Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA
  1. CDFA Home
  2. Planting Seeds Blog
  3. Category Archives: Food Access

Category Archives: Food Access

CDFA Supports National Farm to School Month

October 1, 2019   Office of Public Affairs

When a child briefly holds a cherry tomato before biting down to enjoy its sweet taste, does the student wonder about the tomato’s origin? Who grew it? Is this a healthy treat for me to eat? The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) Farm to School program wants to get students pondering such questions …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Education, Food Access, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Farm to Family program meets year-round need for food

December 17, 2018   Office of Public Affairs

With the holiday season bringing reminders of the food insecurity faced by an alarming number of needy Californians, CDFA offers an encore presentation of a video from the award-winning Growing California series: “Farm to Family,” spotlighting efforts to feed the hungry in Fresno County Note: In the video, CDFA secretary Karen Ross mentioned a goal to double farm contributions in …

Read More
Posted in Food Access, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

“Farm to Table Talk” podcast with Secretary Ross celebrates the progress of the Farm to Fork movement

October 2, 2018   Office of Public Affairs

When 70,000 people showed up last weekend to celebrate “Farm to Fork” at an annual festival in Sacramento, it was an opportunity for Farm to Table Talk podcast host Mark Wasson to sit down with three pioneering leaders of Farm to Fork: California Agriculture Secretary  Karen Ross; Chef and Owner of Mulvaney’s B & L Patrick Mulvaney; and Michael Dimock, President …

Read More
Posted in Community-based Food System, Food Access, Organic agriculture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Holiday Farmers Market” helps kids practice food literacy over holiday break

December 27, 2017   Office of Public Affairs

CDFA Deputy Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt recently joined CDFA’s Farm to Fork staff at St. Hope Public School 7 in the Sacramento area to help distribute donated produce to students and families in low-income areas. In partnership with Trinity Fresh, the Food Literacy Center hosted this “Holiday Farmers Market” at three elementary schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District Dec. 19-21. …

Read More
Posted in Food Access | Leave a comment

Annual Food Drive Demonstrates Spirit of Giving

December 21, 2017   Office of Public Affairs

The annual California State Employees Food Drive, chaired by CDFA, is showing strong momentum as it aims for a goal of 800,000 pounds of food for needy Californians. CDFA employees are demonstrating the Department’s commitment this season through a series of events. Each year CDFA joins other agencies in placing barrels in common office spaces for donations, and each year …

Read More
Posted in Food Access | Leave a comment

California Soils Week: GrowGood community garden tour

December 7, 2017   Jay Van Rein, CDFA Office of Public Affairs

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross joined Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Strategic Growth Council Executive Director Randall Winston and other guests in the Southern California city of Bell today to tour an innovative community garden, GrowGood, that works to provide food security to the homeless and needy as well as training and jobs. The group learned that the site has produced nearly 10,000 pounds …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Education, Food Access, Healthy soils | 2 Comments

CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork Looks Ahead to Fertile Future

December 7, 2017   Office of Public Affairs

As 2018 draws near, CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork can look back on all that happened in 2017 and know that there will be an even-stronger commitment to improving all Californians’ access to California-grown foods by working to reduce food insecurity and advancing farm-to-school relationships. We are pleased to share the details of this work through the release of …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Education, Food Access | 2 Comments

CDFA employees donate more than 1,100 pounds of turkeys to Sacramento Food Bank

November 20, 2017   Office of Public Affairs
Posted in Food Access | Leave a comment

Legislation would curb food waste – from Morning Ag Clips

August 16, 2017   Office of Public Affairs

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) have introduced H.R. 3444, the Food Recovery Act, comprehensive bicameral legislation to reduce food waste in stores and restaurants, schools and institutions, on farms, and in American homes. Every year in the United States, 40 percent of food produced domestically goes uneaten – meanwhile, domestic food production …

Read More
Posted in Food Access, Nutrition, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

This quiet agricultural ‘moonshot’ could change the future of food – from the Washington Post

June 28, 2017   Office of Public Affairs

By Jenna Gallegos The global population is skyrocketing, the climate is changing, and diets are shifting. So how do you tackle the problem of feeding 9 billion people by 2050? Assemble an elite team of scientists for a year-long brainstorming session. The first meeting of “Science Breakthroughs 2030” just convened to discuss the key advances essential for revolutionizing food and …

Read More
Posted in Climate Change, Drought, Environment, Food Access | Leave a comment