Container Garden Fresh Food Access Initiative

As of 2019, nearly 32,000 people within Placer County faced food insecurity. Of those, 50% are above the SNAP benefits level which means that they must rely on other services to meet their dietary needs – primarily from local food pantries where fresh produce is scarce.

The Container Garden project was designed to help improve, albeit one plant at a time, fresh food access by providing an all-inclusive tomato container garden including a pot, soil, trellis, tomato plant, and an instructional video in both English and Spanish. In addition to this, recipients were encouraged to contact Placer RCD staff with questions and technical assistance.

To help distribute the container gardens, Placer RCD partnered with the Auburn Interfaith Food Closet in Auburn, CA and the Salt Mine Food Closet in Lincoln, CA.