Media Advisory for Oct 23rd

Coalition of Farmers and Nonprofits Showcase Urban Agriculture in

South Sacramento
Urban Farmers Want to Sell Produce Grown in Sacramento, Call on Officials to Pass Laws
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 23, 2014) The Sacramento Urban Agriculture Coalition is
hosting a tour of two urban agriculture operations in South Sacramentos Oak Park neighborhood
to highlight the stories of farmers and community members and to push for new laws that would
promote farming in the City and County of Sacramento. This tour is being organized to
demonstrate the different forms urban agriculture can take; from revenue-generating urban
homesteads to the conversions of long-neglected, vacant lots.
The Coalition has already presented a proposal to elected members of the Sacramento City
Council and the County Board of Supervisors and received support for ordinances that would
increase economic opportunities, improve food security, and make neighborhoods safer by
addressing blighted, vacant lots. Coalition members are calling on both the City and County to
take action and advance laws by years end.
Urban agriculture has enjoyed general support and coalition members are encouraging
policymakers to uphold several key principals, including:
Allowing for the on-site sale of produce grown by urban farmers.
Ensuring that economically-viable urban agriculture is allowed both on vacant lots as
well as lots where people live.
Taking advantage of state laws to incentivize agriculture on vacant lots in urban areas.
Aligning City and County policies for an equitable, consistent regulatory system.
The tour will begin at an urban homestead in Sacramento County, Yisrael Family Farms. The
Yisrael Family Farms is an urban homestead producing organic vegetables, fruits, and nuts for
both family sustenance and community education.
Following the farm tour, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment will
celebrate the makeover of a once-abandoned vacant lot that has become a vibrant community
garden, a vision for similar lots and alleys throughout Oak Park and South Sacramento.
Members of the Sacramento Urban Agriculture Coalition will be in attendance including Ubuntu
Green, Pesticide Action Network North America, Sacramentans for Sustainable Community
Agriculture, Soil Born Farms, Alchemist Community Development Corporation, and the
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.
For more information, please visit http://www.ubuntugreen.org/advocacy-urban-agriculture.
Event: Sacramento Urban Agriculture Farm Tour
Who: Urban Farmers, Local Nonprofit Organizations, and Community Members
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2014
Locations:
1) Yisrael Family Farms, 4505 Roosevelt Ave., Sacramento @ 3:30 p.m.
2) Community-Led Vacant Lot Conversion, 44
th
St. & 11
th
Avenue, Sacramento @ 5:00 p.m.

Contacts:
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Amelia Garduno, (916) 572-4495
Sacramentans for Sustainable Community Agriculture Matt Read, (503) 302-5408