When Our Farm Partners Need Us

Severe flooding across Western Washington in December hit farms up and down the I-5 corridor, submerging fields, destroying stored crops, damaging equipment, and flooding homes, often for the second time in just a few years. For many farmers, the timing is especially hard: the season’s work is in, insurance coverage is uncertain, and recovery will take months.

Among the farms hit hard is Mariposa Organic Farm in Whatcom County, along the Nooksack River. Floodwaters have torn through its fields again, damaging barns and vehicles and wiping out winter squash, carrots, beets, cover crops, and seed stock. And when farms flood, it’s not only today’s produce that disappears, but also soil health, future harvests, and livelihoods.

How We’re Helping, and How You Can, Too

At Pagliacci Pizza, we’re making a direct donation to Mariposa Organic Farm’s GoFundMe to support their recovery. Below is the link, so you can contribute directly if you’re interested.

Donate to Mariposa Organic Farm

Here are some additional ways to support local farmers:

Community Food Co-op Farm Fund: Community Food Co-op’s Farm Fund supports local farmers in times of need. Following recent floods, all funds are focused on helping farms recover and rebuild.

Eat Local First: A curated list of ways to support flood-impacted Washington farms and food businesses as they assess losses and begin recovery

The Good Farmer Fund: A rapid-response fund for small farms in crisis, covering losses from extreme weather and other emergencies so farmers can get back on their feet.

Every contribution, large or small, helps farmers repair infrastructure, replace lost crops, and begin the long process of rebuilding.

Our Relationship with Mariposa

Our connection to Mariposa Organic Farm goes back several years. In the past, we partnered with them to host CSA box pickups at select Pagliacci locations, helping make it easier for customers to access fresh, seasonal produce grown close to home. It was a simple collaboration, rooted in shared values and a love of good food.

That relationship is part of a much larger story.

When we served our first slice back in 1979, we knew that great pizza starts with great ingredients — and great ingredients come from people you know and trust. We bought from local farms and artisans because they made exceptional products. We knew the people growing and producing our ingredients, and we believed that freshness, quality, and trust were inseparable. Nearly 50 years later, that belief still guides us.

Buying locally keeps farms viable, preserves agricultural land, sustains jobs, and reduces the environmental cost of long-distance shipping. Just as important, it helps ensure that our region continues to have access to fresh, responsibly grown food, through good years and hard ones alike.

A Healthy Local Food Economy Is a Shared Responsibility

Floods like these are a reminder of how vulnerable farming can be and how interconnected we all are. When local farms struggle, the effects ripple outward: to restaurants, markets, neighborhoods, and dinner tables across the region.

We’re grateful for the work Mariposa Organic Farm and so many others do every day, often under increasingly unpredictable conditions. And we’re committed to standing with them, especially when they need help most.

Thank you for caring, for giving if you’re able, and for helping sustain the local farms that feed our communities.