Farm to Every Fork. Alchemist CDC's Food Equity, Community Gardens and Nutritional Education Works.

Sam Grenlee: [00:00:00] We specifically target working with folks from communities that are under-resourced, folks who have great work ethic, great recipes, great ideas. We get people who have an idea for a product and we get people who've been in business for three years, they realize they, they don't have a business plan. And so we bring in local experts.

They're collaborations across the board to really cover the key fundamentals of starting a business. And by the time they graduate from that program, they will have at least a first draft of their business plan, which has sets them up so much further for success.

Jeff Holden: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network here. Our purpose and passion are simple to highlight the incredible nonprofits that make our communities stronger. Each episode is a chance for these organizations to tell their story in their words, sharing not just what they do, but why it [00:01:00] matters to the people they serve, to their supporters, and to all of us who believe in the power of community.

Through podcasting, we hope to amplify their voices, inspire connection, and give them one more tool to reach the hearts of donors, partners, and neighbors alike. This work is made possible through the generous support of our founding partners, captrust, offering fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations serving Sacramento, Roseville, and Folsom, and online@captrust.com and Western Health Advantage, a local not-for-profit health plan that believes healthcare is more than coverage.

It's about caring from supporting the American Heart Association to making arts and wellness accessible for all. Western Health Advantage truly delivers healthcare with heart. Learn more@westernhealth.com. I'm proud to welcome our newest partner, core executive leadership and comprehensive support services working in it [00:02:00] so you can work on it.

Visit CXOR e.com. Have you ever wondered what that CDC after a nonprofit's name means? Community Development Corporation. Well, then of course, you would probably ask what does that really mean? How about what it takes to build an inclusive, resilient food system? Well, if you ever have, then this conversation will inspire you.

Alchemist. CDC is incredibly ambitious, unbelievably energetic, and absolutely forward thinking and their leadership. Sam Greenley, CEO, and Shannon Stein, director of Advancement. Walk us through alchemist's Evolution from a bike and cart farm stand to a regional powerhouse running multiple farmer's markets, operating community food programs, incubating food entrepreneurs, and soon opening Alchemist public market.

A visionary [00:03:00] hub in the river district. You'll hear how Alchemist connects local farms to families in need, helps small food businesses launch and thrive and reinvests in neighborhoods through collaboration, education, and innovative partnerships. From tackling food deserts to shaping Sacramento's future farm to fork economy.

This episode is packed with insights, inspiration, and a look at what's coming next. Sam Greenley. Shannon Stein. Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. 

Shannin Stein: Thanks for having us. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, thank you so much. This is going to be a most interesting conversation. I hope we can keep the cadence of words to something that is understandable because we have so much to cover.

Alchemist, CD, C, I don't want to assume anything for our audience, but most people don't really know what the word alchemist is or alchemy for that matter. Can you explain it for us, Sam? 

Sam Grenlee: Sure. Absolutely. So Alchemy, CDC was founded 21 years ago in 2004 by three grad [00:04:00] students. And so I think the name reflects that a little bit.

But the, the basic concept of alchemy, a practice in the Middle Ages 

Jeff Holden: yes. 

Sam Grenlee: Was the pursuit of turning base metals into gold, taking something that was of little value and, and bringing out the value within it. So I think that was at the root of the idea, was connecting to the resources in communities and helping them to become all that they're meant to be.

Jeff Holden: Well, and how appropriate too, for what the, the ground, the earth, the sun does to a seed, to turn it into a food product that's edible in so many different forms, shapes, nutritional values, et cetera, for an organization like yours, as people are about to find out. Absolutely. Tell us a little bit about this, this CDC.

What does community development corporation really discern differently than maybe some of the other nonprofits that we speak with? 

Sam Grenlee: Sure. A community development corporation, I think most people have interacted with it in the housing space. Very often, A [00:05:00] CDC is focused on building community by building housing, affordable housing.

For us, it means that we are, we are focused on work around inclusive economic development, community activation. We're, we're building healthy, vibrant, equitable, diverse neighborhoods, and we're doing that through the local food system. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. In terms of programs that are oriented toward that food system, I mean, just to look at the website is a bit overwhelming to see all the things and resources that you've got.

Farmer's markets, the kitchen, the Alchemist, kitchen, neighborhood empowerment, community gardens, so really at the core level of the community and an expansion out into so many other programs. Walk us through those programs if you could. Not necessarily in a linear fashion, but maybe most popular to, to least, and, and how you're implementing those in the community.[00:06:00] 

I know least is a, I don't know how to describe it. So I maybe most to, to not as, as used. 

Shannin Stein: Well, we describe it based on the spectrum of the work that we do. That everything has to start with food stability, food sovereignty, and food access. And then the opportunity through the food system comes once the food system is stabilized.

So we work, do a lot of work in food deserts and under-resourced communities where food is scarce or where there's a lot of not access to the healthy and fresh foods. And then you see us move through into other aspects, you know, through the farmer's market. So we've got food stability, but then farmer's markets provide more food stability, food variety, food access, CalFresh, at farmer's markets.

Then we move into opportunity through the food system, through entrepreneurialism and workforce development. So we really see. The work that we do is creating a really integrated collaborative food system. So not so much more popular or less popular, but definitely with different goals in mind at each kind of range [00:07:00] of the spectrum 

Jeff Holden: and greater demand on some than others.

Maybe that's the, for sure the better way to, to phrase that for, because a community garden is gonna look very, very different than a kitchen as a resource for training people wanting to get into food services. 

Shannin Stein: 100%. Yeah, absolutely. And even since, you know, some of our community gardens have started, they've evolved over time based on the evolution of community needs.

You know, it's what, where a neighborhood once wanted a community garden because everybody wanted individual plots. People are now potentially working two, three jobs at a time. Don't have time to do that. Food costs are going up. There's more food scarcity. So doing, converting those plots then to our own activation to do farm stands and food popups and food distribution, looking and being nimble about being able to reactivate.

And I think that goes back to that community development corporation question is that all of our work is really focused on making sure that what we're doing is reinvesting in the community and in individuals, and making sure that we're being responsive [00:08:00] as quickly as possible to what the neighborhoods we work in need.

Jeff Holden: Shannon, let me ask you a question from those community gardens. Let's say the gardens can't be maintained as much by the individuals in the community, and now you work those gardens a little bit differently. Do you see the awareness of food, food value, healthy food transitioning from the community garden maybe into the markets where people are now aware, okay, I really need, I need more of this than that.

