approach and capacity. We retired to start this grow-to-donate farm. Kelly’s career was as faculty and later as vice chancellor in the CA Community College system. She led, wrote, and reported on approximately $75m in grant awards. Kelly is certified in permaculture design and a PMI Certified Agile Practitioner. Curt’s career was as vice president or COO in high-tech manufacturing. Together, we have significant operations and project management experience.
