Backyard, balcony, and community gardens are a unique and essential resource to the health and wellbeing or individuals and communities. Backyard and community gardens can provide small-scale growers, urban residents, and neighborhoods with nutritional, emotional, physical, and spiritual sustenance and provide an accessible venue to grow food when owning, renting, or otherwise using large land lots is not possible.

Community Garden Technical Assistance

Community garden technical assistance is provided through the Placer RCD. Please click here for more information: Community Garden Technical Assistance

UC Master Gardeners of Placer County

The mission of the University of California Master Gardener volunteers is to extend research-based sustainable gardening and composting information to the public through various educational outreach methods. They have many workshops and a Help Desk to help answer your gardening questions. Learn more about the UC Master Gardeners of Placer County website.

2021-2022 Placer County Community Garden Review

There are 17 community gardens in Placer County that are all serving their communities in unique and remarkable ways. In 2021 and 2022, the Placer RCD set out to discover who and where these community gardens are, how they operate, and what they are up to. What we learned has been shared in the 2021 Placer County Community Garden review as a resource for the community to know more about what community gardening looks like here in Placer County.

Read the Placer County Community Garden Review

Accessible Raised Garden Bed Design

As part of the Backyard & Community Ag program, Placer RCD designed an enhanced accessible raised garden bed that provides easy chair access, better reach, design and construction longevity, and the ability to recycle water and nutrients.

Learn More and View the Plans

Fresh Food Access and Food Security Resources and Education

Fresh and healthy food is a critical element to a healthy and thriving community but its not so easily accessed by those experiencing food insecurity within Placer County.

As of December 15, 2021 (at the time this was written), it is estimated that there are 31,320 people (8.1%) of Placer County residents who are experiencing food insecurity (Source: Feeding America). Of those 31,320 people, 51% are above SNAP or other nutrition programs threshold of 200% poverty. This means they must use food closets and other food distribution sites to meet their food needs.

You can donate your surplus backyard and balcony produce to local food closets (food pantries). To connect with one, visit Ampleharvest.com, the Placer Food Hub (see below), or contact a food distribution site in the map information below.

To learn more about food insecurity, what causes it, its effects on people and communities, and how to end it, visit Feeding America.

Placer Food Hub

The purpose of the Placer Food Hub group is to provide accessible food services for free or at a low cost to Placer County residents. It works like an exchange.