How this pick-your-own operation near Sacramento helped feed the hungry and save a farm
In 1997, 10 churches formed an agreement with Davis Ranch partner Jim Davis allowing them to collect day-old surplus produce. The system lasted for 15 years until Jim Davis and his wife, Peggy, determined a new direction.
Helping Hands Produce LLC was born in 2012 with the idea of combating produce waste by allowing community volunteers to pick surplus produce for food banks. Soon after, Davis Ranch — located east of Sacramento in Sloughhouse — created a U-pick farm on the ranch.
“That worked out so well, and people were so excited about it, they asked ... how can we pick for ourselves and we decided to go ahead and start doing it for the public and it’s been huge — people love it,” said Jim Ayers, the Davis Ranch store manager.
Sloughhouse U-Pick was established in 2012, allowing people to pick produce each Saturday and pay 10 cents a pound. Today the system is still intact, allowing community members to drive onto the ranch, pick fresh produce at 40 cents a pound with a $20 minimum on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Helping Hands Produce dissolved last year but Davis Ranch still works with nonprofit distributor Foodlink to donate but mostly sell produce at a discounted rate of 15 cents a pound. Since its start, the nonprofit has accumulated hundreds of volunteers and more than a million pounds of produce has gone into food banks, Peggy Davis said.
“It is what saved the farm for sure because we would’ve had to close the farm,” Peggy Davis said.
Produce picking at Sloughhouse U-Pick
Customers picking at Davis Ranch choose from squash and zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, melon, tomatoes and winter squash. Davis Ranch partner Rick Grimshaw said corn is prepicked by workers with help from a machine from a separate field and loaded onto a trailer for customers to choose from at the same price.
“Now we’re actually growing through U-pick, it’s part of the whole setup ... we’re growing a whole bunch more tomatoes, peppers and eggplant,” Grimshaw said.
Picking started in June and goes until November where traditionally bell peppers, tomatoes and a few other crops are left to be picked. Ayers said the Sloughhouse U-Pick services caterers, small restaurants and stores that find it cheaper than ordering from a distribution center.
“There’s people constantly calling from the Bay Area, San Francisco, San Jose and they drive all the way up for it,” Peggy Davis said. “It just amazes me.”
When customers arrive on the 500-acre farm, they are asked to drive their car onto a vehicle scale where a worker weighs the car. Customers are then free to park their car next to the field, pick as much produce as they want and load it into their car.
The customer then drives their car back onto the vehicle scale where a worker will weigh them out.
Grimshaw said on average the Sloughhouse U-Pick sees about 100 cars on Tuesdays and 200 cars on Saturdays driving away with, on average, 75 pounds to 95 pounds worth of goods.
“Stuff starts disappearing here, it’s starting to disappear now,” Ayers said on a recent day. “We’ve already lost a couple of varieties of cucumbers, a couple of varieties of melons are gone, but most of everything else we still have.”
What to expect at Sloughhouse U-Pick
Produce will be broken down into different sections and color-coded. Prepare to get dirty and don’t come onto the farm in your favorite clothes. Wear kitchen-type gloves to protect your hands while picking produce.
Also, be sure to pick ripe produce to get the most bang for your buck.
IF YOU GO
Address: 13211 Jackson Road, Sloughhouse
Hours of operation: sunrise to 1 p.m, Tuesdays and Saturdays,
Contact: 916-682-2658
U-Pick information: 916-502-7983
Cost: 40 cents a pound, $20 minimum
Other Sacramento-area U-pick farms
Address: 2770 Shanley Road, Auburn
Contact: 530-885-3420
Address: 4606 Suisun Valley Road, Fairfield
Contact: 707-864-8068
Address: 18600 N Ripon Road, Ripon
Contact: 209-599-3991
For more U-farm locations, check out a U.S. guide to farms where you can pick your own fruits and vegetables.
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