River City Food Bank has been providing the community with nourishment and compassion since 1968. Two years ago this month, the nonprofit opened an additional site in Arden-Arcade at The Center at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church on Edison Avenue to further alleviate hunger in the Sacramento community.
“We planned to serve 15,000 clients (at the St. Matthew’s site),” says Amanda McCarthy, executive director of River City Food Bank. “But we served 44,000 in 2018, half of them children.” This year, the food bank expects to distribute 450,000 pounds of food and serve 70,000 clients.
As the farm-to-fork capital, Sacramento is devoted to fresh, local, sustainable farming and food. But what happens after the “farm” reaches the “fork?” To bring the fork back to the farm and complete the natural cycle of composting, David Baker developed ReSoil Sacramento.
Peacefully planted beyond the doors of the Capital Public Radio building at Sacramento State is an inviting space covered with vibrant, leafy green and yellow vegetables, blossoming apple trees and happily humming honeybee colonies.
The CapRadio Garden sprouted out of an idea from Craig McMurray, CapRadio director of foundation and corporate development, in 2014 to directly address some major environmental issues, such as water, land use, nutrition, conservation and wildlife.
The olive industry in California, one of the world’s newest regions of olive growth, has developed into a flourishing agricultural field. In the Sacramento area especially, olive tree yields and production have grown dramatically within the last 20 years.
When the water tower off of Interstate 5 changed its trademark to “America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital” in 2017, replacing its longstanding “City of Trees” identity, it stirred debate among many Sacramentans. Was this just another attempt at rebranding the city at a time when mega arenas such as the Golden 1 Center were underway, which might propel Sacramento into a true destination for tourists?
In Sacramento, farmers market season is pretty much year-round. But in May, many seasonal open-air markets really start to sprout. With dozens of choices to snag sun-kissed berries and crisp veggies, I wanted to share my favorite markets to visit throughout the farm-to-fork capital. Each market has its own unique features, especially those that blend artisan vendors with local farm stands.
