Alchemist CDC

Alchemist CDC operates CalFresh payment processing at 9 Sacramento area farmers' markets. This program brings equitable access to farmers' markets by providing systems necessary for CalFresh/Food Stamps recipients to use their benefits to buy fresh, healthy, local produce. (CalFresh provides qualifying lower income individuals financial assistance in purchasing food for themselves and their families.) This program contributes to the direct sales of local small and mid-sized family farms, and stimulates attendance at farmers markets, enhancing the local economy. Through community partnerships, every booth location provides CalFresh eligibility screening, application assistance and can answer common customer questions about this essential government program .

Market Match is an incentive program offered to CalFresh recipients exclusively at farmers' markets, enabling them to purchase more fruits and vegetables while simultaneously stretching their food budget. Alchemist CDC facilitates the use of Market Match funds, outreach support and operations training at 18 farmers' markets and farm stands in the greater Sacramento region. When customers spend their CalFresh benefits at these markets, they earn additional Market Match dollars to purchase fresh, seasonal produce. (Maximum Market Match offered per person per market day varies by location, between $5-$20). This program not only benefits the CalFresh user, but supports our local growers who would not otherwise have a way to accept this vital food security benefit. We are proud to be making farmers' markets more sustainable and contributing to the positive economic impact they have on the community.

Alchemist CDC is committed to working with local neighbors to support grassroots efforts to solve community problems and pursue visions of the common good.

We believe that communities have within themselves the vision, passions, and ability to do good and great things. We also recognize that many great ideas can be held back by the need for formal organizational structure. We see our role in the community as providing the structure and support of a trellis on which the vines of grassroots collaboration can grow, flourish, and bear fruit.

In this capacity, Alchemist is best known for our Land-Based Work. Through these projects, we help transform blighted land into vibrant, neighborhood amenities through direct community engagement, design, and hands-on participation in creating public gardens and community gathering spaces.

We have also begun to pursue neighborhood empowerment through Fiscal Sponsorship. Through fiscal sponsorship, we are able to serve as an administrative “home” for a grassroots cause. This allows a community group to do good work and access donations and grants before they are officially a 501c3 non-profit organization. At present, we have the capacity for just one fiscal sponsorship arrangement but plan to build our capacity for this in the future.

We also strive to be nimble in helping the community to respond to urgent needs and immediate opportunities with one-off projects like pop-up cooling stations in the midst of a heat wave.

Our Land-Based Neighborhood Empowerment projects include:
Oak Park Sol Community Garden
An artistic gate, slightly ajar, leading to the community garden.

Oak Park Sol Community Garden
A publicly accessible community garden in the heart of Oak Park. This garden grew out of a neighborhood desire to have a creative green space that could serve as a place to grow food, demonstrate sustainable practices, share knowledge, and build community connectivity.

Oak Park Art Garden
This project is utilizing a land lease agreement with an option to buy to gain access; the property is privately owned. The community is creating a wide array of interactive art and garden projects that will begin the transformation of this high visibility corner lot in Oak Park. This will also become Sacramento’s first publicly accessible Community Food Forest project.

Pansy Community Garden Park
Alchemist CDC acquired ownership of a vacant parcel on Pansy Avenue in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento. We are working with neighbors to convert this previously vacant lot into a community park and garden.

Our Fiscal Sponsorship projects include:
Community Connections 95820
This project represents a collaborative effort between multiple local organizations and elementary schools and is connecting families and neighborhoods so that our most vulnerable families can meet their basic needs during COVID-19. Alchemist serves as the project’s fiscal sponsor.