Eastside Producers Informational Collaborative invites input from the Lassen County community

The Local Area Revitalization Project Co-Op, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Food System Partnerships program, is co-leading the EPIC Harvest Project, a multi-county effort focused on strengthening and better connecting food systems across Lassen, Plumas, Sierra and Modoc counties.

The project aims to support local agriculture, improve coordination among food-related businesses and organizations, and strengthen how food moves through our rural communities both in the day-to-day and during emergencies such as wildfires or power outages.

Project focus areas
The EPIC Harvest Project centers on three main objectives:
• Build strategic partnerships within and between the four counties and engage in community outreach and feedback.
• Encouraging collaboration among businesses and organizations to enhance market access through shared planning of a local or regional aggregation and distribution network.
• Supporting regional emergency food access planning to improve coordination during disruptions.

Community survey open
To support this work, the project team has launched a short survey to gather input from farmers, ranchers, food producers, retailers, distributors, nonprofits, schools and community partners.

The survey takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete and is open through Jan. 15, 2026.

Click here to take the survey.

Even if an organization does not see itself as a traditional food system stakeholder, all perspectives are welcome, including those involved in outreach, education, health services, and community support.

Regional collaboration
The EPIC Harvest Project is carried out in collaboration with Lost Sierra Food Project, The Dawn Institute, Modoc Harvest and the Sierra County School for Adults, alongside LARP Co-Op.

Community members and organizations are encouraged to participate in the survey and share it with others who may be interested. Additional engagement opportunities will follow as the project moves forward.

Funding for “EPIC Harvest: Building a Resilient Regional Food System in Remote Northeastern California” was made possible by a grant/cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.