By Carolanne Boughton, Staff Writer
Starting on Saturday, September 27, thousands of people packed the streets of the Capitol Mall in support of the Farm-to-Fork movement. The event was packed with organization tents, food trucks, and live performers. Admission to the event was completely free and several booths offered free food. The celebration was the second year of the festival, illustrating Sacramento’s desire to rebrand itself as the farm-to-fork mecca of the country.
Less than twenty-four hours before the event began on Saturday, Governor Brown signed a bill establishing a California farm-to-fork office. A goal of the office is to help school nutrition directors find agricultural products from local sources that meet the new guidelines set by the USDA for school food. Another focus of the office will be to help neighborhoods, usually in low-income areas that lack the access to fresh produce and groceries, find locally-sourced food. Governor Brown, with the establishment of this office, hopes to improve nutritional understanding and acceptance of the importance of a balanced diet among children. The goal is to develop lifelong healthy eating habits through awareness and education. This bill was one of seven bills related to agriculture and food that the Governor signed on the 26th.
The Farm-to-Fork organization “is a year-round endeavor and collaborative process with the area’s chefs, farmers and growers.” The campaign states its mission to be “to bring awareness to the Sacramento region’s local food production, consumption and sustainability as well as the contribution and exportation of sustainable products to the rest of the nation and world.” The movement in Sacramento is meant to form a regional identity, by having the greater Sacramento area connected by its “local sustainability and food production.”
The organization thinks Sacramento is a worthy leader of this movement because it is the capital city to the largest producing state of agriculture in the country. Sacramento prides itself on being “home to the largest Certified Farmers’ Market” in California and offers “the most ethnically diversified market in both produce offerings and customer demographics.” Local restaurants take advantage of the vast availability of local produce. Farms also provide for businesses and establishments across the country.
The festival drew a huge crowd to Sacramento, which provided a boost in business for local restaurants and hotels in the area. Hopefully the movement will continue to grow, with Sacramento as the epicenter. Farm-to-Fork is bringing people from the greater Sacramento area closer to their agricultural community and better informing them of where their food comes from. Through awareness and community development, the lifestyle of Sacramentans has an opportunity to improve and become more sustainable.