In Sacramento County, 80,860 individuals are food insecure, according to a 2012 report from the Sacramento Hunger Coalition. This means that 17. 7% of Sacramentans do not have access to fresh and healthy food.

At Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services about 16,000 individuals receive emergency assistance through Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services’ (SFBFS) Food program every month. Through farmers’ market style food distributions, families take home a five day supply of groceries, including fresh produce.

Items include lemon cucumbers, plums, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and apples, offering a wide seasonal variety to families at SFBFS’ food distributions.

For SFBFS’ Food program, access to fresh fruits and vegetables is made possible through partnerships with local farms, including Farm Fresh to You (FFTY), an organic produce delivery service and farm located in the Coastal Range’s Capay Valley.

SFBFS’ Food Program Director Erik Kintzel explains the importance of partnering with local farms like FFTY. “Farm Fresh to You is a leading organic farm in the region and they really help SFBFS hone in on our priorities as a food bank,” Kintzel said. “It’s about bringing fresh, organic, local produce to a segment of the community who may not receive produce otherwise.”

Starting in 2011, FFTY and its organic farm Capay Organic donated 97,383 pounds of fresh produce to SFBFS. This provided 1,792 households with a four day supply of organic fruits and vegetables.

Thaddeus Barsotti, co-CEO of Farm Fresh to You, explains that supporting SFBFS’ Food program is aligned with the core values of FFTY by connecting people with their local farms. “SFBFS’ drive to get underserved individuals eating nutritious food falls in line with our company’s mission to distribute fresh local organic produce to as wide a demographic as possible,” Barsotti said.

Founded in 1976, by Kathleen Barsotti and Martin Barnes, FFTY’s Capay Organic began as a small, family owned organic farm that regularly produced fresh crops for a market that included Bay Area stores, restaurants and farmers’ market. Beginning in 1992, FFTY was established as an organic produce, home and office, delivery Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Today, Capay Organic is a sprawling family run, 300-acre farm and continues to expand their reach to bring fresh produce to wider and more diverse populations, including families and individuals who receive services from SFBFS’ Food program.

FFTY continues to support SFBFS through donations, providing low income CSA boxes, and participating in SFBFS holiday drives.

“SFBFS values the partnership of Farm Fresh To You immensely,” Kintzel said, “Farm Fresh To You is able to provide a wonderful array of produce to our clients and the quality is amazing that cannot be matched by many growers. Without Farm Fresh To You, we would not be able to feed as many people in the community.”

Thank you FFTY for your support and contributions in partnering with SFBFS to help provide Sacramento area families and individuals with access to fresh, organic fruits and veggetables.

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