SD Heirloom Living Roundtable: The Start of a Local Movement
Gathering Stewards to guide fellow San Diegans back to their local roots.
Eat, shop, learn and play with your neighbors.
San Diego Heirloom Living is a movement, driven by a series of workshops and events comprised of local farmers and merchants, with an Annual Harvest Festival starting in 2027.
We cordially invite you to be a part of the start!
We aim to bring back in to the fold Heirloom ways.. ways that are tried and true and full of meaning.
To know the farmer the grew your wheat and the hands that wove your clothing, means that everything possessed and consumed is of great value, rich with story, and will last lifetimes.In addition to being connected to what we consume, this movement will bring community together which provides aligned connection. The lifeblood of culture.
To create a network where all makers and learning opportunities are accessible and visible to everyone in our County, will take an organized effort and new systems.
Therefore, we are hosting a Round Table Gathering during Climate Week this year to share ideas and discuss ways we can work together to get our county engaged in less consumerism, and more sustainability.
Whether you are a farmer or a maker, someone who can share wisdom or yearns to gain it, or you just want to simply contribute your presence and support, we invite you to join us October 1st, 2026 in Vista from 5:30-9pm, at the Vista Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum.
Read more about the movement here: https://tinyurl.com/sdheirloom
Schedule of Events
(5:30-6p) Arrival
(6-7p) Introductions
(7-7:45p) Guest Speaker - Rob Maden: Rob’s vision for restoring real unadulterated wheat to our tables. Short History of Wheat in California.
(7:8:15p) Tour of Rob’s fields and a spin around AGSEM
(8:15-8:45p) Guest Speaker - Davin Waite: Davin’s vision for zero waste food culture. The impacts of his raised beds feeding the community and the future for urban food gardens coming to neighborhoods near you
(8:45-9p) Sampling of Staff of Life wheat baked goodS + Sampling of The Plot Vegan toppings (maybe able to find edibles growing at AGSEM to make zero waste toppings)
Guest Speaker Bios:
Rob Maden is the founder of Staff of Life Wheat, a San Diego–based grain company working to rebuild the connection between local farmers, millers, bakers, and the communities they feed.
Rob’s appreciation for heritage wheat began while working on the historic family farm in Calgary, where he was introduced to Red Fife and the remarkable flavor and history found in traditional grains. Years later, after working alongside an organic bakery in San Diego, he recognized how disconnected the region had become from its own wheat-growing heritage—and set out to change that.
Today, Rob grows and sources distinctive wheat varieties, stone-mills fresh flour in Vista, and collaborates with local farmers, chefs, bakers, and the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum. His locally grown “Homegrown” Sonoran wheat represents one of the first meaningful commercial crops of its kind produced in San Diego in generations.
Through Staff of Life Wheat and the emerging Whole Wheat Guild, Rob is helping restore a regional grain economy.
Davin Waite is Co-Owner of The Plot Restaurant, San Diego’s Pioneer Zero-Waste Restaurant
From cozy classics to exciting flavors, the plot is shaking up plant-based dining with a bold mix of comfort and style. chefs davin waite and travis roe are reimagining vegan cuisine and zero waste menu design to celebrate flavor, texture, sustainability, and the magic that comes from sourcing locally and growing our own food.
The Plot is now using Rob’s locally grown wheat in their menus. It matches their own vision for locally grown real food.
Co-Founder of The Plot Garden Project: a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting healthy and resilient communities through urban food production, education and innovation. a space built to educate, grow, and expand upon the mission of the plot restaurant while connecting our community with their source of food.
Following registration, there will be a link to fill out a Bio so we can get to know you before the event, and so other guests can see who’s coming.
We’d love to actually hear from you the Heirloom Way, with an old-fashioned telephone call in lieu of the online questionnaire. You get to chose!
Send us a text @ (760) 410- 8222 to set up a time to chat with one of our members.
If you’ve landed here, we believe you want to see San Diego thrive as much as we do. We look forward to seeing how we may weave our efforts, increase our impact, and make notable change.
Until then!
The SD Heirloom Living Family
By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of San Diego Climate Week and our event platform partner, Climatebase. Your information will not be shared with third parties.