The growing season is over. In the California capital, dead autumn leaves lay heavy on the damp, manicured lawns of Sacramento City College as students learn that through death, something else will eat. City Farm, Sacramento City College’s organic urban farm, concluded its first semester cultivating students into stewards of the land outside of Lillard Hall on Dec. 2 with an experiential learning experience—naturally recycling organic waste to create healthy, valuable, nutrient-rich compost for the next growing season. “It's also called ecologically intelligent design,” says Robyn Waxman, City Farm faculty coordinator and graphic communication instructor. “Instead of taking, making and

  A deadly fungus that has killed about a million bats on the east coast, known as white nose syndrome, has local biologists worried because it's spreading westward. They're uncertain, however, whether the fungus, which relies on cold temperatures, will mutate into something that can survive warmer Sacramento-like winters, explained Winston Lancaster, an associate professor of biological sciences at Sacramento State University who has been studying bats since the 1980s. “What's the greater likelihood is that it will be different. We just don't know what to expect,” Lancaster said. “So there is good reason to believe that in a drier climate and in an open sort of roost, like we have in

  Sunday evening Patrick Mulvaney couldn’t be found in the Mulvaney’s B&L kitchen. Instead, the chef and restaurateur was at Time Tested Books with Shawn Harrison, executive director of Soil Born Farms, discussing local agriculture as part of The Sacramento Living Library series. The series is presented by Midtown Monthly and Time Tested Books. Tim Foster, editor of Midtown Monthly, moderated the talk. Harrison began the conversation with the historical context of Sacramento’s agriculture addressing the question: Why it is the way it is? “Farmers were unable to sell their crops in Sacramento because there was not a huge demand for those crops so they went elsewhere,” said Harrison. Mu

Friday, February 4, 2011, the birthday of Rosa Louise McCauley Parks is our official kick-off for Rosa Parks Day in California featuring “Let’s Move !! Food as Medicine” and challenge our “Faith Based Partners” toward implementation of Healthy Solutions in California to met the economic challenges of diet related disease impacting our entire community, especially the youth. On Saturday, February 5, 2011, at the California State Capitol, our Rosa Parks Day Celebration ~ International Year for People of African Descent will honor regional community youth who demonstrate the faith and courage of Rosa Parks featuring a key note address by Delaine Eastin, former California State Superintendent

What do farms in our region have to do with the quality of life in your community? Where we build homes and which roads we invest in affect urban and rural communities equally. The Rural-Urban Connections Strategy is the next step in implementing the Blueprint, the region's vision for growth promoting housing and transportation choices, use of existing assets, and natural resources conservation. On December 10, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments is holding a regional forum on the Rural-Urban Connections Strategy, a project looking at how to keep rural communities rural, farmers farming, and protect our natural resources. It's also looking at how to increase access to local food. 

Saturday’s AgNewMedia Conference at the University of California, Davis, taught farmers the importance of social media and how to use it to further their goals. The conference was a product of academics like Anne King, Patricia Bailey, and Melissa Jordan along with a non-stop team realizing there was a disconnect in communication in the agricultural industry. Social Media Revolution - You Tube Video As a well versed social media maven, and a 3rd generation citrus farmer, I believe there's a separation I'm finding with farmers abilities to communicate what their seeing to their consumers, they have so much information but not the tools to deliver it. This conference began bridging the ga

The Sacramento region is home to over 2 million people, but did you know that farms in our area contribute over $2 billion to our economy? And of all that food, only about 2% is consumed locally? On December 10, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments is holding a regional forum on the Rural-Urban Connections Strategy, a project looking at how to keep rural communities rural, farmers farming, and protect our natural resources. The event will take place at the Sacramento Convention Center from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and it's free. A locally focused breakfast will be served as well. SACOG is best known for the Blueprint, a bold vision for growth that promotes compact, mixed-use develo

"It’s about a wood-burning oven, which will make so much more than pizzas," claimed Mary Kimball, executive director of the Center for Land-Based Learning at Sunday's inaugural Dinner on the Farm. The Center for Land-Based Learning aims to inspire and motivate people of all ages, especially youth, to promote a healthy interplay between agriculture, nature, and society through their actions and as leaders in their communities. They do this through engaging elementary- and high-school children about agriculture and cooking in a farm setting. When invited to this dinner, I originally thought I was looking at another form of urban agriculture project, but this seems to be going far beyond

Slow Food Sacramento and Movies On a Big Screen will present the documentary film Lunch Line at the Guild Theater Sunday, September 26th at 7:00 PM.  Admission is $6, and tickets are available at the door.  The Guild Theater is located at 2828 35th Street, Sacramento. Lunch Line begins by telling the story of a group of Chicago high school students who have just won a contest to cook up a healthier school lunch.  The students get to travel to Washington, D.C. and prepare their winning menu for policy makers.  The film goes on to document the history of America’s 64-year-old school lunch program and to examine the difficulties in making substantive changes to it. Following the film, there

A sold-out class of about 15 budding farmers visited the non-profit American River Ranch in Rancho Cordova Saturday and Sunday to learn about small-scale farming. Students paid $150 to attend the two-day, hands-on class, which covered the knowledge needed to plan and run a farm smaller than 20 acres. The class, titled “Grow Your Groceries,” served one of the farm’s missions, which is to educate the community about how to use its land. The American River Ranch is the 25-acre headquarters for Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture and Education Project, who hosted the class along with the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. The students were happy to oblige the farm’s mission as they bombarded the f

