Growing the Table – Update on the Numbers

08/31/2021
By: Kathy Webster

The pandemic has highlighted long-standing inequities in our economic, social, and food systems. As one example, approximately 80-100 billion pounds of food goes to waste each year in the United States while millions of people struggle to find their next meal. Meanwhile, in California, a state that grows a massive share of the nation’s produce, many people, especially people of color, don’t have access to healthy, local food. Many small and diverse farms are left out of incentive programs and struggle to access new markets. In an effort to address inequalities around food access, TomKat Ranch and Growing the Table (GTT) connect healthy, locally grown food from small-scale farmers with communities in need.

“GTT funding has enabled us to continue delivering produce to over 190 families each week without interruption after the end of the USDA’s Farm to Families program.” – Doria Robinson, Executive Director, Urban Tilth

Since Growing the Table began in the fall of 2020, 700,000 pounds of fresh produce from approximately 330 small farms has been distributed throughout California in 12 pilot distribution regions (Richmond, Oakland, Sonoma I & II, Fresno, Sacramento I & II, San Mateo, Salinas-Monterey, San Jose, Marin, Los Angeles) with several more underway in Tri-Counties-Santa Cruz, San Benito, Watsonville, and San Diego.

“The food I grow is intended for everyone. The fact that my produce is feeding people who need it has brought even more meaning to what I do as a farmer. ” – Verónica Mazariegos-Anastassiou, farmer/co-owner, Brisa Ranch, Pescadero

Growing the Table is committed to shifting California’s food system by establishing a network of resilient regional growers and local food hubs with the capacity and demand to feed their communities. For more information on how you can be part of the solution, go to www.growingthetable.org/