Shannin Stein: I think, yeah, it's ease of use. I mean, and I think that that's actually a great lead in too, into how we are now utilizing the community gardens. But I think that making sure that there are more farmer's markets and farm stands available in these neighborhoods where community community gardens used to be the request.

Making sure that there's now farmer's markets and farm stance and things where it's easier to go get the, still go get produce, still make sure that it's affordable, still make sure that it's in the community, but it also doesn't require weeding and tilling and sewing and all of that kind of fun stuff.

So, time. Time, absolutely. [00:09:00] Time. And in some cases knowledge and other resources and funding. And so I think to be able to make sure that we are finding pathways and opportunities for food to integrate into these communities in a variety of ways is really where Alchemist hits the sweet spot. And I think that that transition into community garden from community gardens into more supporting holistically our, not just our programs, but our communities is kind of leads into, you know, that transition of, of some of our different programs, which I think one of our most exciting programs right now is Community Food Connections.

Um, yeah. Please walk, 

Jeff Holden: walk us through those. Yeah. 'cause you, you have so many in so many different integrations that really are progressive, so to speak. Each one connects to the other and. Sam Pick. Pick that up a little bit if you couldn't, and walk us through those programs. 

Sam Grenlee: Sure. There are so many to explore.

I'll start with Community Food Connections, as Shannon mentioned. So this actually began as a collaborative partnership really quickly after the pandemic began as there were food pantries shutting [00:10:00] down due to, you know, sure. Just lack of knowledge of how dangerous things are going to be. It was found that many people lacked the transportation to get to the remaining distribution centers.

It really, at the same time, there were local farms who had sold to restaurants and suddenly lost their customer base as restaurants closed. Um, so initially it was an initiative to purchase food from local farms and help distribute that to some of the most vulnerable families in the community. Over time, that has evolved.

We, we were the fiscal sponsor originally, and other partners moved back more toward their original programming as things reopened. We realized that we need to keep this running and took it on as our own program. So we're now, we have a food access center based at the the Cerna Center at SEC City Unified School District's main campus, out of which we receive, we have these collaborations.

So we receive shelf stable products from Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. We combine them with fresh produce. We're buying from local farms. And then we work [00:11:00] with families who are referred in by campus social workers in the school district. So they're working at schools that sometimes have 90% of students living below the poverty line, and they will send over the five families that are the most vulnerable in that situation.

We have a team of volunteers who will deliver these groceries on a weekly basis to them, and then we have other groceries that we distribute through the social workers. They'll actually take it to the homes themselves as a chance to check in with families or make the handoff at the school campus in many cases.

And so that's just one of our youngest programs and you know, it's. Touching hundreds of families in any given month. 

Jeff Holden: I can imagine just being accessible is half the battle and knowing that there's something available for, especially for these most needy families. And you've already touched on, on some of the collaboration, which we'll get to, you know, in a little bit.

But that, that right there is, is demonstration of the collaboration. How about some of the other programs? 

Shannin Stein: Well, I mean, I, and I will say one of the things that we're excited [00:12:00] about that now that we're seeing some growth in that program, is working with the school to start to see the real true connection between food access and food stability and continuation of education.

Mm-hmm. And involvement in education. And so there's some really exciting ties and correlation that we're starting to put there. And I think that that brings us into kind of that next level of not just. Education at, at the school district level, but really starting to lean into more food education. And so I think that's where we, we evolve into our farmer's markets.

Mm-hmm. We, we started out as, so our longest serving employee, Devita Douglas has been with our organization for 18 years. And Alchemy, CDC really started out with DeVito, with a bike and a cart behind that bike riding through Oak Park, setting up farm stands that accepted EBT. And that was, that really is the heart and soul of the foundation of Alma CDC.

And it's still very core to what we do. Last year we facilitated $1.44 million worth of CalFresh and market match services at nine markets in Sacramento County. Mm-hmm. And so that [00:13:00] is still very much at the heart and soul of what Alchemist and who Alchemist CDC is. And then as we were operating CalFresh and we facilitate as a, as a technical administrator, a technical advisor, we facilitate CalFresh services for a number of other farm stands.

And farmer's markets and mobile farm stands throughout the Sacramento and Ola County region. And so about two years ago, an opportunity presented itself for us to get into farmer's market operations. And it seemed just like a really natural segue for us as an organization. We were already very present in an, in an operational capacity at markets, in underserved communities, in food desert communities, where these markets are absolutely imperative.

We're a trusted name, we're a trusted organization for resources and communication. So to be able to then kind of move into that farmer's market space 

Jeff Holden: mm-hmm. 

Shannin Stein: Really was a natural transition for us. And now we're at four Farmer's markets, meadow, few Farmer's Markets. This is our second year operating that in partnership with City of [00:14:00] Sacramento and my Van's office, the Florin Farmer's Market, which is one of the top 10 EBT redemption markets in the nation.

Wow. Um, it is a remarkable market if you ever have the chance on a Thursday morning to swing by the Flo and Farmer's market, easily 30 to 40 vendors every Thursday. An unbelievably robust and diverse and unique shopping clientele and some really wonderful example of direct community food benefit through EBT and the CalFresh program.

It's a remarkable market and honestly survives and continues to thrive. Thanks to, I'm gonna give him a shout out as supervisor Patrick Kennedy. Mm-hmm. Who has really seen the impact of that market, in particular in his district, and has been a remarkable champion of continuing to keep that market thriving.

And then we also operate the Rancho Cordova Farmer's Market, which celebrated its highest foot traffic, um, weekend, this past weekend, which is very exciting. 

Jeff Holden: And that would be in July of 2025? 

Shannin Stein: July of 2025? Yes. Yes. Okay. Which was very exciting [00:15:00] for us. And then we just took on the ARD and Arcade Farmer's Market, um, wonderful.

As the. The wonderful couple, Dan and Renee best are kind of starting to think maybe about retirement. Uh, we're very fortunate that they've talked to us and they've, they've entrusted us with both the Flo and Farmer's Market and the Nar Kay Farmer's Market. 

Jeff Holden: And is, is that a fee for service opportunity in terms of the way that that works back into Alchemist?

Sam Grenlee: So, the Farmer's markets, Meadowview is an exception, has a unique grant that allows us to operate without any vendor fees. But the other markets do have vendor fees. The goal there is to be self-sustaining. Yes, they don't really generate enough revenue to go beyond that program, but overall, they, they kind of sustain that main core.

