What We Stand For
About Us
Consumers, retailers, food service providers, and institutional purchasers desire fresh, locally sourced food. However, neighboring small farmers face a rigid food system characterized by contractual constraints that limit options and impede growth. Additionally, well-established long-distance supply chains transport food over long distances before it arrives on consumers' plates, resulting in environmental harm and an economic drain on community wealth. A Farmer’s Share aims to serve as the foundational link within communities, facilitating hyper-local solutions to contemporary food system challenges. It offers advisory, research, and policy support while developing community-informed mid-chain operations for aggregation, processing, storage, and distribution. These efforts are directed towards restoring local food autonomy, establishing and ensuring a dependable supply, and promoting sustainable economic growth.
Our Values & Goals
A Farmer’s Share advances equitable prosperity by building reliable, community-aligned local food systems that create lasting wealth for producers and communities. We empower small family farms and revitalize rural economies while eliminating urban food deserts through transparent, equitable, and regenerative mid-chain infrastructure. By 2027, we aim to steward 25,000–50,000 acres, create 5,000–8,000 jobs, reduce food waste by 35–40 percent, and serve 50–80 communities. By 2030, we will influence 1.5–5 million lives. We cultivate gender-diverse and BIPOC-led networks, foster food democracy, and promote environmental stewardship—all through community-centered models rooted in care and collectivity.
Our goal is to expand and strengthen community support systems and networks, connecting with 500 communities by 2030.
Through our partnerships, innovative technologies, and growing network, our goal is to positively transform 5 million lives by 2030.
By fostering networks of small farms and their partners, we strive to rebuild connections throughout the food system, creating a sense of community within the value chain.
Our Legal Structure & Impact Commitment
Incorporated as a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), we balance profit with our public benefit: building resilient, community-controlled local food systems that empower small family farms, eliminate food deserts, revitalize rural economies, and counter corporate consolidation. We are pursuing full B Corp certification and measure progress using the B Impact Assessment, IRIS+ metrics, regenerative indicators, and community feedback—committing to biennial Benefit Reports and 50% profit reinvestment into mission priorities.
Our Core Team
Kelsey Hood Cattaneo, EdD
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Kelsey Hood Cattaneo brings systems thinking, operational rigor, and deep expertise in program evaluation, grant management, and decolonial policy analysis to drive equitable food system transformation. She leads the organization’s initiatives, uniting diverse stakeholders to empower small farmers, amplify underrepresented voices, and scale community-centered solutions that foster resilience, economic stability, and trust across rural and urban food ecosystems.
Dawn R. Riley
Co-Founder & Chief Community Officer
Dawn R. Riley leverages over 20 years of agricultural policy experience—including USDA leadership and strategic planning for state agricultural councils—to build connective networks and coalitions that advance equity in food systems. She facilitates collaboration among small farmers, BIPOC and women leaders, nonprofits, and partners to spark systemic change, uplift marginalized voices, and create resilient, thriving communities rooted in care and collective action.