This past week I attended the Inaugural Farm Tank Summit in Sacramento, CA. It was a two day long summit focusing on the future of food and agriculture. The first day ran from 9am-5pm with keynote speakers and 5 different 1.5 hour long panels. The panels included Food Transparency, Food Tech, Infrastructure, Food Business, and Sustainable Protein.
The second day ran from 8am-4pm and we were able to choose a "track" to have some hands-on exploration. @victor-lucas and I chose the "Urban Farms" track. We spent the day touring 4 different urban farms, learning the various possibilities of merging agriculture with city life.
The first farm we visited was "Soil Born Farms" - an urban agriculture and education project. I was absolutely blown away by this farm and want to take you on a virtual tour.
The Farm Setup
Soil Born Farms is located on the American River and encompasses 55 acres (okay maybe it's a suburban farm). The land is actually owned by Sacramento County and is leased to Soil Born Farms. The land is nestled around urban development on one side and the river on the other side. In the distance, you can see the beautiful forest line that separates the western flatlands of California from the Sierra mountain range. And guess what?? They have access to the water from the American River! If you are not familiar with Calfornia's drought and scarcity of water, that access is huge!
Farming for the Youth
The Homeschool program
I think what amazed me most was their youth programs. Soil Born Farms produces a large amount of organic produce for the local community, but they also run a large and impressive education program. When we were on the tour I saw a group of 20 kids running around the "kids zone". They were a homeschool group that came every week for hands-on learning. I saw these kids running around and then planting seeds and I thought to myself - "I want to be 10 years old again with these opportunities!"
The Fieldtrip Program
For kids who are enrolled in school, they have many other opportunities as well. Educators can sign their students up for a one-time field trip, a four-part field trip package, or a ten-part field trip package. In their online description describing the four-part package they write:
"Four themed field trips (ranch or creek-based), ongoing service projects, healthy snacks, nature explorations, organic gardening, native plant propagation, river walks, guest speakers, youth-adult partnerships, and lessons relevant to agriculture and the environment in our bioregion."
They also have daytime summer camps where the kids go through the whole cycle - learning how to plant, weed, harvest, cook, and compost.
Apprenticeships
Soil Born Farms also integrates multiple apprenticeship programs into their farm. Our tour guide mentioned that they set their programs up to create a ladder of education that kids can climb up. The kids can start in their field trip programs, then apply to their junior apprenticeship program, then their first year apprenticeship program, then their advanced second year apprenticeship program. Their main program, the first year apprenticeship program, is 8 months long. The apprentices work full time along with 5-7 other young adults. The website states:
" Although most of the time is spent working directly with food production, apprentices also have the opportunity to work within the context of Soil Born Farms’ Education and Food Access programs. This blend of technical training, experiential field work, and community engagement makes our program a unique and powerful experience for all participants."
Why are these educational and apprenticeship programs so important?
Because...the average age of a farmer in the U.S. is 58 years old. Who is going to grow our food in the future??
The programs that Soil Born Farms offers are creating our future farmers. A country cannot exist without food. A country cannot exist without farmers. Many of these apprentices are first-generation farmers. What does that mean? They are largely young adults who grew up in an urban environment, who's parents worked office jobs. They did not grow up on a farm and did not have farmer relatives to teach them the trade. Soil Born Farms is providing that hands-on educational space for a dying art in the young generation.
Yes, I believe farming is art - because food is an aesthetic experience that deeply connects us to and shapes our culture, and because working the land for food is a process of creation.
The Animals
On our tour, we were greeted by many chickens and pigs. I found this part of the tour to be crucial. The tour guide explained that we are often so disconnected from our meat because we never see live pigs, cows, or chickens up close. While it may be uncomfortable to look our future dinner in the eyes, it provides a valuable connection to our food. The pig in the photo above will be slaughtered and sent to a local restaurant to be offered as dinner.
Another important point that our tour guide made is how integral animals are to a farm. The pigs and chickens eat the grass that would otherwise be overgrown, and then they poop out the richest fertilizer. In fact, on the farm they move the chicken fence around each day to target different trees in the orchid. The chickens pick around the base of the tree for bugs and then their poop provides nutrient rich fertilizer for the trees that will later produce juicy peaches for us to eat! I have 6 chickens at home and hope to get pigs for the future.
The Community
Sunday Markets
Soil Born Farms is very community oriented, and I think that is my favorite part about urban farms. They are close enough to a critical mass of people that they are able to be integrated into the larger community. Pictured above is a large amitheater that they created for community gatherings. Additionally, they have weekly Sunday markets where they sell their produce out of their barn. At the market they also provide a free yoga class, live music, and drinks. It is truely a family fun experience that is open to all.
Volunteer Programs
They have a great volunteer program as well that is open to any one in the community that just wants to dig their hands in the soil. This program is flexible and it can be short term or long term. They have a long term work exchange program which I was really inspired by. Their work exchangers farm for 4 hours per week, and in exchange they recieve a box of organic produce each week. They also have a culinary arts team that offers cooking demos and workshops to the community, prepares farm-to-fork meals for staff visitors, and offers seasonal wellness days.
Food Access For All
They also highly believe in food justice. They work hard to provide organic produce to families who otherwise would not be able to afford healthy food. They accept SNAP food stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). They also send out mailers to the local community with coupons for huge discounts off of their produce boxes. They offer a CSA box that contains fruits and veggies at a reasonable price because there are no intermediary sellers.
What an inspirational farm! I had a beautiful time seeing where my food comes from and meeting the future producers of this delicious, organic food. Eat Real Food! :-)