Excellent. And there are their sponsorship opportunities for improvements at these markets. But yes, overall they can take care of themselves. Oh, and the good news is 

Jeff Holden: we're not relying on federal grants to support it, which is where I was going with it. Which is great because we're not gonna see change for the most part in those operations that are so critical to those, [00:16:00] those communities.

Collaboration. Actually no. You, we still have a couple more programs money. I don't wanna move on without missing these. We have one 

Shannin Stein: more key program and that is Alchemist Kitchen. 

Jeff Holden: Yes, yes, 

Shannin Stein: absolutely. Which is really the heart of the creation of what is evolving into our economic development department.

And so Alchemist Kitchen has two core programs, which is Alchemist Micro Enterprise Academy and Alchemist Kitchen Incubator program. That also has evolved into us opening a commercial kitchen on El Camino in North Sacramento, where a number of the participants who are in Amma and or a Kip, um, actually do their food production.

And 

Jeff Holden: for the benefit of those who don't know, Amma and a Kip 

Shannin Stein: Alchemist Micro Enterprise Academy and Alchemist Kitchen Incubator Program. Thank you. Yes. And we call our participants in the A KIP program, A kippers. Okay. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. What is the scope of that program? 

Sam Grenlee: So the program really begins with the Micro Enterprise Academy.

It is an introductory course if for anyone looking to [00:17:00] explore starting a food business, this is their crash course. It's a 12 week course, two classes a week, has homework assignments. It's pretty intensive, but it is really meant to provide the fundamentals for starting a successful food business. We specifically target working with folks from communities that are under-resourced.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Sam Grenlee: Folks who have great work ethic, great recipes, great ideas. They don't necessarily have an uncle who can invest in their business startup idea. And so we get a broad range. We get people who have an idea for a product, and we get people who've been in business for three years making sales. They're not making money.

They realize they, they don't have a business plan. And so we bring in local experts. There are collaborations across the board throughout that program to really cover the key fundamentals of starting a business, from small business banking, to food safety, to permitting, to marketing. And by the time they graduate from that program, they will have at least a first draft of their business plan.

Which just sets them up so much further for success. Graduates from that program are perpetually eligible to apply for our [00:18:00] incubator. If they get into that, it is anywhere from two to five years of really individualized, personalized coaching, technical assistance and mentorship. They get set their own milestones, their own goals for what they hope to achieve in the program and yeah, that, that program rapidly accelerates folks.

So we get someone who had an idea for a product a year ago and you know, eight months into the incubator program. It's permitted, it's being produced legally, and it's on a local store shelf at the Sacramento Natural Foods co-op. 

Jeff Holden: Right. 

Sam Grenlee: Or they might be selling at the Midtown Farmer's Market. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. I saw some of the praise for that program on the website, and it's kind of neat, you know, what would've tooken maybe three or four years for somebody who's struggling and slogging through it, gets it out in less than a year.

And I'm assuming this is volunteer based. The, the incoming resources are, are volunteer based for the people who are going through the program. You have a lot of, for like the, the rest tours and things of that nature? Yes. So for 

Shannin Stein: Amma in particular for the Micro Enterprise Academy, we [00:19:00] rely very heavily on volunteer experts who Exactly.

Restaurateurs, commercial real estate experts, financial experts who come in and present to the class. And then we also have our internal coaches who also kind of help keep things along. Mm-hmm. Clarify questions and are the kind, kind of the baseline of the consistency throughout the program if there are questions or needs.

One of the things that I do find interesting too, that I think is great about a ip, so. I love this statistic and I, I need to make sure I credit it correctly because I don't remember exactly where it came from, but I was listening to NPR recently and they said that a study came out that showed that businesses, small businesses that participate in incubator programs are 44% more likely to succeed.

Jeff Holden: Huge number. 

Shannin Stein: It's huge. It's remarkable. And so having a program specifically focused around food entrepreneurial businesses in the farm to fork capital 

Jeff Holden: mm-hmm. For 

Shannin Stein: under-resourced food entrepreneurs just seems like something, you'd be surprised we don't, that we should have more of that. Yes. And so it, this, or this program really fills an [00:20:00] important niche in our region and making sure that, you know, as we like to say, that farm to fork is farm to every fork.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Shannin Stein: That everyone has the opportunity to succeed, contribute, and participate in the farm to fork economy in our region. And so Alchemist Kitchen programs are specifically focused on that. And so one of the other things that we do, it's not that because they're in Alchemist Kitchen, you know, the co-op or farmer's markets.

Oh, that's great. We help create market opportunity. We actually help open those doors and we have relationships with those entities. And so now you'll find, I think we have 12 different a kippers who are currently at the Midtown Farmers Market. I think we have seven or eight who are on co-op shelves. We now have the opportunity to create pathways for new entrepreneurs with our farmers' markets that they're in a safe, structured environment that is, that is coached by Alchemist, CDC.

So we have supportive communication. And so really making sure that not only are we providing the coaching and the structure and the continued business acumen and growth, but [00:21:00] also helping provide those first really critical opportunities for market share. 

Jeff Holden: The reciprocity in the cycle of business, not only the actual functioning of these businesses, but the economic development to start having a real estate agent to help you with the location.

Or having a former chef or a current chef who is operating and gets it and understands it. And we get some really exciting stuff that's gonna be coming up in a, in a few minutes or that I can't wait to get to. We'll be back to learn more about the incredible work Sam and his team are doing right after we hear from the people who make this program possible.

I'm speaking with Darrell Tet, CEO of Core. Welcome to our Family of Partners. Thank 

Darrell Teat: you so much, Jeff. We are really excited to be part of the family and contribute to the work that you all are doing. 

Jeff Holden: What is Core all about? 

Darrell Teat: Core provides fractional and interim executive services, along with comprehensive back office solutions that go into our client sites and do the work to give them the capacity they need in order to [00:22:00] move through transitions, whether that's planned or unplanned, or companies also work with our accounting and finance, back office solutions, human resources, technology, and administration.

Jeff Holden: Why are these services such a lifesaver for small and mid-size organizations? 

Darrell Teat: Great question, Jeff. The reason why our Back Office solutions add value is because we save them time and money anywhere from 20 to 30% of what they would spend on that back office solution. We work in it so they can actually work on it.

Jeff Holden: I have to believe that there's somebody right now listening and thinking I could use that kind of help. What's the best way to get in touch with you, Darrell? 

Darrell Teat: The best way is at our website, cx OR e.com, and contact me directly at DTE a t@cxoe.com. 

Jeff Holden: Darrell, thank you for your investment and commitment to supporting our messaging.

And if you're interested in learning more about how CORE may help your organization, visit [00:23:00] CXOR e.com. 

