Small farms in the Sacramento area can get part of $100,000 in ‘Fork 2 Farm’ grants

A new program will distribute $100,000 to Sacramento-area small farms, alleviating debt accrued by local restaurants unable to pay for their invoices amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Fork 2 Farm Relief Grants” are being organized by Visit Sacramento and the Downtown Sacramento Partnership with funding from Bank of America, Visit Sacramento President and CEO Mike Testa said Monday. Each nominated farm is eligible for up to $2,500 per grant and $5,000 total. They must sell between $1,000 and $250,000 worth of agricultural products per year and be headquartered in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.

“Sacramento was America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital long before the concept had a name,” Testa wrote in a news release. “To keep our heritage alive through this crisis, we have to support our farms and restaurants however we can to offer them some financial relief so that their businesses can thrive once the crisis subsides and so this identity lives on into the future.”

Farms must be nominated through a Central City-based (marked by Alhambra Boulevard to the east, Broadway to the south, Railyards Boulevard to the north and Front Street to the west) restaurant or other food retailer that can show proof of due or overdue invoices. The restaurants must also have a lease through at least the end of the year and have been current on lease payments through March 1.

Restaurants across the United States have struggled to make ends meet without dine-in service, banned throughout California to halt the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Their financial woes have left boutique farms with crop surpluses and unfulfilled invoices. Some with varied fields have compensated with booming Community-Supported Agriculture box sales; others are still looking for a solution.

“Farm-to-fork isn’t just what makes our city fun and unique – it’s also a very real and critical part of our local business community,” Bank of America Sacramento market president Matt McCormack said in the release. “This program was designed to help provide some much-needed support to our farms and restaurants so that these vital businesses can continue operating.”