Farm To Fork

Good Eats For All

THERE’S NOTHING ELITIST ABOUT FARM-TO-FORK NUTRITION

There’s a myth about fi ne food and the farm-to-fork philosophy. It suggests the fresh and local approach is elitist, reserved for residents who earn enough money to be picky about food.

The myth goes that poor people are resigned to shop at cheap grocery stores, where they depend on processed, obesityproducing industrial food.

In Sacramento, hub of the farm-to-fork movement and part of the fertile valley that produces much of America’s food, we can prove this myth false. We can fi ght for food equity on behalf of everyone.

By addressing poor nourishment and ensuring easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables, we support a region where minds and bodies grow to full potential, benefi ting the entire community.

A physically healthy and strong region built on nourishment thrives despite

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By Gabrielle Myers Photography by Aniko Kiezel Farm To Fork

recession, a pandemic, and social and political unrest.

A pioneer of local food equity and security has quietly mentored and provided land access to lower-income farmers while distributing farm-fresh produce, along with pantry staples, to people hit hard by the pandemic and poverty.

In 2014, the Center for Land-Based Learning started the fi rst leg of the West Sacramento Urban Farm, led by former program manager Sara Bernal. Success inspired four more locations after the original at Fifth and C streets in West Sac.

Each farm has irrigation systems, aggregation areas, and wash and pack sites. A tool lending library and shared walk-in cooler are important features. The farms are leased to people who want to start a small, ag-based business. These future farmers are mentored throughout the process and receive links to farmstands and grocery stores.

So far, 21 people have gone through the program. Five farmers currently work the sites.

“If we want urban farms to help cure food-security issues, they must be subsidized,” says Bernal, noting fi nancial help can come from local governments, partner agencies and fundraising.

Another key element of West Sac Urban Farm’s success in the fi ght for food equity

Assisting with Mobile Farmers Market are Rachel Pattison, Heather Lyon and Khristine Pintor.

is the Mobile Farmers Market. For two years, the mobile market has visited housing complexes and city parks, offering farm-fresh, organic produce and pantry staples.

With two stops on Tuesdays and two more on Thursdays, each reaching “food deserts” in Broderick and Bryte, the mobile market provides access to nourishment for residents who are unable to drive to fi nd it.

The mobile market accepts CalFresh benefi ts and offers a 50-percent discount. Eighty percent of the mobile market sales are based on CalFresh support.

With cookbooks in English and Spanish, recipe cards with seasonal produce, general health education materials and live cooking demonstrations, the mobile market is more than a farmers market on wheels. It’s a rolling center for nutritional health and knowledge.

In addition to providing access to organic produce, West Sac Urban Farm has become an educational center where future farm-to-fork leaders from lower-income communities are trained and mentored.

The Community Food Project’s Ambassadors Program recruits residents from affordable housing. Ambassadors learn about healthy food, our food system, the lack of access for low-income households and principles behind food equity.

With two-hour classes every Tuesday, a stipend of $20 an hour to work on the mobile market and a commitment of eight hours a week, each ambassador’s contribution is valued. Ambassadors are asked to offer solutions gathered from their communities and personal experiences.

Each ambassador has experience with poverty and a lack of access to healthy food. Solutions supported by the community are collected by Urban Farm and Center for Land-Based Learning and used to “advocate for change on the governmental level.”

“The leadership, talent and inherent potential that our residents all have hold many answers to the issues we face today,” Bernal says.

With society’s growing acknowledgement of systemic racism and its impacts on socioeconomic inequity, programs such as Urban Farm are models for new, more sustainable and caring systems where everyone prospers.

For information on West Sac Urban Farm, visit landbasedlearning.org.

Gabrielle Myers can be reached at gabriellemyers11@gmail.com. Her latest book of poetry, “Too Many Seeds,” can be ordered from fi shinglinepress. com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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1 Toot your own horn 5 Waffle brand 9 Sound of a perfect basketball shot 14 Put to sleep, perhaps 15 Queen consort of

Jordan 16 Japanese bread crumbs 17 *“You kids hush now!” 19 Muppet with a rubber duckie 20 Gambler’s wager 21 Genome molecule 22 Game of checkers? 23 Back talk 25 Ingredient in fries, informally 27 “Dropped” drug 30 *Flying saucer’s purpose 34 Artist Yoko 35 Christmas lights might hang from one 36 “Mad Men” hat 37 Gear teeth 39 Psychic power, briefly 41 Knighted fellows 42 Impede 45 Part of B.A. 48 Army bed 49 *When college students may hit the beach 51 Triage ctrs. 52 En pointe, in ballet 53 “Judge” of taste 55 It floats up the flue 57 He/him/___ 59 Big name in cubism? 63 Alumnae, e.g. 64 *Complete 180 (Note:

The title hints at what can follow both words of each starred clue’s answer) 66 Declares 67 Diagram type with circles 68 Cut loose 69 Unlike this clue, which is far too wordy and could have simply been just

“curt” 70 CEO, CFO,

COO or CTO 71 “I’ve ___ better”

DOWN

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Klingon 5 Finish 6 *“Talked your way out of that!” 7 Oscar night dress 8 Lavishly decorated 9 Titular org. in a 2015 Bond film 10 “Extreme

Sour” candies 11 What only you can hear 12 Goes down a snowy hill, say 13 Tools to break up soil 18 Taunt 24 The aptly named business

Face It, for one 26 DOJ division 27 Bodies of water that sound secure 28 Be nosy 29 One who makes a boxer look smart? 31 Labor activist

Chavez 32 Editor’s catch 33 Isn’t just a fad 38 Bad eggs or rotten eggs 40 *“To continue in English, ___” 43 Like a strong feeling 44 “The GOAT” hides it 46 “The Joy

Luck Club” author Amy 47 Hybrid activewear garment 50 “Act nice!” 54 Polishes 55 Sultan of ___ (Babe Ruth nickname) 56 “You’re in my way!” 58 Goat with curved horns 60 Naked 61 Slushy treat 62 Avid 65 Tar Heels’ sch.

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