Dear ASLF Supporter,

Happy New Year!

I am proud to announce that our 2024 application for farm apprenticeship is now live! Click here to apply.

Dear ASLF Supporter,

We hope you are having wonderful holiday celebrations with family and friends, taking time to share delicious meals, and getting some rest! We are so excited to round the corner into 2024.

For our final email of a great year we are proud to share our 2023 Apprentice Storytelling!

As we close 2023, the biggest takeaway from our first two seasons of ASLF apprenticeships is the genuine joy, passione, intelligence and motivation of our apprentice alumni.

We are so honored to have these farms as partners in our ongoing fight to save sustainable agriculture! The apprentices that work on these farms will go on to carry the lessons they have learned to communities far and wide.

We are so grateful to those who have donated to our campaign thus far. Your support raises funds for more transformative experiences like these…

“I have learned what it means to work with integrity.” - Abigail Greendyk | New Leaf Agriculture, Elgin, TX

“ASLF is doing incredible work for the world at large.” - Roger Gawne | Real Food Farm, Baltimore, MD

“I was surprised at how much a month could change me.” - Khadijah Khadijah | Jasper Hill Farm, Greensboro, VT

Our quest for 100 apprentices in 2024 is not out of reach! Help us send a new crop of hands to work on sustainable farms while growing our alumni network.

When you support ASLF you support:

Hands-On Education - Working directly with farmers

Slow Agriculture

Building our Alumni Association - Creating connections and career support

I’ve been thinking lately about the power of sense memory…the smell of the air in these crisp fall days in New York sparked memories for me of fresh starts, back to school, and the possibility of new horizons – experiences that made me feel even more connected to the work we are doing at the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund.

It has been exactly two years since Anne’s sudden passing and the founding of ASLF and we are determined not to forget why we started…

As the dust settles after our 2023 benefit and as we launch into our third year, I am pondering the questions of who we are and what the principles are that guide our decisions each day.  I believe part of the answer lies in something Patrick once told me about Anne…Anne always said yes! She always said yes to giving her time and resources to customers and chefs wanting to learn more about domestic cheese, and also to aspiring cheesemongers who time and time again sought her out for advice. Anne was constantly connecting people to each other, infusing her magical energy into everything she touched.

As the mornings start to get chillier, our 2023 apprentices are finishing their final days on the farms, from Minnesota to London. This has been an extraordinary second year for ASLF!

These aspiring agriculturalists are packing up their soil-caked boots and heading to colleges, old jobs, new jobs, home towns, and fresh frontiers. They have written to us in texts and emails, sharing photos and stories. Here are a few samples of what they wrote.

We are so excited to share this rough draft of the event map for our Second Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund Annual Benefit! It’s just too good to keep a secret! With so many of Anne’s chef friends coming out to pay tribute to her, the map is too big to fit in a regular email format! Apologies for asking you to tilt your head or turn your computer, but we assure you, it’s worth it!

So many people from different walks of life come up to introduce themselves with a lovely story about Anne. It’s astounding how many people have Anne Saxelby in common! Some colleagues, friends, and acquaintances are just as you would imagine them to be. Others are not at all who you might expect, and I look at them and wonder how they shared a bond, and they look back at me and wonder the same thing! But that is a beautiful part about Anne, she attracted every type with her energy, charisma, decency in life, and passion to orchestrate a high quality local dairy trade in the Northeast!

Our 2023 apprentices are arriving at their farms! Some are making cheese, while others are harvesting fennel; a few are surrounded by the rolling hills of Vermont while others are taking in views of city skylines. Our apprentice crew this summer is as diverse as our roster of farms. Here is a glimpse of their experiences so far and this is just the start!

New York, NY. September 13, 2023 - Wednesday September 13th from 6-10pm, Chelsea Market in NYC will be transformed into a gastronomic showcase powered by over 100 of Anne’s favorite chefs, artisans and mixologists preparing sustainable dishes and cocktails, to honor Anne Saxelby’s legacy in the world of food and farming, and to celebrate the second season of the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund which matches individuals with family or community-run farms with fully paid (including salary, travel, room, board and all other expenses) apprenticeships so that they may learn sustainable practices and contribute to the continuity of local, organic and regenerative farming.

Anne relied on her chef friends to realize her dreams of launching an American cheese movement and they are coming out in force to support her legacy. We hope you can join us this September 13th at the amazing Chelsea Market! These are the best of the best chefs and artisans — on the cutting edge of quality and sustainability. We are so proud for their support! Thank you chefs!

The outpouring of support since Anne passed away on October 9th 2021 has been astounding. The 1600 individuals and organizations who have supported us thus far are determined to carry on her legacy in a meaningful and powerful way. In a short period of time together we have created a significant movement in this country with unlimited potential to effect change in agriculture forever. Anne would be so happy to see the many names on this list. Thank you!

We are overjoyed to announce the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund 2023 Apprentice Class! We are in awe and admiration of the talent and energy of these pioneers who are about to begin their monthlong journeys all over the country (and England!). To learn more about these amazing individuals visit on our Apprentice Page and stay tuned for stories and updates from the field.

The ASLF Selection Committee is fresh off reading 225+ applications for summer apprenticeships, breaking through any preconceived stereotypes of the so-called TikTok generation. We read essays about food sovereignty, sustainable and regenerative farming, and leaving behind a livable earth. We read about desires to get hands dirty on behalf of others, growing healthy food and making it accessible, and starting sustainable businesses that transform communities. We read from individuals seeking non-traditional and less predictable paths that embrace fairness, equity, and dignity. We can tell you firsthand that the future is in good hands.

Chelsea Market and 80 of the nation’s most acclaimed chefs and artisans will celebrate Anne’s legacy and toast our new milestones — 75 apprentices working on over 40 participating farms in 2023.

Since the founding of ASLF in October of 2021, there has been an outpouring of support for our mission to fully fund young adults to work on sustainable farms and also from new farms to be part of our program. We are so honored to be working with these heroes of agriculture and leaders in the nation for healthy land and food raised with dignity. In only a few short weeks we have grown to over 40 farms and counting who will host more than 75 apprentices, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.