This week in Napa County.

As wildfires continue to spread in California, a number of the state’s local fairs as well as the State Fair have come forward to provide emergency shelter for evacuees and their animals, and to offer space for fire camps. This is one of many ways fairs serve their communities in times of need.

As of yesterday, 17 fairgrounds, from Costa Mesa to Boonville, were hosting approximately 2,000 evacuees; nearly 1,700 animals, including horses, pets, llamas and a tortoise; and 7,261 emergency response personnel and their equipment.

The fairs serving during this time are as follows:

1. Napa Valley Fairgrounds and Exposition, 575 Third St., Napa, 94559
2. Napa County Fairgrounds, 1435 North Oak St., Calistoga, 94515
3. Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Rd., Santa Rosa, 95404
4. Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, 175 Fairgrounds Dr., Petaluma, 94952
5. Redwood Empire Fairgrounds, 1005 N. State St., Ukiah, 95482
6. Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds, 442 Franklin Ave., Yuba City, 95991
7. Nevada County Fairgrounds, 11228 McCourtney Rd., Grass Valley, 95945
8. Marin County Fairgrounds, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael, 94903
9. Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds, 1 Citrus Fair Dr., Cloverdale, 95425
10. Solano County Fairgrounds, 900 Fairgrounds Dr., Vallejo, 94589
11. Kern County Fairgrounds, 1142 S. P St., Bakersfield, 93307
12. Mendocino County Fairgrounds, 14400 Highway 128, Boonville, 95415
13. Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Dr., Costa Mesa, 92626
14. Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, 91769
15. Dixon May Fairgrounds, 655 S. First St., Dixon, 95620
16. Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St., Lakeport, 95453
17. Cal Expo State Fair, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento, 95815

CDFA joins with the rest of the country in celebrating National Farmers Day today.  Here are some interesting facts about our farmers and ranchers:

• There are roughly 3.2 million farmers in the United States—that’s less than 2 percent of our population.
• Ninety-nine percent of farms are family-owned, and account for 89 percent of agriculture production.
• The average American farmer grows enough to feed 165 people!
• USDA’s latest Census of Agriculture found that 25 percent of farmers were “new and beginning” – meaning they had been operating their current farm for fewer than ten years. (But we need lots more new and beginning farmers!)
• And there are 969,672 women farmers in the United States – that’s nearly 1/3 of all farmers.
• Farmers are tech-savvy. Satellites, GPS systems, and other new solutions are helping today’s farmers get the most of every acre, drop of water and seed they plant.

Photo by Sam Armanino – Eureka Times-Standard

In response to the devastating fires currently raging across California, the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB) and CA Grown are asking the state’s farmers and ranchers to consider donating food products to needy food banks across the state.

To connect with a food bank serving communities impacted by the ongoing fires, please contact:

Steve Linkhart | Farm to Family Director
California Association of Food Banks
stevelinkhart@cafoodbanks.org
(510) 350 – 9916

Requested products include: ready to eat foods

Area food banks are also in need of cash donations. Please consider giving to:

Yuba-Sutter Food Bank

Redwood Empire Food Bank 

Community Action of Napa Valley Food Bank

Fort Bragg Food Bank 

As the country’s largest producer of food, California’s agricultural community has willingly stepped up in times of need. Earlier this month, our farmers and ranchers donated over 122 tons of food to needy families through the California Association of Food Bank’s Farm to Family Program.

For those thousands of victims displaced from their homes, a warm meal can make a world of difference. In this time of great suffering, the generosity of California’ agricultural community is great appreciated.

Will Gross (center), who lost his home in a fire two years ago and found shelter and assistance at the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, returned yesterday as a volunteer. Picture by Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times

Note – A total  of 13 fairgrounds–in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Sutter,  Marin, Sutter, Nevada Orange and Kern counties–are serving as emergency shelters during this fire emergency.  

By Paige St. John

Two years ago, during the Valley fire, the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, Calif., was the scene of a tent city of evacuees, along with massage therapists, puppet artists, drum circles and food catered by the best of Napa Valley.

