Backyard chickens. Frontyard gardens. Crop swaps. Fruit gleaning. The Good Food Movement, or movement towards a sustainable food and food production, is growing in Sacramento. And residents are seizing on the City's soils and politics to make Sacramento a living laboratory for a new wave of urban agriculture.

"Urban agriculture is providing the forum for a larger social discussion," said Jennifer Lee of EAT Sacramento in an email. "Sacramentans increasingly understand that how we eat and how we grow has profound implications for our health, our communities and our environment."

On July 11th, these efforts will culminate in Urban Ag Day.  Participants will have an opportunity to ride their bike around town and visit examples of Sacramento's urban agriculture through the "What's Growing On?" bike tour, watch films like FRESH, and participate in workshops on composting and gardening. These tour stops and events will take place largely in Midtown and Oak Park, some of the greatest hotspots of Sacramento's Urban Ag movement.

Later that evening, at the Common Table celebration, participants will have an opportunity to eat a multi-course local and organic meal in the Fremont Community Garden, and listen to movement speakers, including Brahm Ahmadi of the People's Grocery. According to event organizers, tickets are limited and selling quickly. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the Sacramento Hunger Coalition and Sacramento Area Community Garden Coalition.

The event is more than just a fundraiser. According to a Slow Food Sacramento press release, "the goal is to raise awareness about local urban gardening and food programs, as well as to advocate for improved city, county and state food policies that enable more locally grown foods in urban locations." These goals touch on those recently outlined by

in the paper "Food Access in the Sacramento Region," and speak to the shake-up taking place in the food system.

Urban Ag Day also demonstrates how a diverse coalition of organizations is contributing to the Good Food Movement. Slow Food Sacramento, the Sacramento Hunger Coalition, the Sacramento Area Community Garden Coalition, Pesticide Watch Education Fund, the Health Education Council are all participating in the event.

Tickets to the day's activities can be purchased through Slow Food Sacramento.

George Jackson is an intern with Pesticide-Free Sacramento