Apr 28, 2026
At the Orangevale and Fair Oaks Food Bank Farm, I watch volunteers reach for boxes and sort homegrown lettuce, broccoli and oranges grown on local trees. Canned goods and cartons of milk donated by local stores are readied for clients.
The food bank and farm bring together the best selections from the region’s bounty.
Let’s meet Brad Squires, CEO of the Orangevale-Fair Oaks Community Foundation, Angela Lee, director of foundation operations, and farm manager Lacey Yuke. Together they maintain the food bank and farm with other members and volunteers.
The nonprofit organization transformed a gravel parking lot into an acre that produces healthy food for the community.
Mar 28, 2026
You can’t talk to local farmers without somebody mentioning Next Generation Foods.
With packing operations in West Sacramento and fields in Yuba and Sutter counties, Next Generation is a grower and distributor that supplies restaurants and venues with rice, beans, quinoa, even popcorn.
The company has supplied Chef Billy Ngo’s Kru and his other restaurants for almost 20 years. Next Generation serves The Kitchen, Mulvaney’s and UC Davis Medical Center. Popcorn at Golden 1 Center comes from Pleasant Grove Farms via Next Generation.
I talked to Next Generation founder and owner Michael Bosworth and learned how his company helps sustain the farm-to-fork culture.
Mar 1, 2026
Binh Đào and his uncle, Tuong Đào, opened Đào Distillery and tasting room in 2024 to “better serve our community and bring awareness to Vietnamese culture,” Binh says.
At the distillery and tasting room, customers try a traditional Vietnamese rice liquor from the Mekong Delta called rượu đế.
Similar to Japanese shochu or strong sake, the drink was considered moonshine in Vietnam. The Rancho Cordova distillery produces eight variations.
For the Đào family, getting to Sacramento was an epic ordeal.
Jan 28, 2026
At Omakase Por Favor, chef and owner Jeana Marie Pecha and crew offer a Japanese inspired take on coastal Mexican cuisine fueled by local purveyors.
In Japanese, omakase means, “I leave it up to you.” In other words, trust the chef.
Pecha grew up in Roseville. A formative experience was a trip to Manzanillo, Mexico, to study with Chef Freddy Ahlert.
Dec 28, 2025
Liz and Markus Bokisch created a bucolic, organic and sustainable wine oasis where Spanish roots shine in vine after vine.
Burgundy and amber grapevines tangle against each other. Liz and Markus exchange stories of their years working the land in California and Spain.
Bokisch Vineyards and tasting room in Clements Hills east of Lodi showcase the Spanish varieties Markus helped introduce to the U.S. in the 1990s. He grew up in La Jolla, but his mom is from La Rapita, a fishing village on Spain’s Catalan coast.
Nov 28, 2025
Sacramento’s glide path to all-star status in the food world gained momentum when the Terra Madre Americas conference took over SAFE Credit Union Convention Center and surrounding Downtown streets for three days in September.
Food was the focus for thousands of ranchers, farmers, vintners, distillers, chefs and community members, all sharing ideas for more environmentally responsible, productive and sustainable ways to grow and consume food.
Booths featured all things food, including olive oil, cheese, wine and spirits, ranching, fruit production, restaurants and policy experts. Renowned chefs Alice Waters, Ann Cooper and Jeremiah Tower, along with local grocery stars Darrell Corti and Danny Taylor, spoke at free public seminars.
