City Slicker Farms

HFF partner City Slicker Farms began with a mission to empower West Oakland community members to meet the basic need for fresh, healthy food by creating sustainable, high-yield urban farms and backyard gardens. Since its founding in 2001, City Slicker Farms has been at the forefront of the 21st-Century sustainable urban farming and food justice movement, gaining national recognition as a leader in supporting low-income communities of color to grow food in the city. In those sixteen years, they have built over 400 backyard and community gardens, produced over 300,000 pounds of nutrient-rich food, and trained thousands of community members in organic gardening methods and environmental stewardship.

Peet’s & the Holiday Giving Program

Started by a group of Peet’s store employees in 1985, Peet’s annual Holiday Donations program is a 20-year tradition that encourages employees, customers, friends, and family to come together in support of non-profit organizations in their local communities.

The staff at each Peet’s store chooses a local, non-profit organization which they’d like to support. Store teams then partner with their chosen non-profit to creatively promote the program and collect donations, and Peet’s matches each store’s donations, up to $1,000 per store per year.

A16 — Supporting Women & Education

For the past 20 years, A16 has proudly supported International Women’s Day in March by hosting a dinner event where all proceeds go to La Cocina, an incubator kitchen located in the heart of SF’s Mission district, supporting predominately women-owned businesses. A16 also partners with Every Mother Counts, its employees running races to raise money to help women around the world have access to healthcare and clinics for safe labor and delivery. Shelley Lindgren, A16 ’s owner and founder, also sits on the board for Slide Ranch, where over 10,000 kids a year participate in programs and camps to learn about nature, farming, and caring for gardens and animals. As a neighborhood restaurant, A16 ’s founders are also involved in events around the Bay Area organized by Cuesa, Make a Wish, and more.

Gott’s &
Community Support

Gott’s is committed to extending hospitality beyond their restaurants and into the communities that support them. In the counties where Gott's restaurants reside, the company makes significant charitable donations to schools. Recently, Gott's held a company-wide event to support the victims of the Valley Fire, where they pledged to directly donate 50% of all sales from the event to fire victims.

Tacolicious &
The School Project

Since 2012, Tacolicious has made public education its priority, investing back into the Bay Area community through the Tacolicious School Project. For Tacolicious owners Joe Hargrave and Sara Deseran, this mission is personal. Since kindergarten, their children have attended SF public schools.

How it works: from September to May, each of their San Francisco, Palo Alto and San Jose Tacolicious locations pair up with neighboring public schools, donating 15 percent of sales of each Monday back to schools in those communities. Tacolicious has an annual alliance with 54 public schools. To date they have given over $1,000,000 to public education!

farmerbrown & The Tenderloin Economic Development Project

farmerbrown and Little Skillet’s Deanna Sison is an active board member of The Tenderloin Economic Development Project, whose mission is to create equitable development and a healthy, vibrant neighborhood while maintaining its economic and cultural diversity. Working closely with local small business owners, the organization has helped small businesses navigate the challenges of restaurant ownership, and has aided in empowering and uplifting residents and small business owners. Both Deanna and her partner Jay are active members in their local communities and have built relationships with several non-profits and organizations to “break bread.”