Description: UCCE Food Systems Advisor Olivia Henry Worked with the Southwest Regional Food Business Center to create a map and database which catalogues several public grant programs' investments in food systems in the Sacramento region, with an emphasis on post-farm gate activities such as processing, aggregation and distribution. The goal is to understand the types of food systems funding shaping our region, and where public dollars are flowing. Proposal writers are encouraged to use this resource when scoping their projects. This does not represent every food systems award, merely a selection.
Contact: Olivia Henry, omhenry@ucanr.edu
Methodology: Grant programs that addressed post-farm gate food systems topics were identified, then awards between 2020 and 2025 were selected. Only awards for which the receiving organization was located in one of eight counties — Sacramento, Solano, Yolo, Placer, Nevada, Sutter, Butte and El Dorado — and addressed communities in those counties were included. Statewide projects were excluded. About five awards met the criteria but the receiving organization was outside the Sacramento region; those awards are represented on the map but not included in county funding totals. Dots on the map were generated through public award information, as well as through the addresses or post office boxes for public-facing businesses receiving awards. Where addresses or PO Boxes were not listed on a business's website, the addresses of nearby government buildings were used.