Meadowview farmers’ market combats South Sacramento’s food desert, brings community together

Mira Cukrov hasn’t been to a farmers’ market since she moved to Southland Park. She said it’s been hard to find one with the specific produce she’s looking for in her new neighborhood, and she’s resorted to buying the majority of her shopping at grocery stores.

Cukrov arrived at Meadowview’s Certified Farmers’ Market outfitted in a helmet and biking gloves with the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. The market was just one of the group’s pit stops after checking out the Del Paso Riding Trail.

Although she wasn’t able to find the English sweet peas she originally sought out, she said, “I’m always more for supporting local vendors than bigger corporations.”

She said she “100% feels better” shopping at a farmers’ market rather than a grocery store and left the market with a handful of nectarines.

South Sacramento’s Meadowview neighborhood recently got its own farmers’ market on Sundays, tucked away in the parking lot of the Meadowview Light Rail Station. The market operates every Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. CalFresh and EBT are accepted to make healthy food accessible to the Meadowview neighborhood.

Grocery stores and food purchase options are limited in Meadowview, constituting it as a food desert.

“For so long communities like Meadowview have been underserved, and many families in this area are food insecure,” said Councilmember Mai Vang, who represents this area in District 8.

In partnership with Vang and the city of Sacramento, the market is operated by Alchemist Community Development Corporation, which also provides food assistance access to markets in downtown Sacramento, Arden Arcade and North Natomas.

“It’s so important to make sure that we increase access points to healthy fresh produce that’s culturally relevant,” Vang said.

Christine Pagtalunan, the farmers’ market manager, said Vang advocated for the market in Meadowview. The idea underwent a request for proposal process in which different nonprofit organizations, including Alchemist, applied to run the market.

Alchemist won and was awarded a $500,000 grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture that will be split over the next three years.

What to shop for

Eleven vendors had their items on display on Sunday, but the vendors vary depending on the season and their availability.

One of them, Mario Leon, represented the Rodriguez Brothers Ranch in Watsonville. The ranch specializes in berries and vegetables. Leon said he woke up at 5 a.m. in order to prepare for the market.

He said that the ranch depends on farmers’ markets to get their produce to the people making these markets crucial.

Rather than selling produce, vendor Effie Grant she was there to teach people how to grow their own. Grant created the Meadowview Urban Farm, an initiative in which she teaches people how to grow their own food in their backyard. She said you don’t need an acre of land to be a farmer.

A Chicago native, Grant moved to South Sacramento in 2015. She said she had a calling from God to heal people’s spirit by first healing their body.

“I know that the healing is not in the drugs. I know that the healing is in the seeds,” she said.

At the market, she promoted her first agriculture orientation class happening on July 18.

“We teach you the basics of how to grow urban gardens, then we teach you what season to grow and to grow for health,” she said.

More than just produce

While fresh produce and prepackaged food were the main attractions at the market, customers could also snag free books from Patricia Dansby, known affectionately as the Book Angel.

Dansby has been living in Sacramento for decades. After retiring more than 10 years ago, she’s been partnering with various nonprofit organizations like the Book Den to bring literacy to anyone who wants it.

“Literacy can take you around the world and you’re just standing right here in Meadowview,” she said.

After many years doing this work, Dansby learned that it’s not only children that are interested in getting free books, and makes sure to have an inventory of novels for adults as well.

Dansby believes that “a book is food” and there is more than way to feed yourself.