Day 110: Urban Farm in West Sac

During my recent runs along my West Sac route, I've noticed a major transformation of the empty lot at the corner of 5th & C Streets.  What used to be vacant and abandoned land has now become a thriving urban garden.  I couldn't find any online photos of the site as it currently looks in full mid-harvest production, but I did find more information about how this project got started as a partnership between the Center for Land-Based Learning and the City of West Sacramento:

There is sudden new activity on that old, city-owned vacant lot at the corner of 5th and C streets in West Sacramento’s old “Washington” neighborhood. New soil has been dropped off, and a tractor is leveling it out. People are bustling about onsite.

The lot is surrounded by elements of urban West Sacramento old and new:

Just west lies the popular new Broderick Roadhouse pub. A couple blocks east is the venerable old I Street Bridge. Across the street is a liquor store. Passersby include commuters, students, the residents of nearby homes, and various denizens of the city’s streets.

So what are they building on this two-thirds-acre piece of urban infill? Will it be new townhouses or apartments, like those going up elsewhere on the West Sac riverfront? A mixed-use building? A restaurant?

The answer is probably not your first guess. What they’re building is a farm.

And another online new site provides some photos of the beginning of the project along with more information about the folks involved. I especially liked how the first farmer of the plot, Sara Bernal, philosophically approaches the potential challenge of cultivating an unprotected urban garden:

Is she worried about people vandalizing the little farm, or walking off with the “fruits” of her labor?

“Oh yeah, definitely,” answered Bernal. “Unfortunately, we can’t afford to fence it off. We’re hoping people will see how much work we put in, and leave it alone. I’m sure it will happen, though.”