Soil Born Farm Urban Agriculture Project

Urban farming… who knew?
I sure as hell didn’t! My first experience, and hopefully not my last, was while volunteering at the Autumn Equinox Celebration a few weekends ago. I generally associate Hurley avenue with The Kitchen, the street to the mall, the movie theaters, a bunch of random big box stores/shops…not where I’d find a hidden oasis of urban farming!
I can’t really review the farming situation, because what I saw was a decked out landscape of food tasting, booze drinking, social responsible being group of people who were supporting an underground culture of urban farming.
A friend asked if I’d like to volunteer at this event. Sure, I don’t mind donating my services to a good cause. This BY FAR is the most underrated event in Sacramento. I almost don’t want to Unilocal about it, so it stays cool and awesome — but they do cap it off, so get in where you fit in.
Every good eatery on the grid and in the Handle district is here. Even some of the good spots off of the grid were here too. There was plenty of food for everyone and booze, no short supply of anything. Unlike most events, IF you even had to wait in a line, it was less than five minutes. The whole event was also «no waste»! For those of you who don’t speak hippie, this means no trash was created — we used mini wine glasses, plastic plates, and silverware. The vendors generally just plated everything on your plate, with the exception of a few vendors. Those that did use a serving dish, were made of bamboo or something hippieish of the sorts.
After volunteering and consuming their food and booze (this was okayed by the volunteer lead), I realized that I want to volunteer at their actual farm in Rancho Cordova. This event made me want to volunteer my time to their efforts, it is a great non-​profit. Everyone was so warm and inviting, and genuinely nice — from the staffers, the other volunteers, the vendors, and the celebrators, not one person had a bad attitude.
I am now a believer… I’m ready to get down on some urban farming!

Today’s Bee story reminded me to write a review of this place. They not only grow excellent produce, but it’s also a fun and informative place to volunteer or bring your kids to learn about how our food grows.
The farm is smack in the middle of Arden Arcade, and there’s also a new farm in Rancho. They grow seasonal organic vegetables, which they sell to local restaurants and retail outlets. If you’ve eaten at a nice restaurant in Sac, you’ve probably had something from Soil Born.
I got to know this place and the people who run it through my last job. When my daughter started kindergarten, her new best bud happened to be the daughter of one of the partners who run it. Everyone who works at the farm is very dedicated and hard working.
Soil Born is non-​profit and also run programs for low income communities to provide fresh fruits and veggies and nutritional education. There are a lot of reasons to eat Soil Born’s produce, but first and foremost their stuff is yummy.
Bee article: