Our Story

"Cerca" is Spanish for close or near. The genesis of Cerca Cultivation was to bring farms, and where food is grown, closer to where people live, work and eat. We believe that the healthiest path forward for people and our planet is local, sustainable, and ethical farming.

Our passion is rooted in wanting to do good. That’s why we incorporated as a California Benefit Corporation, with the purpose to create a positive impact on society and the environment. As a social enterprise we pursue both for-profit and for-good objectives. And being a Benefit Corporation allows us to take into account the triple bottom line of profit, people, and planet when making business decisions.

We make conscious decisions to work with companies, vendors and suppliers who share the same values. We take this to heart as a company – we always try to support and reward other like-minded people and companies. All of our business operations support minority and women-owned businesses and certified B Corporations (learn more about B Corps!).

We care deeply how we grow our food, how our farmers are treated, how food is consumed and how it’s discarded. And we have an immense desire to fairly treat all our stakeholders – our employees, clients, suppliers, partners, investors, community, environment, and plant seedlings.

Reducing our waste and giving back is very important to us. At Cerca we compost food waste and keep it out of landfills by creating healthy, nutrient-rich soil to be used for growing even more food. And none of our plant seedlings are wasted. We donate our extra seedlings to local charities and underserved communities – to date we’ve given away over a half million seedlings!

One of our mantras is “Growing Closer.” When we grow food where we live, work and eat, we grow closer to our connection to food. And food has a special way of helping us grow closer to our friends, family, neighbors, community, and environment. We look forward to growing closer with you.