2. For more on how a new urban farm and park will grow food and community, please visit cityslickerfarms.org/campaign
Imagine the sound of children laughing in an orchard deep in the heart of West Oakland.
Familiesshareamealonagreatlawn.Kidsyellwithgleeastheyspotanegginthechicken
coop. Neighbors relax and catch up on a comfortable bench in a shady spot.
Friends tend lush greens and crisp carrots together in the community
garden, while nearby on the farm, West Oakland high school students harvest
a bumper crop of rainbow chard between trellises heavy with scarlet runner beans.
This is the vision of a new Urban Farm and Park for West Oakland.
When City Slicker Farms was founded in 2001, there was nowhere in West Oakland to buy fresh, healthy food.
A group of residents decided they could answer that need themselves by growing fresh fruits and vegetables
right in their own neighborhood, where vacant lots were abundant and the need for green spaces was great.
Nearly a decade and a half later, City Slicker Farms continues to empower thousands of low-income residents
to grow and eat fresh produce in places where access to consistent, healthy food simply doesn’t exist. We work
side-by-side with members of our West Oakland community to create small farms wherever we can find a
sunny spot and willing hands.
In our 13 years, we have grown 219,000 pounds of nutrient rich food with West Oaklanders. Despite this bounty,
we still don’t have a permanent farm. The three Community Market Farms that we currently tend are on borrowed
land. Over the years, we have built up, farmed, and then had to close several other farm sites.
In 2010, City Slicker Farms secured a state grant to build a premiere Urban Farm and Park in West Oakland. With
the grant, we were able to purchase the future home of our West Oakland Urban Farm and Park, 1.4 acres at
Helen and Peralta streets. Now we can imagine a future where we would never need to replant our farm beds
or lose an established fruit orchard again.
imagineanew
urbanfarmandpark
forWestOakland...

3. Your gift will help make our West Oakland forever farm and park a reality.
To see the Farm and Park to completion we are seeking $5 million. We already
have $4.17 million—83% of our goal.
GOALS
$4,000,000 For land acquisition, community design process and
initial construction activities (secured through a grant from the
California Department of Parks and Recreation)
$600,000 For remaining construction activities
$400,000 For initial operating expenses
$5,000,000 TOTAL PROJECT GOAL
We are looking for partners—including individual, corporate, and
foundation donors—who can see this vision of productive farm beds,
abundant harvests and thriving West Oakland farmers in our future.
We welcome your gift in any amount. Naming and recognition
opportunities are available for urban farm and park features.
What to Give When to Give
Cash or marketable stocks and bonds Now, through a gift of cash or appreciated securities
Corporate match Over two years, through a signed pledge with a fixed payment
Retirement plan or life insurance policy
schedule
In-kind materials or services
In the future, through a bequest
“Unlike a rural farm,
a secret place where
only a few lucky people
may visit, an urban
farm makes what seems
impossible possible.”
Novella Carpenter,
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer

4. West Oakland Urban Farm and Park
For more on the promise of a new urban farm and park in West Oakland, please visit: cityslickerfarms.org/campaign
Play Area Plaza with Seating
and Planters
Farm Beds Orchard City Slicker Farms
Operations and
Support Buildings
Street Trees Lawn AreaPerimeter Fence
and Gated Entries
Community
Garden
Entry Plaza with Picnic
Areas and Farm Stand
NOTE: This is a preliminary site plan. For the most up-to-date site plan,
please visit www.cityslickerfarms.org/campaign.

