Local farm focuses on community-supported agriculture.
In the early 1990s, John Tecklin had a vision for community-supported agriculture, or CSA, that would create an alternative economy where organic farm products are grown and sold directly to customers. This vision became Mountain Bounty Farm in Nevada City, Calif.
Tecklin, raised in a back-to-the-land counterculture, grew up in a small log cabin without modern amenities. His upbringing instilled in him a reverence for nature and social activism, and a love of good home cooking. After exploring various career paths, Tecklin discovered his passion for farming while volunteering at a local farm.
“Working with the land was honest, it was fulfilling, and I saw how it brought people together,” he says. “I knew it was the life for me.”
Inspired by the CSA model, in which a community pledges financial support, through subscriptions, to a local farm in exchange for the farmer’s best efforts throughout the growing season, Tecklin started Mountain Bounty Farm in 1997. Begun with just three-quarters of an acre, minimal equipment, and $7,000 in savings, the farm has grown into one of the largest and most successful organic CSA operations in the Sierra Nevada.
A New Kind of CSA
Now in its 28th season, Mountain Bounty Farm is unique in that it operates year-round, providing produce to the community 50 weeks of the year. During the winter (December – April), Tecklin keeps the CSA program going by working cooperatively with a handful of organic farmers at lower elevations, ensuring that boxes are still collected, packed, and delivered to subscribers.
In 2019, the farm faced a crisis when the landowner announced plans to sell the main fields. Instead of buying the land outright, Tecklin proposed an innovative solution: Have the community purchase and own the land. A coalition of local nonprofits, called Forever Farms, launched a fundraising campaign. Within months, hundreds of locals contributed enough to buy the land, which is now held by the Bear Yuba Land Trust and leased to Mountain Bounty Farm, making Mountain Bounty one of the few community-owned farms in the region. This arrangement provides long-term security for the farm and allows for investment in necessary infrastructure. It also ensures that the land will serve the community in perpetuity, protected as it is from future sales.
Mountain Bounty Farm has fostered strong relationships with both its long-term employees and customers, some of whom are now second-generation CSA members.
As program manager Becky Ahmadi points out, “The members themselves become micro-communities, often meeting to pick up their boxes, sharing recipes and ideas for the produce.” The farm’s managers emphasize education, regularly communicating with customers about food preparation and handling, helping to create an even deeper connection with customers.
The farm hosts an annual festival in September, featuring local chefs who cook with the farm produce, along with music and beer. These events, along with farm tours and school visits, help strengthen the community’s connection to their food and the people who grow it.
Tecklin and everyone involved with Mountain Bounty Farm remain committed to the original vision of producing food for the community while building and strengthening direct connections — to achieve Tecklin’s dream that “this innovative approach to land ownership and community involvement can serve as a model for sustainable farming and food security across the nation.”
Pickup locations for the CSA program are in Reno, Truckee, the Lake Tahoe basin, Nevada City, Grass Valley, and the surrounding area.
For details or to sign up for Mounty Bounty’s CSA program, visit Mountainbountyfarm.com.
