Philanthropist, community volunteer, and San Diego Foundation fundholder Susan Elmore eloquently articulates why she’s become a committed supporter of Coastal Roots Farm – a nonprofit focusing on regenerative agriculture, food justice and environmental education that has been able to expand its programs with the help of SDF grantmaking.
“We are living in a very wealthy country,” she says. “We should not have people going to bed hungry. Places like Coastal Roots Farm are helping to feed people who are lacking access to healthy food. It doesn’t get any more meaningful than that.”
Elmore’s advocacy of Coastal Roots Farm exemplifies her commitment to the public good. Born in Australia and raised in Oceanside, she dedicated 37 years to education, teaching at elementary schools in Los Angeles and serving as an administrator with the San Marcos Unified School District before retiring two decades ago.
Susan’s passion for helping others continued well into retirement. She gives back to the communities that nurtured her by volunteering with a prison ministry at the Vista Detention Facility, and giving her time to a North County thrift shop and Showers of Blessings, the latter of which is a nonprofit providing showers, toiletries, clothes and care to homeless individuals in the region.
“It’s good for me,” she says of her volunteer efforts. “I’m retired. It keeps me busy.”
Her volunteer work went into overdrive when she came into some money several years ago and turned to SDF for assistance in opening a donor-advised fund. That’s when she became active with SDF-affiliated Carlsbad Charitable Foundation, where she serves on the grants committee.
“One year, we were visiting the locations that had applied for grants and one of those locations was Coastal Roots Farm. I was very impressed with what they were doing and the communities they served,” says Susan.
“Well, about the same time, my daughter was working with her foundation to support regenerative agriculture. Everything just fell into place, Coastal Roots Farm fit perfectly, and I decided I would donate to them. They had a piece of land donated to them, but they needed money to construct a seed propagation building. So, I funded it in honor of my parents, as my mother was an avid gardener.”
Nourishing Our Community
Philanthropists such as Susan are having a profound impact on combatting hunger and creating healthy environments. Located at the former Paul Ecke Poinsettia Ranch in Encinitas and open to all, Coastal Roots Farm is guided by Jewish values such as healing the world, mutual responsibility and interdependence.
Its vision: creating an environment in which every community comes together to grow and share healthy food, care for the land, help their neighbors, and strengthen connections.
Sixty or so different seasonal crops are planted at the farm each year, yielding approximately 880,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables annually – or enough to feed up to 45,000 people. Some 75% of what is grown on the farm is distributed to residents in need via partnerships with organizations serving low-income seniors, underserved communities, veterans, and others.
“Coastal Roots Farm is really about nourishing community,” says President and CEO Javier Guerrero, who noted that 1 in 4 residents in the region are facing food insecurity. “We would not be able to do our work without the San Diego Foundation.”
Fifty and Forward
In its 50 years of existence, SDF has granted $1.8 billion to nonprofits devoted to helping our region and beyond.
“One good thing about the San Diego Foundation is that they vet everyone,” Susan shares. “They would not let you approve a grant to a place that isn’t a legitimate 501(c)3. You know where your dollars are going to and you know all the dollars that you give are going to a cause that resonates with you.”
Now SDF is pursuing its most ambitious undertaking to date with its Fifty & Forward campaign: granting $500 million to realize San Diego’s greatest opportunities in three key areas: education, children and families, and the environment – and raising $1 billion to help shape our community’s future.
“Coastal Roots Farm is extremely grateful to the San Diego Foundation for all the ways that they contribute and give back to the community, and we are absolutely excited about the Fifty and Forward Campaign,” Javier shares.
Join SDF donors like Susan in making a transformational change on the issues you care most about – and the issues that mean the most to our community. Learn more about SDF’s Fifty & Forward Campaign at SDFoundation.org/50.
