Blog

The Co-op has been building strong relationships with local farmers and ranchers for over 45 years, so of course we love Farm to Fork month! We feel the solidarity when the rest of Sacramento joins us to celebrate the folks who work so hard to steward the land and nourish us.

So if you’d like to dig in and learn more about our local farmers and ranchers and other programs that support our local farmers, we’ve rounded up a list of podcast episodes featuring these fine folks.

Good Humus Produce — Listen Now

Jeff and Annie Main started Good Humus Produce in the Hungry Hollow near the Capay Valley over 40 years ago. The dedication and passion for honoring the land they tend to is such an inspiration!

Javier Zamora from JSM Organics — Listen Now

If you’ve ever bought a strawberry from the Co-op in the last several years, it was probably from JSM! Javier started his farm on one acre in 2011 and since then, his farm has grown in diversity and acreage, and Javier has been a leader in the organic farming movement in countless ways.

Shawn and Janet from Soil Born Farms — Listen Now

Soil Born Farms is an urban farm that has provided fresh organic produce to the Sacramento region for nearly 20 years. But Soil Born is much more than a working farm, it’s an educational hub in the community, offering training and inspiration to aspiring farmers, home gardeners, teachers, cooks, herbalists, and kids of all ages. 

D.E. Boldt — Listen Now

D.E. Boldt is a small 5th generation family farm in California’s Central Valley, growing consistently delicious organic peaches, plums and nectarines. Their fruit is harvested daily at peak maturity and packed at their farm.

Spreadwing and Kitchen Table Advisors — Listen Now

Spreadwing Farm is a 15 acre organic farm at the top of the Capay Valley in the town of Rumsey. Owned and operated by two families, Spreadwing farm offers a wide variety of vegetables and fruit to Sacramento residents at the Co-op and the Sunday Farmers Market. 

Kitchen Table Advisors (KTA) is a nonprofit organization that offers practical business advising and relationship building at no cost to its farmer clients. Spreadwing has been one of KTA’s clients since early 2018. 

Dru Rivers from Full Belly Farm — Listen Now

Full Belly Farm is a beautifully diverse organic farm near the Capay Valley town of Guinda, about an hour from the Co-op. We have been working with Full Belly for over thirty years, and are proud to offer their vegetables, nuts, flowers and more—year-round in our Produce Department. Dru Rivers is one of the farm’s founding partners, and among her many roles, she is instrumental in the production of one of the farm’s most beautiful crops – its flowers.

Claire Tauzer from Sola Bee Farms Honey — Listen Now

Sola Bee Farms is a family owned and operated solar-powered honey bee farm based in Woodland. It began as a way to offer the family beekeeping business a way to sell their pure, raw honey directly to their customers, including Co-op shoppers. 

Linda Easton from Gully Rumpus Farm — Listen Now

Linda Easton joins us from GullyRumpus Farm, a 2.5 acre farm in Rio Linda. Farmer Linda has been raising chickens for more than two decades and now also raises Japanese quail. We are lucky to have her quail eggs for sale at the Co-op!

Richards Ranch — Listen Now

Richards Ranch is a 4th generation family operation based in Yuba County, California. Their cattle are grass-fed and grass-finished, certified by the American Grassfed Association, and the first beef company on the west coast to receive the Savory Institute’s Ecological Outcome Verified certificate.

Kaben from Tenderly Rooted Sprouted Walnuts — Listen Now

Kaben, Jen and their two children farm and sprout their walnuts on a 60-acre farm in Northern California. They are the 4th generation to farm this land and Kaben considers himself a “sun and soil farmer” first and foremost. They’re using regenerative practices to enrich the soil and Kaben talks about the challenges and joys of farming.

Jim Etters from Seka Hills Olive Oil — Listen Now

Jim Etters has been involved in farming, ranching and outdoor activities his entire life. 

In selecting Seka Hills as the name for their line of premium tribal products, they honor the blue hills that overlook their homeland in Northern California’s Capay Valley. 

Mark Keller from Keller Crafted Meats — Listen Now

Mark Keller is the owner of Keller Crafted Meats, makers of fine charcuterie, hot dogs, ham and bacon. He is also a champion of independent farmers and ranchers who treat the land, their animals and their communities with care and a long range vision for the future.

Sara Bernal from West Sac Urban Farm Program — Listen Now

Sara Bernal is the Program Manager for the Center for Land-Based Learning’s West Sacramento Urban Farm Program, an urban farm business incubator and part of the Center’s California Farm Academy. Sara got into farming after seven years as a social worker working with homeless adults and families. She sees good food as a right, not a privilege and is working to make healthy food more accessible.

Paul Towers from Community Alliance with Family Farmers — Listen Now

Community Alliance with Family Farmers has been supporting small farms and promoting sustainable agriculture since 1978. We chat with our friend Paul Towers about the past, present and future of CAFF and how they help to grow more resilient family farms, communities and ecosystems.

Capay Valley Agrarian Commons — Listen Now

Today we welcome a couple of old friends of the Co-op who are working together on a new project to secure farmland for farmers in the Capay Valley. 

Kendra Johnson has been working on farmland access and conservation for over 15 years, with California Farm Link and most recently Agrarian Trust. With our Co-op and the One Farm at a Time campaign, she helped permanently protect Good Humus Produce for food production and affordable access for future generations of farmers. 

Paul Muller is one of the founding partners at Full Belly Farm, a leader in the organic farming movement and an innovator in regenerative agriculture. He is now working with the next generation at Full Belly, where three of his children are stewarding the farm into the future.