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations annually. We survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment.

In our more recent survey, we heard concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative investments. If you would like a copy of the survey or to discuss your organization, look me up, scottThomas@captrust.com. At Western Health Advantage, healthcare 

Jeff Holden: isn't just a service, it's a shared value.

As a non-profit leader, you need a health plan that understands the important of mission-driven work. Western Health Advantage is a local not-for-profit health plan that supports organizations like yours with affordable, flexible coverage options for your team. What truly sets them apart is their commitment to community [00:24:00] supporting nonprofits like the American Heart Association, Sacramento Ballet, and the Crocker Art Museums.

Pay what You Wish Sundays with access to top tier providers and dedicated local support Western Health advantages more than a health plan. It's a partner in your purpose. Explore your options today@westernhealth.com. Western Health Advantage, healthcare with Heart, designed for those who give back. The collaborative part of what you're doing is so integrated as well.

Share with us some of the partners that you work with often. 

Sam Grenlee: Well, I think we've already mentioned half a dozen. Um Yes. Yeah, you did. You did. Yeah. Yeah. But we, 

Jeff Holden: we'll give 'em that shout out again. Absolutely. As specific. Absolutely. 

Sam Grenlee: Well, as mentioned with Community Food Connections, Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services in the SAC Unified School District.

With key partners. Um, route 64, route 64 Farm and East Tahoe Park. You know, river City Food Bank has been a huge partner of ours for years. [00:25:00] They do incredible work at CalFresh, EBT enrollment and applications. And so we send people constantly their, you know, people see the CalFresh booth, the farmer's market, they get curious if they're eligible and we help point them to River City.

Does that work? 

Shannin Stein: I mean, I, Sacramento County EMD, we have a remarkable relationship with the health department. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Shannin Stein: Um, they are incredibly supportive of our work because we lean very heavily into making sure that our food entrepreneurs are certified, properly trained, our are working within really.

Making sure that they're knowledgeable of EMD policies and procedures, and so they're a wonderful partner. I, I love to give, they get such a bad rap, so I love to give them a shout out when we have the opportunity. 

Sam Grenlee: Good. You know, Sacramento area Bicycle advocates? Oh, Saba. Oh, Saba Saba's an amazing partner.

They pop up once a month at the Meadowview Farmer's Market to do free bike repairs. They're ride ready repair program and they're now beginning to do that once a month at the Rancho Cordova Certified Farmer's Market. And it's just really beautiful to bring the bikes and the farmer's market together.

That's just [00:26:00] a small sampling. Yeah. Yeah. I was, and 

Shannin Stein: we do, we do collaborations with a, a variety of other organizations. When the opportunity presents itself, you know, food Literacy Center was one of the partners in launching Community Food Connections. I mean, there's, there's so many different ways and opportunities to partner Habitat for Humanity built the new fence, it's outta the Oak Park Art Garden that's currently under construction.

Those things, that's, that's, you know, I mean that's so much of, of who and what Alchemist is, and I think that goes back to the community development corporation too, is that we don't have to be all things. We don't have to do all things, but we really like to be a collaborator and an initiator of activities in the communities where we're working.

Jeff Holden: You've got so many opportunities and food is essential for everybody. 

Shannin Stein: It's the great unifier. That's right. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Especially over that table eating. Mm-hmm. 

Sam Grenlee: Going back to the Micro Enterprise Academy and the volunteer experts who come in, you know, one of the beautiful things about that to me is we're connecting the folks, the participants in the program.

To experts beyond our organization. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Sam Grenlee: We don't want them to [00:27:00] become, you know, dependent on our organization as their, their sole source of information and expertise. We want them to have those relationships to know who else to go to because we don't need to own this. We, we can't own it all. There's too much work to be done.

But there are people who want to help, who have that expertise and we can connect them, you know, the collaboration, you know, Meadowview certified Farmer's Market came up, but just the level of interrelation between these programs and these partners is incredible. I know we talked about a lot of programs, but that is one example to tie them all together.

It's a weekly farmer's market during the, you know, the warm months of the year creating food access. It has the CalFresh and market match access for the Meadowview community that doesn't have a grocery store, but it is also an incubation place for many businesses who've gone through our Micro enterprise academy.

They're getting their start 'cause they don't have to pay a vendor fee to be there. So they're getting, you know, learning how to sell at a farmer's market and it's a benefit to the market. We have other businesses coming in who are learning about Micro Enterprise Academy and, you know, [00:28:00] signing up, we're purchasing food from one of the, the core farmers of that market to distribute through community food connections.

So it helps incentivize them to come to a smallish farmer's market where they may not have the top sales every day. Mm-hmm. And it's getting that food that was picked yesterday onto the table of some of the most vulnerable families in Sacramento. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. That's just a, a beautiful scenario. All enveloped.

And that's just in one place. You've got four of these happening around town, which again, bumble up to somebody like Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, you know, where their, their recognition of it is. The ability to share it with others in other spaces where maybe this doesn't exist. So now I have to ask, how do you pay for all of it?

Yeah. Because there is, there is the funding question. 

Sam Grenlee: That's the multimillion dollar question. What literally, 

Jeff Holden: what does it look like? Yes. 

Sam Grenlee: You know, historically we've been really grant dependent. We honestly, we have a great team of grant writers on our folks who are really successful with [00:29:00] that. We keep really great records and we report those records.

So we see a lot of return grant funding as well. We, we do worry about that, the level to which we have depended on grants in the past. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Sam Grenlee: And so we're working now to cultivate our individual donor base. That does exist, but it's not one that we have historically done the most to activate. We're also looking at opportunities to generate revenue on our own.

There are some exciting opportunities right now and coming down the pipeline for us where we are gonna be able to create some of that. 'cause we are, you know, increase the, the grant environment is, has its struggles I think that everybody's aware of at the moment. You know, one of the issues with an organization like ours that is doing so many programs, any one of these programs could be separated out and be its own nonprofit, but a funder will give one grant to one nonprofit in a year.

And so we're doing a lot of work and you know, facing those sorts of funding challenges with grants where the grants just aren't sufficient. 

Jeff Holden: [00:30:00] Unrestricted folks. Unrestricted, 

Shannin Stein: unrestricted. 

Jeff Holden: We, we all need that. That is the word of the 

Shannin Stein: century right now. We need that 

Jeff Holden: flexibility Exactly. Right now more than ever.