Hungry? How about a slow-roasted pork roast with peppers, pink-eyed peas with Italian sausage and tomatoes, and then some roasted figs, peaches and raspberries with creme fraiche for dessert? Still not hungry? Grange Restaurant & Bar will host a dinner/book signing Aug. 18 with Joanne Neft and chef Laura Kenny, authors of "Placer County Real Food: Recipes and Menus for Every Week of the Year," where they will serve the above dishes and others, all prepared with ingredients from Placer County’s farmers’ markets. Neft and Kenny spent 2009 hosting dinner parties every Monday evening where they treated guests to dishes prepared with local, seasonal ingredients. Neft has been involved in Pl

Opening day at the Fremont Farmers Market was full of great looking tomatoes, asparagus, onions, potatoes, carrots and other vegies, strawberries, oranges, cherries, blueberries, breads, huge cookies and lots of great lunchtime eats such as crepes, mexican food, gyros. And the olfactory sensation of great lavender from El Dorado Lavendar Farm. Please see www.sacramentopress.com/headline/26191/More_farmers_markets_begin_opening_today for more details. SacPress Photos | Kati Garner  

Fresh produce from Farmer's markets are a sweet taste of the Sacramento community, especially in the hot summer months. Farmer's markets are about to kick off the summer season with a colorful array of favorite fruits and vegetables, flowers and produce. Though flocks of people may arrive in shorts and skirts, by bicycle or walking under the city's famous trees, Sacramento farmer's markets supply local produce year-round. Dan Best, coordinator of Certified Farmers' Markets of Sacramento, said there is a significant jump in attendance during the summer. "It's because people are starting to buy more hand and mouth kind of fruit, like peaches," he said. "I think people who shop in the wint

Springtime will soon be in the air and you and your family are invited to get take a break from the 9 to 5 and city life to experience the awakening of life. The Center For Land-Based Learning at the Farm on Putah Creek is hosting Welcome Back Springtime at the Farm on Putah Creek Sunday March 28, 2010 from 10:00am – 4:00pm. The Center For Land-Based Learning is a non-profit whose stated mission is to “engage youth in learning experiences on the land that foster respect for the critical interplay of agriculture, nature and society.” Under the leadership of Mary Kimball, Executive Director, the Center uses a network of farms, ranches, and natural ecosystems as educational laboratories for

Kenneth Haff, President of the American Honey Producers Association (AHPA) sweeps a glance around the full event room at Hilton Sacramento Arden West and smiles. He is pleased with the turnout for AHPA’s 41st Annual National Convention, a three-day event hosting speakers and vendors from all across the country.   This is the second year Sacramento has served as the convention’s host city. Haff estimated that around 600 people registered for the convention, and about 37 vendors. Seminars included “The Honey Revolution – Restoring the Health of Future Generations” with Dr. Ron Fessenden of Colorado and The Sierra Club’s “Working to Protect Pollinators” with Dr. Neil Carman of Texas, to nam

Living in one of the world's most productive agricultural regions has its perks. Sacramento residents can stroll through a farmers market and buy fresh fruits and vegetables—and meet the farmer who grew them—year-round. By all accounts, the popularity of farmers markets is on the rise, not just in Sacramento, but nationwide. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are 4,800 farmers markets in operation, an increase of almost 400 markets since 2006. California is home to about 520 certified farmers markets, featuring the produce of nearly 3,000 farmers. Sales are up, too. California’s farmers markets took in $163 million in 2007 (the latest figure available), up from $114 milli

Come join us in celebrating 22 years of the Hoes Down Harvest Celebration in the Capay Valley (Yolo County).  This celebration will promote agricultural arts and sustainable rural living through two fun-filled days of workshops and events.  Located within two hours of San Francisco and Sacramento’s busy metropolitan areas, the rural Capay Valley region is home to many small farms that supply Northern California’s families, restaurants, and neighborhood grocery stores with fresh organic produce.  The Celebration will offer the public a special chance to enjoy rural life and deepen their understanding and connection to the local food system. On Saturday, October 3rd, the Harvest Festival at

In 2001, two-and-a-half-year-old Kevin Kowalcyk became a victim of food. His death was induced by hamburger meat contaminated with the E. coli bacteria. Kevin’s story is one of many issues discussed in Food, Inc., the recently released documentary directed by Robert Kenner. A special screening of the film was hosted by the Pesticide Watch Education Fund on Friday evening at the Crest Theatre. Food Inc. begins with an aerial shot of farmlands that transform into the packaging of a Farm Fresh product. The film discusses the modern food production industry’s tendency toward using an agrarian visage for goods manufactured in factories. Much of the data and research in the film is provided b

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 thei

Keep this in mind the next time you're trying to decide what to buy at the grocery store to stay healthy: Too much of what's sitting on shelves today isn't really food. It's nothing more than "edible substances." That's what best-selling author Michael Pollan told a sellout crowd during Wednesday night's California Lecture at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1300 N St. The Knight Professor of Journalism at University of California, Berkeley, has won national acclaim for such books as "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food." "What is food?" was just one of the questions Pollan addressed in a question-and-answer format led by California's food and ag czar, A.G. Kawamura. That suc