<p>Last year Mayor Kevin Johnson dubbed Sacramento, California, "America's Farm-to-Fork Capital." To celebrate the city's newly acquired attribute, Sacramento hosted its inaugural Farm-to-Fork Festival; showcasing the best of the region and what the state capital brings to the table... from the source to the plate. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The largest zero-waste event in the country featured local chefs, farmers and other food producers as well as food trucks, animal displays, a kids’ zone and live music.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Jim Durst, CEO of Durst Organic and part of Raley's family of growers was one of many companies participating in the event and revealed what growers like himself thought of this opportunity. Jim noted, "An event like this puts a face behind the product while opening a dialogue about the facts and myths surrounding fresh produce. There is so much vitality and possibility in produce and this event creates a space to relay that message." Durst Organic Growers presented a spread of items ranging from organic cherry tomatoes to ripe and ready spaghetti squash. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>As the day progressed, festivalgoers were treated to tastings from Savemart, Nugget and Raleys suppliers, as well as companies across the farm-to fork board like Chipotle, Capay Organics, Slow Foods and California Endive.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Produce distributor, Trinity Fresh hosted culinary masters from Lucca, The Eatery, Thunder Valley and the Art Institute in collaboration with its growers for a day of demos. Danee Brady, Marketing Manager for Trinity, told AndNowUKnow, "The chefs worked with our growers to create recipes that communicated to attendees just how to easy it is to incorporate local seasonal products into meals." The company also presented the World's Largest Lunch tray stocked with 1,000 pounds of produce. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The Sacramento region contains 7 to 8,000 acres of boutique farms and provides numerous public sales platforms at more than 50 regional farmers markets...many of which are year-round fixtures. What will this new distinction mean for Sacramento? Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow to find out.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://farmtoforkcapital.com" target="_new"> Farm-to-Fork Capital</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