Shannin Stein: Absolutely. Yeah. Unrestricted is so important. I mean, and it is essential to the long-term viability of any non-profit organization is unrestricted revenue. It is essential and it, we are existing in a world where the availability and in our environment, we have a lot of nonprofits in the Greater Sacramento region and unrestricted income and donations are.

There is a cap, there is a limitation on how much unrestricted funding is available in our region. And so being creative about the relationships and having the diversity of programs that we have, we're starting to have conversations with some of our larger organizations in town that do larger grants, that are more foundational grants as opposed to this, the rigidity of a, of a state or federal grant where, you know, the foundational grants, there's a lot more flexibility.

They are often unrestricted as long as they are still mission focused. And [00:31:00] so really being able to show them that we are meeting deliverables within their grant priorities in a variety of ways through a variety of programs. Mm-hmm. Um, it's, it's bringing us to the table in a new and different way. You know, I, I, I chuckle, we, Sam and I chuckle about this.

I am, I'm the first actual like development titled. Staff member, paid staff member this organization has ever had. Our program managers have done the lion's share of working with senior leadership in the organization to fund the individual program operations for over 21 years now. And so to move into a more centralized funding capacity, it's a big shift for our organization.

It's a big shift for our team and, and how we do what we do. And so, but it's really exciting because there is so much untapped potential. I mean, we had was over 180, I think we had 183 individual donors who participated with Big Day of Giving, giving to Alchemists this year. Mm-hmm. I mean that's great.

It's untapped potential. Many of those are not regular individual donors. And so [00:32:00] we're very excited about what we have the potential to do in 2026 and engaging and bringing in more individual donors to our work. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and the programs that you've got have that potential for self-sufficiency. Yes. Which is a beautiful thing.

'cause you can look at a variety of different ways to make that happen. And I'm, I'm my mind's going a million miles a minute too, to say, okay, what about, what about, what about, not for this conversation, but I could see that. Mm-hmm. You know, in terms of the opportunities that you have and you've now taken that burden of grant writing, so to speak, or that the development burden of community interaction and talking and all that time that it takes away from program people who now can devote more to the program.

Shannin Stein: That's the goal. Yeah. That is the goal always. Absolutely. And I think. For us too. My guess is this was potentially gonna lean into your next question because we haven't gotten, which I can't wait 

Jeff Holden: to get to 'cause this is the, the fun one. Yeah. 

Shannin Stein: Everybody is talking about throughout the nonprofit community and I have no doubt that this has been conversation with other guests that you've had on on as well, that [00:33:00] getting creative with the diversity of your funding and how you are operate, operating your organization and looking at long-term sustainability is essential.

Mm-hmm. And so we have spent a lot of time over the last year and are continuing to spend more time formalizing and really maturing in how we identify as a fundraising organization. Putting together, you know, making sure that we have a donor bill of rights, making sure that we have our. Information about our investment policy statement, that that is organized and set and that we have plans to develop and make sure that we can bring in other types of investments into our organization now through investments, through all types of new platforms.

Mm-hmm. And really starting to diversify how we allow and welcome folks into our, our supportive pool, basically. 

Jeff Holden: Right. We 

Shannin Stein: have to, and that comes also like you said, with sustainable operations, you know, our farmer's markets through the stall fees, through, you know, our alchemist kitchen through rental, rental expenses.

And, you know, and [00:34:00] that leads us into our exciting new realm, which is employment, social enterprise, and direct revenue opportunities. Mm-hmm. Through the work that we're doing. 

Jeff Holden: And today it's about a million and a half dollar budget ish with 34 people. 

Sam Grenlee: That'd be right. Yeah. For the programming for the program.

Yes. We've got 

Jeff Holden: not, not capital or anything like that. Sure. Which I'll let you get to is just a second because the next question is. Your vision has already started, which I, I think is, is so cool. Most people I'm talking, well, it, it'd be great if, but if there was an unlimited budget and I, I know it's not, but if it was mm-hmm.

What would it look like? And then you can kind of pare it down to what's happening because you have something in this space that's been a dream and a vision since you came on board. And it's about to be realized, if I'm not mistaken, did I see like August 20, 25 something's happening? 

Shannin Stein: It feels like something's happening right now all the time.

Jeff Holden: Maybe it was the original [00:35:00] intended date, something so it was so original 

Shannin Stein: intended date. We are, we are in permit review right now for, for Alchemist Public Market, which really I'm there. It's gonna, I'm gonna, it's Alchemist Public Market. And I'm gonna turn this right back over to Sam because Alchemist public market would not exist were it not for Sam's vision and being brought onto this organization as, as our, our executive director five years ago now, our CEO.

But yes. Um. This really is something that, that he has brought to life and has, in my opinion, is really what has catalyzed this, this seismic shift in who we are as an organization and the legitimacy and the validity, the validity that Alchem CDC now has in the conversation around food stability, food access, and creating a dynamic food system in our region.

So 

Jeff Holden: that's your cue, Sam? That's you, 

Sam Grenlee: Sam? Absolutely. Yeah. I would say ask me anytime in the past few years, and my answer to that would be Alchemist, public Market. So Alchemist, public Market. Really the concept was conceived within a month of my [00:36:00] joining Alchemist in 2020, I worked with Jacob Sachs, our Alchemist Kitchen program manager, and he pitched me early on that that program was new, it was young, and he said he could already see that we would need a commercial kitchen someday.

There was a space he was looking at saying like, it'd be a big leap for us, but can we get there? And it really got the wheels turning that yes, we do need a commercial kitchen. But what if we and are going to invest that kind of money into owning something, can we actually bring all of our programs into one place?

Can we merge them and let them flourish? A small sample of everything that we do. And so yeah, we, after years of work, we are going to be building outcomes public market in the Sacramento's River district, just above the rail yards, right above where the soccer stadium is supposed to go. And this is going to be really anchored by an all electric, a commissary kitchen that can support 40 to 50 small businesses affordably producing their food legally for sale.[00:37:00] 

Jeff Holden: And I know SUD is involved in that in some way, shape or form. I'm sure we have to make sure that you get it All right. And maybe Shine program awards or something to that effect. The integrative 

Shannin Stein: design team. In fact, I'm gonna give Ryan Hammond a shout out. Please do. Ryan has been remarkable. The integrative design team.

SMUD has been a remarkable partner on this from day one, especially in regards to making sure that we are really pushing the envelope in regards to environmental sustainability and responsibility and how we're designing this site. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Shannin Stein: So it's been exciting to talk to them about this and to really work collaboratively with them on, on bringing this to life.

