We're Proud to Support the Year of the Woman Farmer

There's something that feels right about the United Nations declaring 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

Because if you pay attention — really pay attention — to who is growing food, tending the land, running the farm stand, teaching the next generation how to plant a seed and care for something living, you'll find women. You'll find them doing the work quietly, steadily, and often without nearly enough recognition or support.

That's exactly what the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026) was created to change. Backed by 123 co-sponsoring nations and led by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, this global initiative shines a light on the women who are central to our food systems — and calls on governments, businesses, and communities to close the very real gaps they still face: in land access, in credit, in technical resources, and in the simple acknowledgment that their labor matters.

At Womanswork, we've always believed that the work women do — in fields, in kitchens, in businesses, in communities — is foundational. It's not in the background. It's not secondary to other pursuits. It is the work. So when we learned about the International Year of the Woman Farmer, it didn't feel like a cause we needed to consider. It felt like a natural alliance.

We always strive to put our beliefs into action. And one of the ways we're doing that this year is by supporting City Farm SLO in San Luis Obispo, California.

City Farm SLO is a nonprofit urban farm stewarding 19 acres of the Calle Joaquin Agricultural Reserve — land that has been farmed organically since 2013. A portion of that land is subleased to small-scale, independent farmers who need access to space and infrastructure to do what they love. The rest is tended by the nonprofit itself through youth education programs that are genuinely changing lives.

What City Farm SLO does isn't just regenerative farming. It's mentorship. It's community building. It's showing the next generation — and especially young women — that they belong on the land, that they can grow something from nothing, and that food is a powerful form of care. Their programs include farm-based education, therapeutic horticulture, and a weekly farm stand where neighbors can access fresh, organic produce on a "pay what you can" basis.

One way we are supporting City Farm SLO is by sharing their story — including featuring their director, Kayla Rutland, on glove hang tags this fall. We believe support doesn't always come in one form. Sometimes it looks like putting someone's name in the hands of a customer, sharing their story with people who might never have heard it otherwise, and making sure the work they do travels a little further into the world.

Closer to home, we're also proud to support Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett, New York — a nonprofit farm, market, café, and bakery co-founded by women and rooted in a powerful legacy of female land stewardship. The farmland itself has been woman-owned since the 1950s, and co-founders Amanda Merrow and Katie Baldwin have carried that tradition forward beautifully. Through their apprenticeship program alone, they've sent more than 30 new farmers — mostly women — out into the world to grow and feed their own communities.

This donation was made through our membership in 1% for the Planet, a program through which Womanswork commits a portion of our revenue to environmental and agricultural nonprofits engaged in work that aligns with our values. Amber Waves is exactly that kind of organization — one where farming, education, and community come together in the most grounded and meaningful way.

Women farmers feed the world. They always have. And organizations like City Farm SLO and Amber Waves Farm are building the pipelines and the safe spaces that will make sure the next generation of women farmers have what they need to thrive.

If this resonates with you, we'd love for you to learn more about City Farm SLO at cityfarmslo.org, and to explore how you might support their work — whether through a donation, volunteering, or simply showing up to their Saturday Farm Stand.

To learn more about Amber Waves Farm and all of the ways to support their missions, including Save our Soup, please check out amberwavesfarm.org. They also welcome visitors to shop, eat and explore at their locations in the Hamptons on Long Island, NY.

And if you're as moved by the International Year of the Woman Farmer as we are, visit fao.org/woman-farmer-2026 to learn how the global community is rallying around this cause.

The women who farm deserve our attention, our gratitude, and our support — not just in 2026, but always.

Here's to the women who feed us.

Woman's Work is proud to support organizations working at the intersection of agriculture, community, and gender equity. To learn more about our mission, visit womanswork.com.