The answers it provides are all oriented to the marketplace, through the purchase of goods or services.” Indeed, telling the complicated narratives of either group is not possible within the context of advertisements that “fundamentally talk to us as individuals and addresses us about how we can become happy. Are they the farm side of the equation to the Black chefs from the Juneteenth Collaborative? Where do they grow? What is an urban farm? None of this is clear in the advertisement. Again, how their food work resonates with the farm-to-fork campaign is not clear. Similarly, when we see the members of the Yisrael Family Urban Farm (IMAGE #2) they are photographed in what appears to be a residential yard, holding farm implements, and dressed in earth toned t-shirts with the name of the farm. They would not be on the map in terms of the connections between and amongst the top restaurateurs in this area and the region’s large scale organic farmers – connections that are central to Sacramento’s farm-to-fork ethos. None of these chefs hold the title of Executive Chef in an established restaurant context cooking instead outside of the domain of standard restaurant organization as private chefs, chefs at women’s centers, caterers, or food truck owners. While the title of the Collaborative is visible, it is unclear what that means or how that ties into “farm-to-fork.” In fact, their narratives cannot fit nicely within the campaign. Is this a home or is it a restaurant? The chefs themselves are looking in all sorts of directions, some directly at the camera and two (Pannell and E. The barred screen door and the wooden stairs and porch indicate a roughened neighborhood. The background appears urban and residential. In the Juneteenth Black Chefs Collective ad (IMAGE #1), what we see are a group of chefs whose foodwork is not connected with the spaces where they cook nor are there any relationships to farmer(s) who supply their raw food and bespoke artisanal products. The ruptures in the seemingly inclusive narrative of “We are America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital” is stark in the two ads featuring Black folks. However, these images serve not as markers of how broad-based the work of the farm-to-fork campaign is but rather the degree to which there are fissures that resist containment.

At face value, including the ads featuring the Yisrael Family Urban Farm (IMAGE #2) and the Juneteenth Black Chefs Collaborative, lends a certain air of inclusivity to the messaging/branding. The five ads I found, that ran from about January 2015 through January 2016, frame the key optics of the campaign and its slogan -“We Are America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital.” In addition to these advertisements, local media – especially magazines – served as an avenue to describe the parameters of the “farm-to-fork”: farmers, vintners, brewers, and other food craft people who make/grow/create products consumed within the restaurants, bars, festivals, and other events associated with the farm-to-fork campaign. Sacramento Magazine October/November June 2015Īd Copy – “Because passing down through the generations is how we feed our soul.” Sactown Magazine October/November 2015Īd Copy – “Because sharing our passion with others is how we feed our soul.” 5. Photo – Unidentified woman sharing/feeding a fresh pear with an unidentified man. Later that day, a couple smiles as they share a pear tart. After a few laughs and a handshake, a chef gets to work. Sacramento Magazine February, March & July 2015Īd copy ‐‐ “At dawn, a farmer carefully selects the ripest pears from her orchard and hops into her truck. Sacramento Magazine January 2016Īd Copy – “Because sharing our passion with others is how we feed our soul.”ģ. Sacramento Magazine May 2015Īd Copy – “Because sharing our passion with others is how we feed our soul.” Photo – The ad piqued my interest and I spent the next several months gathering additional images associated with the campaign. I was aware of the city’s rebranding as The Farm-to-Fork Capital but I had not seen any images connected with it featuring Black people. While thumbing through it the advertisement featuring the Juneteenth Black Chefs Collaborative (IMAGE #1) immediately caught my eye. In the spring of 2015 while waiting in line at Starbucks Coffeehouse in a Greenhaven, Sacramento strip mall, I picked up an issue of Sacramento Magazine to pass the time.

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