Jeff Holden: Yeah, absolutely. And teaching the chefs how to cook electrically because somebody had been some concerned, well, I can't, I can't, I can't. Well, here it is. You're gonna learn, that's what you're going to learn, so that as you go out into the world, you now have an extra skillset that some may not as an advantage.

Sam Grenlee: Yeah. One, one of the mini goals of this project was for it to be, you know, as environmentally sustainable [00:38:00] forward thinking in that regard as possible. Yes. We wanted to mitigate our own CO2 emissions, but also have the idea of having dozens and eventually hundreds of. New food entrepreneurs who get that experience with an all electric kitchen and go on when they, when they build their own to realize that, you know, I enjoyed the kitchen was cooler and safer, you know, but, but yeah, that's just the anchor of that project that's on the backend, not available to the public.

But the rest of the project really is meant to serve the community. We will have a cafe space that will all include a corner store as a fully functioning mini grocery store that can accept WIC and snap. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Sam Grenlee: So that store is really an incredible thing. It's a, the first shelf space for businesses in our program to get their product on a retail shelf.

So you'll have gourmet pickles, but you'll also have the, the staples that somebody needs with their WIC benefits. Mm-hmm. And that's integrated into a larger cafe. We aim to be a great cafe serving the community that will be [00:39:00] powered by a workforce development team that I'm sure we'll circle back to, to, uh, discuss.

And then all that will have an outdoor courtyard. Heavily shaded, you know, prepared for the different seasons, but it that will be ringed by multiple food trailers and food pods, which are effectively small individual restaurant kitchens of vending windows. All of these will be all electric as well. And these will be spaces in which those people going through our incubator program who want to have their own trailer or food truck or brick and mortar restaurant, can actually get their, start doing that direct service with the public, build their brand, learn how it would do it, build sales data so they can get their own loan and move into their own space after a few years.

As I mentioned, that surrounding a courtyard, ample seating tables, a small children's play area that will be, is designed to be fully inclusive. So children who are assisted by wheelchairs, children with a wide range of abilities. We'll be [00:40:00] able to enjoy that fully. And then we'll host weekly farmer's markets.

Mm-hmm. You know, bringing that program in. Regular night markets, regular programming, community movie nights, outside Republic, watch parties, you know, just so many opportunities of that space. 

Jeff Holden: Don't even know what you're gonna be exposed to once you get it open and how much demand you, you think it big already.

Wait until it starts. But what a neat self-contained ecosystem of alchemist It is. The full 360. And what comes out of that is the offshoot into already a proven concept for somebody to go and run with it. Correct. And that's that vision. People say, yeah, that's a great idea. Cool, Sam, now figure out how to do it.

The good news is it's done. It's about to be built. 

Shannin Stein: Oh yeah. It is very much moving forward. Yes. The momentum is, 

Jeff Holden: yeah. Well it 

Shannin Stein: has a life of it own. You're not, you're not 

Jeff Holden: just talking about it saying, well, we got a capital campaign [00:41:00] started. It's done, it's funded. You are rolling. 

Sam Grenlee: Yes. After, after securing two major grants, one from the US Economic Development Administration, one from the state of California through what was called Surf Community Economic Resilience Fund is now called California Jobs.

First. Between these two grants, we funded the project and it got to that point where, okay, we have, we have this in hand and now we need somebody to run this. So that's when we brought in Shannon, uh, to actually take the lead on. Moving it from the, the phase of funding to construction and eventually opening.

Jeff Holden: So we're hearing a dream come true, is what we're hearing. 

Shannin Stein: We are, we are. So, I, so I, I interviewed Sam in probably, I think, early 2021 for Edible Sacramento. I do some freelance writing. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Shannin Stein: When we were done, we went off the record and I looked him and I said, I'm gonna be part of this someday. I don't know how, I don't, but this is amazing.

And it was still just, you know, it was a dream. He hadn't applied for grants [00:42:00] yet. And I was like, this is remarkable. I wanna be part of this. And here I am and I'm so grateful. But it's, Alma's public market is, is going to be a truly transformational space. Mm-hmm. Not just for Alma, CDC and our programs, but for.

How food is integrated into not just everything that we do, but into building communities, into building, rebuilding, and redefining the river district and the rail yards, and to be at this stage of our development as those communities are also in this kind of enlightenment period for their own development is incredibly exciting.

We know we're gonna have a pretty hard lift in the first couple of years that we're there and really deliberately programming and bringing people to the area. But I think you're right. I think we get five, seven years out and we have a new hospital and we have a stadium, and we have. More activation in the river district that we are gonna see that Alchemist public market naturally becomes this, this heartbeat of that, that community.

One of the things I'm most excited about at Alchemist Public Market is that [00:43:00] we're really leaning into the community development corporation aspect of what we do through, through WIC and EBT. At the, the general store, the corner store. There is no grocery store that is available to the residents of the River District.

And you know, Marisol Village is a block and a half away, huge SHRA county and city project, state of California project. Over 80% of the folks who there are living income adjusted in those, um, over 50% of them are transportation affected and there is no place in the community for them to use their food benefits.

Jeff Holden: Mm. 

Shannin Stein: And so we're gonna be able to do that for the incubator businesses who will be moving in and creating leases in the pods and the trailers. We're working with River City Bank to actually put together a subsidized small business loan program, which. What a remarkable opportunity. River City Bank has a really wonderful small business lending opportunity is very low barrier to entry.

But through collaboration with Alchemist CDC and our California Jobs first grant opportunity, we're able to [00:44:00] use some of the interest to create a secured account to actually do secured lending for folks who may have a slightly lower FICA score mm-hmm. Than they typically lend to, or who may need a slightly larger loan than they typically do for their small grants, will be able to subsidize those for small businesses who are incubating at.

Public market. And so it's really us starting to dip our toe into how can we create more structure and pathways to empower these entrepreneurs to further success. It's not a grant, it's still a loan, there's still a repayment, the, but it's something that's being done in a way that it, there's some safety net still built in and there's coaching still built in.

It's facilitated by Alchemist through our relationship with River City Bank, which we all wanna see succeed. So there's gonna be additional support and experts who are working with these businesses at every level to make sure that they succeed and to help them be as successful as possible with those funds.

So, so many new things are developing, and that's why we're leaning now into [00:45:00] economic development. Being this realm that Alchemist Kitchen lives in, because we're Alchemist public market is now moving us into very squarely that al economic development realm. Yes. Where we are working in funding, we are working in, you know, really starting to work with our incubator participants in a much more, in a deeper way.

In fact, one of the things I think I'm excited about the most is that this will really be for a lot of our incubator participants, their first time executing a formal commercial lease agreement. 

