Our name is Giving Tree Farms for a reason. We’re a cannabis business on a mission and giving back is just as important to us as a quality product. With Giving Tuesday and the holidays just around the corner, we thought we’d take the time to highlight our dedication to supporting organizations and projects that strengthen communities.
Regular Volunteering at Anderson Valley Food Bank
Anderson Valley Food Bank is dedicated to solving some of society’s biggest challenges. They do so by providing patrons with fresh fruit and vegetables and staples like beans, rice, eggs, oil, and pasta. Providing some healthy and shelf-stable foods to those who need it is one of the simplest ways to support our local community—especially as Mendocino County has a higher (and rising) food insecurity rate than other Californian counties and the US as a whole.
When the food bank is open, the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month, we’re there to lend a helping hand. We arrive on-site, and either help to sort and pack bags of food, or distribute them directly to folks who need them. To help boost the availability of these bags, we also contribute 1% of all of our profits as donations for the Food Bank.
Giving Tree Farms Foundation
The Giving Tree Farms Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that was established several years ago. Designed to spark a culture of collaboration, the Foundation invests in projects and initiatives that bring together farmers, schools, and communities. More specifically, the Foundation works to provide beneficial technologies and education to assist financially troubled agrarian communities.
For around two years, we’ve been working with the Westmoreland Revival All Age School in Jamaica. In partnership with the local Ministry of Education, we’ve been working to fund the construction of a computer lab. Once built, it will provide the students, staff, and surrounding community with access to technologies that are hard-to-find elsewhere in the local area.
The school is nestled in the rural community of Hopewell, Westmoreland, Jamaica and welcomes students from the communities of Brighten, Retreat, Revival, and Orange Hill. If Orange Hill sounds familiar it’s likely because of Orange Hill OG—one of the heavy-hitting hybrids we have available! The strain boasts a pungent diesel aroma and crisp evergreen tasting notes and 5% of all of its profits are allocated to the Foundation. In 2020, we donated $5,000.
Clean Cannabis and Cultivating Connection
When we’re not sorting apples and cans of beans or talking with our partners in Jamaica to help break ground on the computer lab, we’re actively trying to give back in other ways. Whether that’s using our platform to draw attention to the injustices and the cannabis world and promote the efforts of the Last Prisoner Project or trying to give back to our environment by beginning our off-grid journey—giving is embedded in all that we do.
Craft cannabis entails more than just yields and profits. It emphasizes quality, regenerative agriculture methods, and connection. Even in the past year of social distancing and limited travel, we’ve been able to continue fostering a relationship with our philanthropy partners in Jamaica and our local community at the bi-monthly food bank. Perhaps more importantly, we’ve deepened our conscious collaboration with fellow farmers and members of Hive Mendicino.
If there’s one key takeaway from 2021, it’s that connection is more important now than ever before. You can’t pour from your cup if it’s empty, and we feel fuller every day with the wisdom and support of folks in Mendocino County and beyond. Join us by setting up a Wholesale Account today. With your continued support, we’ll be able make 2022 an even greater year for giving.