Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Category Archives: Community-based Food System


CDFA Undersecretary Birdsong applauds partnership as USDA announces funding for schools to purchase locally grown foods  

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Undersecretary Christine Birdsong spoke at an event yesterday held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service at Waggoner Elementary School in Winters to announce the award of more than $23 … Continue reading

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CDFA Launches Farm2Food Accelerator Program to Empower Small Business Growth for Women, Minorities, and Small-Scale Farms and Ranches

Applications are Open and Classes begin in November. Classes are also available in Spanish with bilingual instruction and curriculum. CDFA is partnering with the NASDA Foundation (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture) to launch a Farm2Food Accelerator Program in … Continue reading

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Secretary Ross tours San Francisco wholesale produce market

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, CDFA Inspection Services Director Natalie Krout-Greenberg, and California State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) visited San Francisco’s SF Market early this morning (May 20) to learn how the Market–a wholesale produce market–provides food and relationships that … Continue reading

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USDA Announces Feeding Program Partnership in Response to COVID-19

Collaboration will provide nearly 1,000,000 meals to rural children USDA News Release U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced a collaboration with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo, and others to deliver nearly 1,000,000 meals … Continue reading

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

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 … Continue reading

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Cultivators of Change – celebrating our shared diversity

Earlier this month I had pleasure to speak before the Cultivating Change Summit in Sacramento. The summit brought together LGBT agriculturalists from around the world who are working toward an equitable industry environment that is inclusive of all. It was a … Continue reading

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June is fairs month – find a fair near you!

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Farm-to-Food Bank Month a time for sharing and caring

More than four-million people in California are food-insecure and need a little help. It just doesn’t seem right to have that many people lacking nourishment in a state that produces such a bounty of healthy food. In recognition of that need, … Continue reading

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USDA Awards $34.3 Million to Support Communities’ Local Foods Infrastructure, Increase Access to Fruits and Vegetables

Funding Supports Local Food Systems, Farmers Markets and Healthier Eating for SNAP Participants Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack helped to kick off the nation’s harvest season this week by announcing nearly $35 million in new funding through four grant programs to … Continue reading

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USDA announces $9 million to support Community Food Projects program

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced the availability of $9 million in funding to assist low-income individuals and communities in developing local and independent food systems. … Continue reading

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