Jeff Holden: Hmm. 

Shannin Stein: And as opposed to doing that with a, just a general commercial developer or landowner property owner, they're doing it with us.

They're doing it with Alima, CCDC, they're gonna be doing that with me and Sam. Where our, their, their success is in our best interest, but also making sure that they understand the expectations and the reality of negotiating and navigating what is triple net, like what, what is ti being able to navigate and ask those questions in a safe, supportive environment.

And then we've been working with certain commercial real estate as well. And then Kimo [00:46:00] and Kimo and Scott over there have been wonderful about agreeing to do one-on-one coaching and helping us sit down and navigate those conversations. And so as we've, you know, brought Alchemist public market to life, new kind of diversified partnerships with a lot more experts in our region in the Farm-To-Fork kind of food restaurant, hospitality region, um, are starting to come up with California Restaurant Association and you know, the list goes on.

And so this is all being born out of Alma's public market. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. And to think of the periphery in the river district, what that might mean once you are there first. What that all looks like as that ring continues to grow out from the public market and the liability or risk that River City Bank has with people who have gone for the program is far less than somebody who hasn't.

So what a, what a great circle of influence you've become in so many different ways with just that, and that's not it. Because we need to add one more [00:47:00] thing because it's so important to what you do in food. It is. You're teaching people to understand the operation of a restaurant and food service. This would be yours, Shannon.

So, 

Shannin Stein: well, nobody, I don't think anybody had it on their Bingo card for 2025, let alone me, that we would have an opportunity at Empress Tavern in collaboration with Sacramento Crest Theater Inc. And Robert Emrich, the owner of the Crest Theater and that stretch of K Street. Bob called me in early April. And said that, you know, he was re-imagining the space and wanted to come back to, he had moved to the coast during COVID and he was coming back to Sacramento.

He wanted to really reinvigorate Crest and Empress and asked if I could be involved. And I was like, I have a job that I love. I work with Alchemist and I love it. I don't, I know, like I can't be involved. And he was like, can you just come talk to me? So I went and sat down with them and by the time we were done with an hour long [00:48:00] conversation, I said, Bob, I think Alchemist, CDC is actually your solution.

I think that our program and our Alchemist kitchen and our Micro Enterprise Academy and all the things that we're doing in the food system around equity and elevating voices in the food system and leaning into art and creativity and how all of that is part of a much lar an even larger creative ecosystem in our region.

And think 

Jeff Holden: of the collaborative opportunities that present here. 

Shannin Stein: Right? Oh my gosh. And so I, I was like, let me talk to Sam. I don't know, Bob. We're really stretched right now, so I don't know. So I talked to Sam and Sam saw the opportunity and we spoke with our team. And then, you know what really started to make this real is the fact that Alchemist's public market, like any other commercial construction project, is further behind than we would like it to be farther ahead, honestly, than we thought it might be at this point, which is amazing.

Mm-hmm. But. We saw an opportunity at Empress Tavern to launch a lot of the operations that we had planned to launch at Alchemist Public [00:49:00] Market next year. So workforce development, bringing opportunities for training our small food entrepreneurs in this case in a beautiful, fully functional commercial restaurant where they get to learn about having their hoods cleaned and cleaning a grease trap.

And what's a big dipper? And you know, the, the amount of work and effort and energy that goes into running a space of that size and that this is some of, some of our participants. This is their goal. 

Jeff Holden: It's real. It is real. This is customer service. This is a real operating functioning retail location you will get to experience.

So you come through the program, that's one thing that's nice. You go do your thing works, doesn't work. You know, restaurants are really challenging Now. They get the experience of the challenge without having the liability of everything they own on the line. 

Shannin Stein: And yeah. And they have a incredibly skilled and experienced culinary manager on site who can help coach them, help them learn how to menu cost, how to expand their menus.

We'll be doing a [00:50:00] lot of catering and private events on site, so they'll have the opportunity to participate in that, learn how to scale their operations, how to adjust their concepts potentially. We will also have an onsite site manager who can teach them how to create contracts and booking agreements and how to make sure that they are taking all the things that they're learning in our Alchemist kitchen programs and putting them into practice.

Mm-hmm. And putting them into a practice, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful spaces in Sacramento. So it in a really exciting collaborative partnership because we also have right of first refusal now for all private catering events at the Crest. And that the revenue learning opportunity, back to revenue.

Back to revenue, revenue, revenue. 100% back to revenue. Absolutely. And it's all business related revenue. Because we're doing workforce development. All of our menus feature farmers and vendors and food entrepreneurs from our farmer's markets. In fact, I'm having such a blast with our, we're doing preview events right now through late summer and even heading into early fall.

And it's so much fun to write these special [00:51:00] menus and to, you know, this menu features this many farms from our region who can be found at these markets. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Shannin Stein: And it's such a thrill. And, you know, we don't get the opportunity in regular restaurant operations to really lean into that as much as any of us would like.

You know, I was in the industry for a very long time and so, you know, we get to be super deliberate at Empress about not only highlighting and featuring all of the amazing entrepreneurs and vendors and farmers that we already have the opportunity to work with, but now we're launching workforce development and we're having, one of the things that Sam and I are so excited about at Empress is that.

We have the opportunity to create a new standard of expectation for a new generation of workforce professionals in, in restaurant and hospitality. I spent 22 years in the industry. You know, I had no health insurance. I had no 401k. It was toxic. I've had pans thrown at my head like, we are building an environment in Empress Tavern for workforce development, where the employees [00:52:00] will have pride of pride in service again.

Mm-hmm. Pride in the knowledge of their product, pride in participation in workforce development, and being part of a mission-based organization, but also they'll be educated to know what a healthy workplace looks like, what an environment and a work environment looks like if it is a, a union house, or if it is a mom and pop or whatever.

It's, but what it means to be respected, appreciated, valued, communicated with. In an environment where they can not only be a service professional and thrive in a career, but also be well taken care of. Mm-hmm. And help shift, you know, there's a lot of folks in our town who are slowly but truly leaning into that in a variety of ways.

And we feel like this is our opportunity to really be able to create a whole new generation of restaurant and hospitality professionals again in the farm to Fort Capital who see service in the way. I feel like we used to see service, but [00:53:00] also existing in a non-toxic, healthy, supportive environment.

Like it, it really like it's what's getting me outta bed these days. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. As a dream. I mean this, if we said this in just a conversation, this is our dream. This is what it could look like. That would be phenomenal. People would be go, yeah, that's really cool. Good luck. And the fact that it's real. The reality is just around the corner.

