ROC and ROC Projects in the News

Food is a less-talked-about but equally thriving avenue of entrepreneurship in the city. To support “entrepreneur development” and the budding slow-food (as opposed to fast-food) movement, new legislation approved in September and effective from the start of 2013, allows chefs to sell food cooked in a home kitchen.

California rice grower Tom Butler is on a fact-finding mission. For four years, he has been applying two new practices to his Sacramento Valley fields.

A recent survey of grocery shoppers commissioned by Whole Foods Market gives new credence to a belief that's taken hold in the sustainable food movement over the past few years: when it comes to consumer preferences, local is the new organic.

There are tremendous untapped opportunities for producers to sell their products locally, further fueling the U.S. economy and expanding agriculture's impact.

Alegria Fresh is the first hydroponic, vertical farm on the West Coast, and Cutter is hoping to become a model for high-yield, resource-efficient growing. The farm – 150 7-foot-tall towers that hold more than 8,000 plants – produces everything from arugula to zucchini, and in only 1,200 square feet.

The project provides a living laboratory for students from kindergarten through high school. The young scientists conduct field studies in the ranch's restored wetlands—testing water quality, identifying wildlife, collecting insects, practicing mapping skills and helping maintain the private conservation area.

Not even a decade has passed since Sergio Arau filmed A Day Without a Mexican, but 2012 may go down in history as the Year of No Meals Without a Mexican because of labor shortages in American fields and orchards.

Spring arrives with the first warm breezes and fogless mornings in our Valley. On our 80-acre organic farm south of Fresno, I disk our soil, breaking winter's crust.

Nutrition and public policy expert Marion Nestle answers readers' questions regarding 2012 food politics agenda.

Local specialty grocery store is fueling the neighborhood's economy, not just by bringing other businesses to the street but by supporting other Bay Area companies.