Pillar 01
The Café
The revenue anchor.
A light-but-real, counter-service café with a seasonal, farm-sourced menu people want to eat often. The daily gathering point.
Monterey & Santa Cruz County · California
Groundworks. — A Community Food Culture Space
A community food culture space — café, farm stand, and education center — connecting the Monterey Peninsula to the valley that feeds it.
About Groundworks
What this is, who it's for, and why it exists.
What it is. Groundworks is a nonprofit community food space planned for Seaside or Marina — a counter-service café, a farm stand carrying produce and value-added goods from Salinas and Pajaro Valley growers, and an education center running workshops, film nights, cooking demos, and youth programming under one roof.
Who it's for. Peninsula residents who want good food they can afford — CalFresh and EBT accepted from day one — small and mid-size farms looking for a steady local outlet, and the teachers, cooks, and neighbors who want a place to learn how this food system actually works.
Why it exists. Monterey County grows over $4B in crops a year and still ranks worst in California for food insecurity. The farms are in the valley, the people are on the coast, and nothing sits in between. Groundworks is built to be that bridge.
Built to be copied. Every plan behind this project — the feasibility study, the financial model, the operating handbook, the governance and fundraising playbooks — is published openly so another community can run the same play. Two companion concepts, Full Yield Kitchen and Rad Roots Farm, extend the same thesis into workforce training and aggregation. Founded by Drew Keske.
The Monterey Paradox
A $4 billion harvest. The state's worst food insecurity. No bridge between them.
Monterey County is the Salad Bowl of the World, producing over $4B in crops a year — yet it ranks worst among California's 58 counties for food insecurity. Roughly a third of residents experience hunger; about half are diabetic or pre-diabetic.
The farms are in the valley. The people are on the coast. A 20-minute drive and a wide cultural gap separate them.
“The Monterey Peninsula needs a front door to its own food system.”
The Model at a Glance
Three pillars under one roof.
Pillar 02
The Farm Stand & Marketplace
The front door.
Curated produce and value-added goods from Salinas and Pajaro Valley farms. CalFresh / EBT accepted from day one.
Pillar 03
The Education Center
The reason to stay.
Workshops, film nights, guest talks, cooking demos, youth programming, and the Groundworks Bookshelf. Programming owned and curated by Groundworks.
Plus monthly Community Table Dinners and the recurring Kegs for a Cause brewery fundraiser series.
Our Lane
Not a food bank. Not a farm. Not a cooperative. Not a school. Groundworks is the community space where the food system becomes visible, accessible, and participatory — and we partner on what others already do well.
By the Numbers
The shape of the organization.
- Legal entity
- Groundworks Monterey Bay · 501(c)(3) in formation
- Service area
- Monterey & Santa Cruz County
- Site target
- Seaside or Marina
- Facility size
- 1,500 – 2,500 sq ft
- Startup capital
- $150K – $250K
- Year-1 revenue (est.)
- ~$295K – $360K
- Target opening
- Late 2028 / Early 2029
- Founder
- Drew Keske
Companion Projects
Sibling concepts in the same food-system family.
Independent plans that share Groundworks' thesis — each with its own feasibility study and pitch deck.
Companion Project 01
Full Yield Kitchen
Workforce kitchen + surplus rescue.
A production kitchen that trains cooks, rescues farm surplus, and supplies prepared food back into the community.
Companion Project 02
Rad Roots Farm
Micro food hub + farm stand.
A radically-local farm and aggregation hub anchoring small growers to a year-round retail and CSA outlet.
Mission
Groundworks is where the Monterey Peninsula meets its food system — a community space for local food, hands-on learning, and the culture in agriculture.