Oak Park Urban Garden Looks To Sell Its Produce
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – An Oak Park family is pushing to transform from the way their community eats by cultivating an urban farm – and now they're trying to sell their goods.
When the economy crashed in 2008, it got Chanowk Yisrael thinking.
"How would I be able to provide for the basic needs of my family?" Chanowk said.
He looked at a place you wouldn't expect – his backyard.
"I came home and decided I wanted to start growing food," Chanowk said.
He created a 1000 square feet garden with everything from kale and beets, to lettuce and asparagus.
"Asparagus, I think, is the best crop for the home gardener … I can say we've saved thousands of thousands of dollars," Chanowk said.
Now, his urban family farm is on a mission to offer healthy produce to a neighborhood filled with convenient stores and fast food restaurants.
"You know where it came from. You can pick it fresh and cook it right there," said Lindsay Weaver from Bee Love Sacramento.
But Chanowk has hit a roadblock.
"I found out the zoning for residential areas prohibits being able to grow food from your backyard and sell it unless you go to a farmer's market," Chanowk said.
He's now joined Sacramentans for Sustainable Community Agriculture and is working to pass an urban agriculture ordinance to make growing food in your backyard legal to sell.
"[If] Sacramento wants to live up to its name of being the farm-to-fork capital of the country, it needs to embrace urban agriculture in a big way," Chanowk said.
The family tells CBS13 they're talking with city council members and are optimistic an ordinance will be passed.
They also hold classes to teach neighbors how to prepare and cook the organic produce.