Current Work
Solano County Farm to Institution and Public Awareness Project
Our current Local Food work is centered in our “Solano County Farm to Institution and Public Awareness Project” funded by the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA). This project is designed to raise awareness, consumption and sales of specialty crops grown by Solano farmers. For this project, we are focusing on the edible specialty crops: fruit, vegetables, tree nuts, culinary herbs and honey.
Although Solano is an agricultural county, we found in our 2018 feasibility study that many residents, businesses and institutions didn’t know about our local farmers, or how to source from them. Connecting these entities with our local farmers is important for developing an environmentally and economically sustainable, community-based local food system. We also wanted to support local farmers who bring community members to their farms through agritourism activities.
Below are the main areas of the project. Follow the links to learn more about how you can support Solano’s emerging local food system!
Find Local Farmers
Whether it’s profiles of local farms, where to find farm stands and farmers markets or more information on the county’s agricultural regions, you can find the information you need to connect with local specialty crop farmers on these pages:
Cooking Classes
We’re offering an abundance of classes on how to prepare and preserve seasonal specialty crops, and making recipes and class videos easily accessible.
Youth Cooking Classes
The Youth Cooking Pilot Program works with high school students across the county and focuses on teaching basic culinary skills, the importance of healthy, local food and supporting a local food system.
Bounty of the County
This celebration of local farms, food, chefs and wine puts the spotlight on seasonal menu items at Solano County restaurants sourced from local farms, with informative presentations and business profiles:
Medically Tailored Meals
Sustainable Solano has helped to convene various stakeholders interested in supporting the establishment of medically tailored meals (MTM) in Solano County. Medically tailored meals provide individuals with carefully crafted, nutritionally sound meals that can have a profound impact on their well-being and support recovery from serious illnesses.
- Learn more here
Farm-to-Institution
Sustainable Solano is connecting specialty crop farmers with local restaurants, hospitals, schools and other organizations to create a more robust local food system in Solano County.
Agritourism
Find local farms, farm stands, wineries and more for touring Solano County’s agricultural bounty, view a map of CSAs and farm stands and learn other ways to support local food.
Funding for promotion of specialty crops through this current work page was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM190100XXXXG008. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necesssarily represent the official views of the USDA.