On Monday, smoke from the nearby Tubbs fire left the same evacuation shelter all but deserted. But it didn’t stop determined volunteers from showing up to give what they could.

Among them was Will Gross of Cobb.

“I lost my house in the Valley fire. These guys helped me out, so I thought I’d help them,” Gross said as he scooped watermelon and cantaloupe into a fruit salad in the shelter’s kitchen.

He worked beside two professional cooks – Ed Burke, the food service director for Calistoga joint unified schools, and Andy Wild, special events director for the fabled Culinary Institute of America, which has an academy near Napa.

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Note – CDFA’s Division of Measurement Standards regulates fuel dispensing accuracy and signage at California service stations and also oversees the free air and water law.   

By James Radcliffe

Q. Mr. Honk: I am pretty sure California passed a law requiring gas stations to provide air for free. This was to reduce emissions as vehicles get better gas mileage with properly inflated tires. You might want to inform your readers of that. Thanks.

– Nick Berger, Westminster

A. Nick is banking off of a short mention by Honk last week about a nifty air dispenser for tires at some gas stations and, yes, he is correct about the law.

If you didn’t buy petrol at the station, well, start tossing coins into the ol’ machine. Otherwise, you can head inside the gas shack and say you fueled up and need some air or water – for free.

Gas stations must provide free air, water and the use of a tire gauge to those who purchased fuel under a California law passed in 1999, said Steve Lyle, a state spokesman. Legislators wanted to ensure vehicles roll along safely.

Operators can flip a switch or give you tokens or coins.

The state’s Division of Measurement Standards can cite violators with a $250 fine. To make a complaint, go to the state agency’s online site and type “air” into the search bar to find the form.

Link to “Honk.”

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), in collaboration with California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and other state entities, are hosting a Public Forum on Managed Groundwater Recharge to Support Sustainable Water Management. This all-day event will be held at the Sacramento Convention Center on November 8^th 2017 and bring together a variety of speakers to address recharge opportunities and issues.

Registration Information

Groundwater recharge is an important topic for California as the state continues to recover from an historic drought that caused increased reliance on groundwater basins – resulting in overdraft, failed private domestic wells and impacts to environmental quality.

In June 2017, the California State Board of Food and Agriculture sent a letter to CDFA Secretary Karen Ross encouraging the convening of a forum to, “inform long term state policies related to ground water recharge.” California’s farm and ranching communities are important partners in helping to implement recharge efforts, but many barriers in federal/state policy as well as infrastructure challenges limit wide scale recharge opportunities.

This forum will bring together water authorities, agricultural organizations, regulators and other stakeholders to address groundwater recharge opportunities and associated policies.

Celebrating Farm to Food Bank – from left, Mark Lowry, Director, Orange County Food Bank; CDFA Secretary Karen Ross; Sue Sigler, Executive Director, California Association of Food Banks; Nicole Suydam, Executive Director, Second Harvest of Orange County; and AG Kawamura, former CDFA Secretary and Co-owner of Orange County Produce.

California agriculture joined together in September to raise donations for the state’s annual Farm to Food Bank Month. More than 245-thousand pounds of food–in excess of 122 tons–were donated to the California Association of Food Bank’s Farm to Family Program for needy families in Southern California – from holiday turkeys to olive oil and rice; and tens of thousands of pounds of fresh produce.

CDFA secretary Karen Ross gathered last week in Orange County with leaders in the food bank sector to honor that commitment and to remind farmers and ranchers that the need is year-round, and therefore donations can be, as well.

California Ag has shown strong support for the Farm to Family Program statewide, increasing contributions to 214 million pounds–more than 100,000 tons–in 2016

However, hunger continues to be a substantial problem in California. More than two-million children in our state live in food-insecure households. All told, one in eight Californians struggles with hunger – roughly 5.4 million people. The fact that this occurs in a state with such an enormous bounty of food makes the problem even more glaring.

The generosity of California agriculture during Farm to Food Bank Month is very much appreciated, and it will be a lifeline for a number of needy Southern California families, but it’s clear there is still a great deal of work to do.