Fundraiser Created for Local Farmer Battling Cancer

By edhat staff

An online fundraiser has been created to support well-loved farmer, Tom Shepherd, while he battles bladder cancer.

Shepherd was one of the original vendors at the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market and has been an organic farmer of local fields for nearly five decades.

He has been battling bladder cancer for a year and a half and recently learned it is so severe that he will need a bladder transplant and possible treatment indefinitely.

Currently farming 15 acres in Gaviota with minimal help and sticking to selling at two local farmer’s markets per week, his friends are now asking for help.

“Right now he should be aggressively preparing for the summer season (tilling, bedding up rows, and planting) but instead he will be in n out of doctor’s appointments at USC, will have an extended hospital stay and be on bed rest for weeks of recovery. Tom does everything himself in his business and needs our help!” the fundraiser website states.

Funds will be used to help Shepherd get through the next four months and pay for all business and personal expenses such as hiring a full-time farmworker to prepare for summer and salesperson at local markets.

As of Thursday morning, the fundraiser website has brought in over $70,000. A donation can be made through GoFundMe or sent to the below address:

Tom Shepherd
PO Box 65
Carpinteria, CA 93014