Urban agriculture comes to West Sacramento

  • 2014-06-30
When West Sacramento puts in its next brochure or flyer printing order, it can add ‘farm incubator’ to its list of attractive opportunities for residents.

The city has joined forced with the Center for Land-Based Learning to implement a novel approach to fresh food access, ‘pop-up’ urban farming. After harvesting the first crop of radishes from the first West Sacramento gardening site, Mayor Christopher Cabaldon commented:

"This project is about connecting communities to the food system and understanding where our food comes from."

The radishes were planted in plot that sits on a double-sized lot measuring two-thirds of an acre. In the 1960s, the site was home to a gas station. According to Mary Kimball, executive director of the Center for Land-Based Learning, this site is just the beginning. At least three other properties in the city are being considered for similar cultivation.

Ideally, the program will provide a transitional farming experience for individuals interested in becoming farmers and graduates of the center’s California Farm Academy. Harvested foods will be sold at area farmers markets and sold to restaurants.

If the experimental program is successful, Kimball believes urban farms could potentially become enduring features of the West Sacramento landscape. She commented:

"Many cities are taking on urban agriculture wholeheartedly."

The business community has also shown support for the farming initiative; Wells Fargo and Community Business Bank provided financial support for the new venture.