The first version of our family farm began in a backyard in a Berkeley neighborhood in 1985, where three friends collaborated and developed an efficient urban salad farm.

Borrowing from French intensive practices, we grew salad greens, herbs, and vegetables to supply the local community. 

It was the 1980s, and the love of good food and community became the canvas for a food revolution.

With the support and encouragement of Alice Waters and her restaurant Chez Panisse, we were able to launch a sustainable enterprise based on authenticity, respect for the old ways, and a passion for learning combined with hard work. We are focused on seasonality, sustainability, organic, and local.

Kenter Canyon Farms evolved gradually from small suburban backyards and urban lots to our current base of operations in Ventura County, where we have converted previously conventional parcels of farmland to organic using regenerative methods such as cover cropping, companion planting, crop rotation, water conserving irrigation systems, and composting. 

This is our “home base” where we grow 100% certified organic herbs, lettuces, seasonal vegetables, six varieties of avocados, lemons, and oranges year-round. We also grow organic winter wheat in Imperial Valley for our retail bakery in Fillmore. 

When we say “sustainability,” we refer not only to the land but also the whole community of people who work with us and make this happen every day.