Nov 1, 2018
Let me introduce you to Kelly Siefkin. She’s vice president of communications and marketing for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. She talks fast, and is quick with numbers and statistics, so I’m struggling to keep up. Today, she’s wearing a green-patterned dress with green earrings and black flats, and carrying her cell phone. We’re touring the food bank campus on Bell Avenue—110,000 square feet on 12 acres. It’s a big facility, but the food bank feeds a lot of hungry people in and around the farm-to-fork capital.
Oct 1, 2018
August is harvest time in the hop fields of California, so Rohit Nayyar has left the air-conditioned comfort of his RoCo Taproom & Bottleshop in West Sacramento to brave the sweltering Yuba City heat. “During the hops season, it’s all hands on deck,” says Nayyar, who is more known for selling and pouring beers than for harvesting their raw ingredients. However, growing hops has also increased Nayyar’s appreciation of how they eventually get used by brewers. “You’ll understand how many hours go into growing these hops, just to get the one pint of beer.”
Sep 1, 2018
Frank Sinatra is singing “The Way You Look Tonight.” At least I think it’s Sinatra. The music has a decidedly Italian vibe, which makes sense because I’m here this evening to learn how to make an Italian dinner. What makes this meal Italian? It could be the dried oregano or fresh parsley in the veggie burgers. It could be the homemade basil buns, herb-and-rice-stuffed tomatoes or raspberry Italian sodas.
Aug 1, 2018
Very few of their neighbors know what Randy Stannard and Sarah McCamman are growing in the backyard of a house on 64th Street. Behind the unassuming and slightly worn Tallac Village neighborhood home, on a 1-acre piece of land stretching all the way back to 65th Street, Stannard and McCamman have transformed a once-neglected yard into a burgeoning urban farm known as Root 64.
Jul 1, 2018
Andrea Seppinni loves dessert. About two years ago, she founded Conscious Creamery with her husband, Kevin. Their company makes artisanal gelato without dairy, eggs, mixes, artificial fillers, emulsifiers or stabilizers. Rotating crops of flavors are crafted from cashew cream, sugar and fresh, usually local fruit.
Jun 1, 2018
When Vincent Sterne opened Two Rivers Cider Co. in 1996, it was one of the first craft cider companies in California to make its product from fresh fruit instead of concentrate. A David fighting many Goliaths, Two Rivers needed to stand out to compete with the industrial ciders imported from England and Canada. Following the lead of the always-innovating craft beer industry, Sterne decided to buck convention by adding pressed juice from locally sourced fruit into his dry apple ciders.
