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"It takes a labor force, it takes irrigation, it takes funding, it takes long-term care and contract growing. It takes urban planning three years in advance for trees that aren't going in the ground for another five years," continues Fike-Data. "And while that seems incredibly overwhelming, there's a lot of hope there, and so many people are invested in the conversation." "We're at a time, now more than ever, when we need to dou- ble down on environmental projects and programs like this to ensure that our environment thrives in the future, and that's going to be, I think, at the center of all of our conversations now," she continues. "We're going to have to advocate more and more for ways to address the effects of climate change, and not just in trees, but in all green infrastructure. It's going to be a challenge, but I think the environmental community is up for it." treesandiego.org A Vision for a Brighter Food Supply Future ough at face value they seem contradictory, food waste and food insecurity are nonetheless two dominant and concurrently ongoing issues in our food system. For former restaurateur Chuck Samuelson, these problems weighed heavy on his mind. "About 40 percent of everything we grow does not make it to the people who could use it," he says. "On the other hand, 47 million Americans are hungry — one in five children. It's horrible." e former owner of Bird Rock Café and founder of the nonprofit Kitchens for Good decided he wanted to do more work that directly relates to the food system as a whole, and ramp up work to address food insecurity. In 2022, he launched Heal the Earth with the goal of supporting local farmers. "Who are farmers? [ ey] are the foundation of our food system. ere's a lot of things wrong with the food system from top to bottom, but you have to start at the foundation," says Samuelson. With the help of a couple grants, he leased space on a farm in Vista, and plans to open a farmer training school on site, as well as a farm store, where he will sell produce from his operation as well as produce of other local farmers starting in early 2025. Samuelson, however, who ran an award-winning restaurant and already successfully launched one nonprofit, thinks much bigger than a simple, quaint farmstand. Heal the Earth has secured a partnership with the City of Escondido, and is planning to sign a lease on a 40,000-square-foot building to become an eventual food hub, where farmers can come together under one roof to sell their goods — like << COURTESY PHOTOGRAPHY Focus philanthropy ranchandcoast.com 54 DECEMBER 2024 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE "We're at a time, now more than ever, when we need to double down on environmental projects and programs like this to ensure that our environment thrives in the future," says Elektra Fike-Data