The culinary community is once again coming together to help one of their own. On October 1, Kim Shaw, owner of Small City Farm, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She’ll begin an 18-week treatment that includes six rounds of chemotherapy to combat the disease.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Shaw and her husband, Rohan, with the $10,000+ medical bills they’re anticipating. It has been circulating widely on social media as chefs and foodies share the news about their friend and colleague. You can donate to the GoFundMe here. 

Farming is not a lucrative business, and even though the couple has insurance through Rohan’s employer, Shaw says the bills are astonishing. We recently interviewed Shaw for a story on how the recent draught was making this fall a struggle.

Work on the farm will continue, a testament to Shaw’s toughness and perseverance. Her chemo treatment will be on Mondays, and her week will continue with restaurant work on Tuesdays, managing the farm’s CSA on Wednesdays, and deliver to Freshlist on Thursdays, though they have offered to pick up her product. The farm’s fall crop has already been seeded, and she’s hoping to beat cancer before the spring comes.

Recently, fundraisers were also set up for Dressler’s bartender JoAn Cook after a car accident and Kristi Martin, owner of FEAST Food Tours, after her leukemia diagnosis. —Kristen Wile