This is all happening today as we speak within months. That I think for people to get the vision and the understanding of what it is you're trying to convey, it's all right here. Mm-hmm. It's in this, this dream package. I hate to take it back to reality right now because there is a reality. What short of where we are, what is the greatest need you have today?

Sam Grenlee: I would say that's an easy one for me to answer our, our single greatest need is actually all the way tied back to our CalFresh at Farmer's Markets program. In some ways, that program's a victim [00:54:00] of its its own success. It has grown so much every single year. Participation from customers, the number of transactions, the amount of money flowing through, you know, I believe it was 2019, I think we saw around $700,000 in EBT and Market Match being distributed.

Last year it was 1.44 million. Mm-hmm. This year, probably 1.6 to 1.7 million, and it just continues to grow in that way. We used to be able to fund this work through a patchwork of small grants. You know, we, we had a lot of unpaid interns at one point who ran this and, you know, it was one of the first things we did in 2020, uh, replaced unpaid internships with paid internships, and now with just paid staff.

Mm-hmm. But the, the, it's a very efficient program, but the costs have grown as to the point where it's difficult as a nonprofit to be running a safety net program throughout the entire county. And to be able to fund that through the existing network of grants. We've actually been working and, and hoping to work more [00:55:00] collaboratively with our various local government bodies.

We believe there's a really great opportunity there because of the fact that this is a safety net program, which is delivering multiple benefits. Mm-hmm. It's helping stretch the budgets of our lowest income, most food insecure households, so they can double their money at a farmer's market when they use their EBT benefits.

They're eating healthier because that's incentivizing them to eat fresh fruits and produce all sorts of benefits come out of that. And the money's going back into the pockets of local businesses and local farms, and they tend to reinvest it back in the community. So it's a triple win. And you know, I think this year we were looking at a $300,000 say that we needed to, to raise to really fill the gap.

And the program alone last year brought in 640,000 in market match benefits. Those incentives never would've come into our county without this program. They just don't exist unless you have a program to distribute 

Jeff Holden: them. Mm-hmm. 

Sam Grenlee: And so just by that measure alone, every dollar spent [00:56:00] brings in $2 of incentives.

So we, we have the data, we have all the groundwork there, and we've had a difficult time with a program that is maybe a victim of being so uncontroversial, you know? 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Sam Grenlee: Everyone looks at it and says, oh, that's great. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Sam Grenlee: And everyone kind of assumes that we'll just get it taken care of. And so that's one of our biggest needs right now is breaking through and saying that.

We're at the point where it's a drop in the B bucket for, you know, municipal budgets, but we need consistent support on this if this program's going to be able to continue to deliver. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Well, and and there there's the ask. It's out there for people to be aware and to share and say, this is an important part of the community.

We need this to continue. For all the reasons you just mentioned, I knew this would be tough to jam into. Mm-hmm. The amount of time, what we've got. 'cause you have so much going on and it's, it's just so cool. You've got the, the wow factor of everything happening today and, and it's, it's, it's so neat.

What's the best way for somebody to learn [00:57:00] about everything that's happening? Is there a single point source? Is it, is it the website? 

Shannin Stein: Yeah, I mean the website is the best single point and we we're very active on social media. We are unusual in the fact that we have a lot of different social media channels, particularly because each one of the farmer's markets has its own community that it serves.

And so there's a lot of ways to actually follow what Alchemist is doing and to follow what is your interest and preference. Community Food Connections has its own. Mm-hmm. You know, and so really being able to engage with us in a variety of ways. We have, Tavern has its own website and its own social media, so if that's what interests you, you can start following us at following us there.

And of course you can always reach out to us at info i nfo@alchemistcdc.org and that will get to any one of us. If you have a question about our programs or services wanting to get involved, wanting to donate potentially a significant amount of money from your estate, we are happy to have that conversation.

Jeff Holden: Endowment, even if you wanna say one, happy Endowments are lovely, 

Shannin Stein: we love them. You know, you, [00:58:00] you used the word when we were off there earlier about what we're doing is cool and I think. It's fun. What we're doing is exciting. Yes. What we're doing is dynamic. It is, we are, we are not a static organization, but I do think I speak for all of us when I say that.

Like we, we don't need any more growth. Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Shannin Stein: We're, we're good, but we, well, you 

Jeff Holden: are the epitome on the nonprofit side of the farm to fork movement and that allows you to blend so many different angles in so many different ways. 'cause it's such a part of Sacramento. Yeah. So that's, if you send me, I'll get all those into the show notes, the variety of different handles for social media and the website is alchemist cdc.org.

It is, that's right. Okay. We'll have that in there as well, because. 

Sam Grenlee: It's difficult even for that PA website to keep up with everything that's happening. Well, yeah, 

Jeff Holden: I can imagine you need all these subsets that are landing pages just to take you to the next thing. Absolutely. I wanna see the time amps, you know, build out of the, you know, the public [00:59:00] market.

Yes. It's coming. We're 

Shannin Stein: talking to folks. It's happening. Yeah, we have to have that. That's just 

Jeff Holden: so cool. Something taking place in the river district by the time this comes out, that probably will exist. Good. Yep. Good. Well, we'll make sure we, we'll, we'll make noise about that too, if that's the case. And you said the word, I have it in my closing notes here too.

You know, what you're doing is just so darn cool. You know, I, I knew we would have a, a challenge getting it all integrated into the conversation, but what you're bringing to the community, the way you're working with so many people, with such a topical and more, what's the word I wanna use? The progressive element of Sacramento is the food movement.

And you are right at the forefront of it in so many different ways. I saw the, the renderings of the public market. It's hip, it's what it should be. It's what we expect of Sacramento. That will fuel all that other activity around it once it's under construction or completed. So for what you guys are doing for the way that you've got the team, the way that you're integrating so much for the neighborhoods in need, for the under-resourced, for those who are wanting to get [01:00:00] into the space from a retail restaurant side of things, or a food production side.

It's just amazing. Thank you for all of it and I can't wait to get to eat some of it or taste some of it or see some of it in some way, shape, or form. 

Shannin Stein: Can't 

Jeff Holden: wait 

Sam Grenlee: to have 

Shannin Stein: you 

Jeff Holden: out. 

Shannin Stein: Yep. We'd love to have you there. 

Jeff Holden: Thanks for the time today. I appreciate it. 

Shannin Stein: Thank you. Thank you very much. 

Jeff Holden: Thank you for listening to the Nonprofit Podcast Network.

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