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  • Food and Sustainability
  •  

Urban Farmers Sell Produce 'Legally' In Sacramento

  •  Lesley McClurg 
Thursday, April 23, 2015 | Sacramento, CA
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Judith Yisrael talks with a customer at her family farm's produce stand. A new city ordinance that took effect April 23 allows urban farmers to sell the produce they grow. Lesley McClurg / Capital Public Radio

 

Judith Yisrael displays crops in woven baskets on a white folded table under a pop-up tent. She plumps the greens for turnips, radishes and beets. 

She straightens small colorful price signs as she warmly greets approaching neighbors.

0423-family -farm -p

A new city ordinance that took effect April 23 allows urban farmers to sell the produce they grow.  Lesley McClurg / Capital Public Radio

The Yisrael family has been dreaming of this day since they converted a vacant overgrown lot into a garden several years ago.

Neat rows of crops flourish in the place of rampant weeds. 

It's a small oasis in the low-income neighborhood. Trash litters a neighboring front yard. A chain-link fence encloses the house across the street. But, the block feels light and cheery Thursday.

0423-family -farm -4-p

The Yisrael family converted a vacant overgrown lot into a flourishing garden in Oak Park. A new city ordinance that took effect April 23 allows urban farmers to sell the produce they grow.  Lesley McClurg / Capital Public Radio

"All of our produce is organically grown and it's super local, like 50 feet away," says Yisrael.

People filter in throughout the morning. They opened at 10:00 a.m. They ran out of food by noon.

It's the first time since the 1950's that urban farmers in the city of Sacramento can legally sell produce from farm stands in their front yards. Before now, crops could only be sold from lots zoned specifically for agriculture. 

The new ordinance restricts mini-farms to three acres and stands can only operate Tuesdays and Saturdays. Judith Yisrael's stand is open Thursday because farm stands on vacant lots can operate anytime.

 0423-family -farm -3-p

The Yisrael family converted a vacant overgrown lot into a flourishing garden in Oak Park. A new city ordinance that took effect April 23 allows urban farmers to sell the produce they grow.  Lesley McClurg / Capital Public Radio

0423-family -farm -buying -greens -p

Laura Anthony buys some veggies at the Yisrael Family Farm produce stand on April 23. Lesley McClurg / Capital Public Radio 


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    Related Stories

  • Sacramento City Moves To Establish Urban Ag Incentives

    Friday, August 7, 2015
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  • Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

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    Tuesday, April 21, 2015
    Starting April 23, urban farmers in the City of Sacramento can sell their produce from a small stand on their private property. Insight checks in with Yisrael Family Farms, Soil Born Farms and a representative with the Sacramento Urban Coalition.
  • Bob Moffitt / Capital Public Radio

    Farm Stands With Restrictions Approved For Sacramento

    Tuesday, March 24, 2015
    If you live in the City of Sacramento you will soon be able to sell fruits and vegetables grown in your backyard...from a stand in your front yard. But, you won't be able to sell that produce from the stand every day.
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    Family Farm Thrives In Oak Park

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    In an Oak Park food desert, one family has turned their home into a farm.

Lesley McClurg

Former Food And Sustainability Reporter

Lesley McClurg reported for Capital Public Radio’s Food and Sustainability through January 2016.  Read Full Bio 

 @lesleywmcclurg Email Lesley McClurg

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