6. Our Community’s Vision for the
West Oakland Urban Farm and Park
City Slicker Farms held a community design process with West Oakland youth, seniors,
and families to develop a unified vision for this farm and park. Through this process, the
community envisioned the following promises of the Farm and Park:
Forever Farmland
for West Oakland
Our Community Market Farms
are food production gardens
that are open to the public,
growing food for community
distribution at our farmstand,
where no one is turned away
for lack of funds. This farm
will be our largest, and the
only one owned by City Slicker
Farms. It will ensure the legacy
of urban agriculture in West
Oakland in perpetuity. The
farm, orchards, greenhouse,
and chicken coop will double
our agricultural output,
yielding up to 10,000 pounds
of produce each year to be
distributed at our farmstand.
The Farm and Park will include
open public event space,
picnic tables and benches,
and inviting, shaded spaces
for leisure and conversation.
To ensure the Park and Farm
responded to community
needs, we designed it with
the community, and then
convened a Farm Park Council
of West Oakland residents to
help lead our programming
efforts, drive the community
involvement process, reach
out to potential partners and
serve as ambassadors for the
Farm and Park.
A Place for
Community Bonding
A Hub for
Urban Agriculture
Education
The Farm and Park will create
a space to learn about urban
farming methods, environmental
sustainability, local history, and
nutrition. We have made our farms
available to local and far-flung
school groups, offered volunteer
workdays and worked side-by-side
with individuals who have a passion
for urban agriculture. In 13 years, our
3,300 volunteers have learned what
it means to turn a blighted piece
of land into a community hub. The
Farm and Park will house an outdoor
classroom, extensive demonstration
areas, and educational signs to
continue these efforts.

7. A Space for
Community Growing
and Empowerment
By including community
garden plots, City Slicker
Farms will for the first time
in our history be able to host
garden space for residents
without yards of their own.
Since 2001, we have supported
nearly 2,000 West Oakland and
Alameda County residents to
grow 118,000 pounds of fresh
food in their own backyards,
saving these individuals and
families more than $200,000
in groceries. The community
garden at the Farm and Park
will extend these resources to
even more families.
A Place for Play in
Nature in the Heart
of Our City
The Farm and Park will create
a safe place for children to
play and exercise, offering
relief from the pressure
and stress of modern urban
life. The Farm and Park will
create a healthy, secure
setting for our community’s
children to explore
independently in a one-of-
a-kind outdoor space. It will
stimulate the senses with
color, sound, and smell, in a
creative, protected play area
with additional seating for
parental supervision.
Critical
Conservation
Practices in Our
Urban Environment
The Farm and Park will
feature environmental
sustainability techniques
that we have honed and
used throughout our farms
in West Oakland, such as
drip irrigation, integrated
pest management, recycled
and reused construction
materials, native plants,
organic cultivation
methods, a lush habitat for
pollinators, and recyclingand
composting demonstration
areas with educational
signage.
For more on the promise of a new urban farm and park in West Oakland, please visit: cityslickerfarms.org/campaign
UrbanAgriculturephoto:RebeccaMeyer;Conservationphoto:WikimediaCommons/wisemandarine;backgroundphoto:simoneanne.com;FarmParkplan:CongerMossGuillardLandscapeArchitects

8. Our Leadership
Board of Directors
Markus Niebanck, Board President
Brendan Havenar-Daughton,
Vice-President
Kristin Martin, Secretary
May Hu, Treasurer
Neeraja Havaligi
Julia Indovina
Mindy Maschmeyer
Abbey Myszka
Tara-Nicholle Nelson
Capital Campaign Committee
Vee Bell
MD Buttrick
Cat Chang
Brendan Havenar-Daughton
Thabiti Mtambuzi
Abbey Myszka
Tara-Nicholle Nelson
Markus Niebanck
Mona Shah
Farm Park Council
Terry Banks
Mark Dessert
Samaki Dorsey
Katie Hart
Ray Kidd
Laura Koch
Ernestine Nettles
Thabiti Mtambuzi
Elyse Rainey
1625 16th Street, Oakland CA 94607 | Main office: (510) 763-4241
www.cityslickerfarms.org/campaign | campaign@cityslickerfarms.org
About City Slicker Farms
Our mission is 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.
City Slicker Farms is made up of six full-time and three part-time
staff members, a 9-member board of directors, and a crew of
nearly 600 volunteers each year.
For more on how you can be a part of a new urban
farm and park in West Oakland, please visit:
cityslickerfarms.org/campaign