Josanne van der Wilk
Josanne and husband Matt
Mission Valley Urban Farm began in 2020 in a small apartment in Santa Cruz, California. My now husband, Matt, and I had started dating a few months before the Covid lockdowns began. We suddenly found ourselves living together while I distance-taught a third grade class and had just adopted an awesome, unruly kitten. During this time, Matt watched some Youtube videos on growing microgreens and decided to give it a try.
Matt realized that growing microgreens- which are nutrient dense, delicious baby vegetables was a passion that was accessible to him as an individual with a C7-8 spinal cord injury. Instead of requiring bending, twisting and lifting, microgreen growing is done in 10 inch x 20 inch trays that are placed on shelves. Matt capitalized on this realization, and suddenly there was a large wire rack from Costco in my living room, decked out with lights, fans, and of course, trays and trays of microgreens. We quickly realized that not only were microgreens accessible to farm, they were also a product that we very much believed in and wanted to share with our family and friends.
In the midst of this, in typical millennial fashion, we moved in with Matt’s parents in Fremont, California. Not only did they open their home to me- their future daughter-in law who they had only known for a year- they also were gracious and generous enough to allow us to completely take over their ‘breakfast nook’ in the kitchen and the entire backyard. Suddenly, we were operating a full blown small business out of the family home.
In the past 4 years, Matt and I have grown and evolved tremendously as individuals. Matt finished his Bachelor of Science degree in Recreational Therapy at San Jose State University. In order to do this, he completed a 4 month internship at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center working as a recreational therapist working on the brain injury unit. As his wife, I have to say that this was incredible to witness and I am infinitely proud of him. I also finished a degree- a Masters of Science in Kinesiology- and began a career as a community college athletics instructor. However, no matter how busy we were, we always made sure to keep plugging (happily) away on the farm. In October of 2022 we were married on the ‘farm’ in Matt’s parent’s backyard which has only made working the land more special.
Mission Valley Farm has evolved quite a bit over the past few years. Matt honed his craft growing microgreens, became a 3D printing extraordinaire, and has also earned a certificate in digital marketing. He is always available for my many questions and requests, and designed and built our website. Simultaneously, I learned how to grow and arrange flowers. My parents, who live in Hayward, generously offered me growing space at their home. Now, not only do we sell microgreens, we also are a full blown flower farm with two growing sites. I have realized that floristry and flower farming are my true passions in life, and I grow thousands of stems yearly.
We offer our services to our community in a variety of ways- we are members of the Agricultural Institute of Marin and sell weekly at the Hayward Farmers Market. I also have a delivery route through the East Bay which allows me to deliver microgreens and flowers right to our client’s front doors. I also offer flower deliveries, and have begun delving into wedding floristry. In 2024, I will be flowering 5 weddings with flowers (mostly) grown by me, here on the farm. We utilize regenerative, sustainable farming practices and foam free floristry to ensure we are stewarding the land respectfully and in good conscience. It is an honor and privilege to do so.
Our journey together has been phenomenal. Not only were we able to find each other (on a dating app of all places!) and fall in love, we also somehow managed to combine our passions to create a business that brings joy and health to our community. Gardening is a passion and skill that has allowed accessibility into nature and the outdoors. Not only has MVUF allowed us to gain better physical health and nutrition, it is now a business that is benefitting our community and loved ones. Considering our business started as a couple of kids playing with seeds during a global pandemic, being where we are today is something I am so grateful for.
You can contact Josanne by phone 510-244-3923 or email Missionvalleyuf@gmail.com