Santa Cruz County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Articles

Supporting our local economy by shopping at stores that carry locally produced goods is good for the community and the environment. And in the case of farmers markets, your health as well.

The Santa Cruz County Fair is seeking a new leader.

Donations from local agencies have led to the completion of a new outdoor dining area at the Salvation Army in Watsonville.

Farmworkers handle tarps at a farm near Moss Landing in October 2024. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local file)
WATSONVILLE >> After five years of activism from Pajaro Valley residents and others across the state, California residents can now get …

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz is facing major problems serving its clientele after getting hit with cuts by the Trump Administration, according to CEO Erica Padilla-Chavez.

California stands as America’s agricultural powerhouse, growing half of its fruits and vegetables. Here’s how California farming has shaped the state, from the early missions to today’s “factories in the field.”

Staff of Life Natural Foods teamed up with Smart Chicken Wednesday to donate 2,639 pounds of high-quality chicken to Second Harvest Food Bank through the Smart

It has been more than two decades since beloved restaurateur Linda Hopper purchased the Silver Spur restaurant in Soquel and turned it into a cornerstone of breakfast and lunchtime fare for both locals and out-of-towners.

Planning for the two-day Scotts Valley Art, Wine & Beer Festival, scheduled for Aug. 16-17, was about to be derailed when discussions between the Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce and the City got back on track with the help of …

Watsonville restaurant The Rustic Table marched away with a first-place award for their Boston clam chowder over the weekend at the annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook Off at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Community Bridges recently announced the promotion of Dana Wagner, who has been selected as senior program director for Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County, marking a full-circle moment in her distinguished career in nutrition and community service.

An Alabama-based company with more than 70 greenhouse growing facilities across the U.S. has agreed to pay back lost wages and other payments to eight farmworkers to resolve six unfair labor practice charges filed with the California Agricultural Labor Relations …

On Jan. 28, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced an update to the State Water Project allocation forecast for 2025. Original article published at Rancho Cordova Independent

The Santa Cruz City Council on Tuesday is expected to consider a new Miramar restaurant on the Santa Cruz wharf. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
Santa Cruz City Council meeting

IF YOU HAVE tried to bake a cake recently, you might have had a hard time finding eggs. The empty shelves are a sign of the devastating impact of avian influenza, H5N1 or HPAI, on commercial poultry flocks in California.The …

Hineal Nieto, left, worked for Monterey Mushrooms in Royal Oaks for 44 years until the facility closed in December. He talks to a job recruiter at a county-led event Dec. 12 in Watsonville. Nieto. (Fidel M. Soto — Santa Cruz …

In 1942, the U.S. and Mexico hammered out a deal that allowed millions of Mexican men to enter the country to work as Braceros.

Less than two years after he was hired to run the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, Zeke Fraser announced his resignation from the post.

California may have more than a million fighting birds, according to the Center for a Humane Economy.

About 40 people gathered outside the CineLux Green Valley Cinema in Watsonville Friday to protest new regulations by the Department of Pesticide Regulation regarding 1,3-dichloropropene, also called Telone, a pesticide widely used in California.