Even though this year’s annual Farm-to-Fork Festival has been canceled due to COVID-19, the harvest events, which include the Farm-to-Fork Street Festival on Capitol Mall, Legends of Wine and Tower Bridge Dinner, are set to return next September.

Since 2013, the Farm-to-Fork Street Festival has developed into a popular two-day event highlighting Sacramento’s agricultural legacy and attracting more than 155,000 residents and visitors. The free open-air jamboree features musical artists, local food vendors, regional wines, craft beer, cooking demonstrations and more.

Two children gently plant strawberry seeds in a bed of soft earth while their mother waters the persimmon tree nearby. It is therapeutic, restorative, peaceful. During these uncertain times, many families have turned to their own backyards to create a haven of fruits and veggies while gaining healthy life lessons and skills.

In the backyard of their Arden-Arcade home, Shani Drake and her two children, 5-year-old Jenevieve and 12-year-old Desean, have created a vibrant plot of earth teeming with Mexicola avocados, fava beans, strawberries, elderberries, rosemary, sorrel and purple potatoes.

If coronavirus patients arrive at the Alternate Care Facility in Sleep Train Arena, they won’t have to settle for traditional hospital food. Meals at the old arena—leased by the Kings to the state for $500,000 a month—are provided by Legends Hospitality, the NBA team’s food vendor.

Coffee, as simple as it may sound, is an essential part of many people’s lives. When Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order in March required all non-essential businesses to cease operations to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, an abrupt halt came to daily routines. No more sitting in cafes sipping hot pour-overs, nor chatting with friends over cranberry scones and lattes.

The mandate threatened not only local businesses, bars and cafes, but also their suppliers such as farmers who sell green coffee beans. Most of Sacramento’s local coffee shops have been able to remain open by offering to-go and curbside-pickup, but the impact has been heavy on coffee roasters and farmers.

It’s a brisk Sunday morning and the farmers market at 8th and W streets is already alive with a confluence of characters. Young families with strollers, college students in knitted sweaters and loyal patrons carrying baskets all buzz from booth to booth collecting organic acorn squash, cage-free brown eggs and lightly bruised oranges.

A young man and woman meander down the center corridor doting over a heap of broccoli with a wagging corgi in tow on a short leash. Passersby gesture to the sandy-colored dog with giddy chuckles and small gasps of amusement. When a balding gentleman in jeans and a plaid jacket strides up and gently pushes a piece of paper into the man’s hand, they all smile politely.