About Us

Totally Local VC is a collaborative initiative focused on promoting the importance and success of our local agriculture and business community. We are dedicated to educating our youth and community members on the important role business and agriculture plays in the success of not only our county but the world and the many links each of has to small business and agriculture.

Totally Local VC highlights all that is Ventura County: our farmers, our businesses and the people that are building a strong economy and a sustainable future for all of us.

Simply put, Totally Local VC is Ventura County’s Support-Local Program.

We Educate

We educate members of the community on the economic benefits that local business and agriculture brings to our county.

We educate on the dynamics of our living choices, decisions, spending choices and how these choices impact our farming and business community.

We educate on the benefits of connecting the links from field to fork and our local business community.

How we educate

• Eat Local, Hug a Farmer talk series
• Locally-owned small business mentoring
• High school farm talks geared to culinary and future farmers
• Farm-related talk series with college culinary program
• Social media: Farm Fact Fridays and Throw Back Business Thursdays
• Farm Tours for the general public
• Chef Farm Tours
• Articles: newsprint, website, social media
• Downloadable, printable online resource guides listing all agrotourism, farm stands, CSA, Farmers’ Markets and locally-owned businesses.
• Radio  show: Going Local with Kat and Christine radio show on KPPQ-LP, 104.1 FM featuring farmers, ranchers, chefs, purveyors, locally-owned small businesses, local history, farm facts and more
• And more coming – stay tuned

We Collaborate

We collaborate with our farms, ranches, purveyors and local business community to help build a stronger awareness of their offerings, issues and brand.

Totally Local VC targets the most important aspects of our partners’ business plans. Through helping with brand awareness, community outreach, marketing and connecting with other local businesses, we truly help to link local businesses to the community.

How we collaborate

• Brand awareness
• Community outreach
• Marketing
• Building partnerships
• Collaborate on events and promotions
• Increased bottom line (positive financial impact)
• Share content through our media channels
• Linking: working to connect partners with community partners
• Linchpins: helping to connect our community business owners

We Celebrate

We celebrate the concept of living and supporting our area farmers, ranchers, purveyors and businesses.

How We Celebrate

• Totally Local VC’s Dinner at the… Farm-to-Fork Dinner Series, innovative dining events that marry iconic Ventura County locations the area’s top-line chefs, purveyors, wines and brews, preparing seasonal selections harvested from the region’s most celebrated farms.
• Totally Local VC’s Taste of Local Festival, bringing together local farmers, chefs, wine makers, brewers and community to celebrate our local harvest and the diversity of great food we have right here in Ventura County.
• Totally Local VC’s Local Homebrew Challenge, local brew masters compete for the title of Taste of Local’s Home Brew Grand Champion as voted by guests at the Taste of Local Festival
  
• Totally Local VC’s Farm-to-Glass Mixology Throwdown, competing local bartenders will craft drinks from locally-grown ingredients with winners chosen in two categories: Professional Judging and People’s Choice.
• Totally Local VC’s Ventura County Ag Week, a week-long series of great Ag-related events celebrating our local Farmers and Ranchers
• Events and outreach

Marketing Overview

Our marketing program is geared to a very diverse market segment.

We utilize our website and social media tools as well as many different media outlets. By marketing on all these levels, we are able to drive awareness of not only the Totally Local VC initiative, but also those of our sponsors, partners and the community.

Marketing activities

• Articles: Newsprint, web, social media
• Totally Local VC YouTube video channel
• Shared videos and shorts
• Guest writer for local newspapers
• Newsletters distributed to our large email list
• Community outreach
• T-shirts, hats, bags, etc. with support-local slogans

The Totally Local VC Agricultural Education Foundation

Over the past eight years, Totally Local VC has worked as an advisor for agriculture and culinary arts programs at both high school and college levels. Together with area chefs and farmers, we have laid the foundation to empower students in taking the next step in their journeys to achieve their educational and professional goals.

In order to grow and continuously raise the bar on our academic initiatives, we formed the Totally Local VC Agricultural Education Foundation. We depend on the support from community members like you through funds raised from donations, sponsorships and events. With this support, we can expand our programs that prepare students for successful careers in agriculture, food science and the culinary arts. Your contribution is helping to build the agricultural leaders and chefs of tomorrow.

Totally Local VC Agricultural Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.