Food for thought

The "Chicken Lady's" philosophy

Alexis Koefoed, owner of Soul Food Farm in Vacaville, is known as the “chicken lady” for the chicken eggs and meat she raises. Koefoed was not always a farmer. While working at a small winery in Yountville, she dreamed of farming. “I had this moment in my life when I realized what I was supposed to do,” she says. That passion was deeper than just growing food to feed her family. She wanted to feed her community.
    In 1997 she found the 55 acres she now lives on with her husband Eric and their three children. The family experienced some trying years. When they lost everything in a down market, forcing them to live in a tiny trailer on the property, Koefoed worried that she had made the wrong choice—but she got back on track. “Sometimes in life I can’t think about things that scare me. I made a commitment; I had to just jump.” Soul Food Farm, which opened nearly three years ago, is an example of Koefoed’s courage and commitment.
    It took some time to come up with a name for the farm. “I prayed on it for a long time,” she says. The name says a lot about what her farm stands for—feeding the body as well as the soul.
    Koefoed’s strong belief that we are what we eat governs how she runs her farm. Soul Food Farm is certified organic by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), but being organic means more than having a government certification. “The farm’s goal is always to be sustainable, which is really an ongoing process,” she says. “It’s about land management, worker’s rights and humane animal treatment.”
    By treating the animals with respect, Koefoed feels that the eggs and meat are healthier. Her birds, both meat birds and laying hens, are pastured, meaning they live outside. “I want them on fresh grass. What they’re eating, if you think about it, is the sun”—an essential element to happy birds. Koefoed feels that commercial birds are stressed from living in cramped cages and not being allowed on fresh grass. That stress can lead to pecking, then to wounds that need to be treated with antibiotics. She emphasizes that if an animal has lived in a stressful environment, that negative energy is passed on to humans. “If you’re going to eat it, you want to know that it’s been well cared for.”
    With her farming dreams realized, Koefoed sought out others in the region who shared her views of healthy farming. She founded the Solano chapter of  Slow Food, a worldwide organization that promotes the importance of using local farmers who practice humane and sustainable farming. Koefoed says it is crucial for people to support their local farmers, which in turn supports the whole community. She believes if we’re willing to spend thousands on a plasma TV or even $7 on a beer, we should perhaps use that money, instead, to feed our bodies healthier food and keep a local farmer in business. “We need to change the way we think about food and what value we give it.”
    Farming doesn’t lead to wealth and fame, but through the ups and downs Koefoed wouldn’t change the life she has now. Her father believes you have to look forward to getting up every morning, and she wants to pass that conviction onto her children. “I want my children to see their parents pursuing their dreams.”

Here are some retail locations that carry Soul Food Farm chickens and eggs:

Both eggs and chicken meat:
Avedanos
235 Cortland Ave.
San Francisco (415) 285-MEAT; avedanos.com

Prather
Inside the Ferry Building, One Ferry Plaza, Shop #32
San Francisco (415) 391-0420; prmeatco.com

Fatted Calf
Inside Oxbow Public Market, 644 C First St.
Napa (707) 256-3684; fattedcalf.com

Eggs only:
Cafe Rouge 1782 4th St.
Berkeley (510) 525-1440; caferouge.net

Magnani 1576 Hopkins
Berkeley (510) 528-6370

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