Dec/Jan 2013
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Micro Retail
The Locastore aims to be your (tiny) new corner market. Sure, Sonoma County might experience some food aridity, but an actual food desert is fortunately difficult to find here, particularly since the Target on Santa Rosa Avenue began selling groceries to the underserved residents of the southeast part of town. But food deserts, generally defined…
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1947/2013
1947 | 2013 Ripen or wither, change is the only constant. Take fruit, for example. Apple production has decreased significantly over the past 65 years from $27 million in 1947 (inflation adjusted) to $3.6 million in 2012. In contrast, grape production has increased nearly 50 times its 1947 mark of $12 million (inflation adjusted) to…
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Dishing the Dirt
Evan Wiig and the Farmer’s Guild bring new and seasoned producers together. The young man on stage takes a deep swig from the bottle of Wild Turkey in his hand and turns to the microphone. Frontman for Whiskey and Circumstance, a band that describes itself as “USDA-certified organic, pasture-raised, farm-to-stage cowboy disco,” Evan Wiig sings about…
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Video and Vegetables
Kala Philo’s Farm Shorts tell the stories that grow from the ground. “The first rule of farming is: close the gate,” says Deborah Walton. “The second rule is: animals die. And down the list, there’s things like: don’t look up the row to see how far you have to go; look down the row to…
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DRNK ‘n’ Drones
Winemaker Ryan Kunde doesn’t have to go high tech, but why wouldn’t he? In 2011, in an Armenian cave, researchers discovered what might be the world’s oldest winery. The press, storage vessels, drinking cups, and vines, skins, and seeds scattered throughout the cave are thought to be 6,100 years old. In 2011, Ryan Kunde launched…
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What the Rains Bring
Charmoon Richardson on the finer points of foraging. While the woods of Salt Point State Park just south of Gualala appear to be sleeping each winter, they are in fact rustling, popping, and spreading with a carpet of fruits. Not with apples or prunes or grapes—this fruit is the mushroom, that rain-born annual miracle that…
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Want Not
CropMobster’s new-style electronic grange hall stems food waste. Standing amid 50 glorious acres of fecund farmland near Bloomfield, Nick Papadopoulos rolls facts out of his mouth so quickly he could be reading them. But he’s not. He’s reciting from memory. As the lacinato and other kale fields warm in the early morning sun, Papadopoulos reports that so…
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Die for Dinner!
Foodie Dice puts luck (and wisdom) into meal planning. Chicken, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Santa Rosa sisters Liz and Sarah Downey were getting awfully tired of dinner. Chicken, green beans, and yams. It was healthy, it was balanced, it was deadly boring. Chicken, green beans, and sweet potatoes… So they did what any adult…
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Bee Aware
Marketers discover bees . . . pleased they’re not as “extreme” as goats. Buzz the Bee is brushing up on his surfing skills. We know that because Buzz is shown ready to hang 10 with an attractive blonde human in an Instagram #selfie. He’s also in the mood to #beelax, a popular hashtag on his…
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An Introduction is in Order…
A Letter from the Editor. The Sonoma County Food Action Plan The Sonoma County Food System Alliance’s Food Action Plan isn’t a sexy document. It’s a compilation of facts and figures about food production, local resources, human need, consumer stats, and social justice. But the stories that comprise the backbone of the plan are fascinating.…