When we first started Brookfields 40+ years ago in 1981, Sacramento was still known as the City of Trees. While it still carries that arboreal legacy, the Sacramento region has since been rebranded as America’s Farm to Fork Capitol. The idea was first brought to Visit Sacramento in 2012 by fellow restaurateur Josh Nelson of the Selland Family Restaurants. Former Mayor Kevin Johnson got involved and designated Sacramento as “America’s Farm to Fork Capitol.” He did this in honor of the region’s incredible food and agriculture. For those of us who live and work here, this title felt obvious and inevitable, because we’ve consistently served and eaten farm-fresh. The Sacramento region is an agricultural powerhouse. There’s no other major American city that is more centrally located amid such an incredible range of high-quality farms, ranches, and vineyards.
Here are some fun farm-to-fork facts about Sacramento (thanks to Visit Sacramento):
- The Sacramento region contains 1.5 million acres of regional farmland.
- Sacramento is home to the largest CA Certified Farmers Market in the state and offers the most ethnically diversified market in both produce offerings and customer demographics.
- The Sacramento region has more than 40 farmer’s markets, with many of them running year-round.
- 99% of California’s rice crop is grown here.
- California supplies 80% of the world’s almonds, with Sacramento-based Blue Diamond as the largest almond processor in the world.
- Wine grapes have been the #1 crop in Sacramento County for 10+ years. It’s a little-known fact that many of the grapes used in Napa are grown in the greater Sacramento region!
- We live in one of only six Mediterranean climates globally, which are the best places to grow food.
We’ve certainly benefited from all this bountiful produce in the greater Sacramento area! All three of our Brookfields Restaurants source the freshest ingredients from local growers, meaning our customers are treated to a genuinely homemade farm-to-fork meal each time they dine with us!
Locally-Sourced
With access to the freshest produce and ingredients straight from the farms in our “backyard”, we’re proud to serve our customers homemade, farm-fresh meals! Over the years, we’ve built lasting relationships with our local farmers and producers. Therefore we’re always serving you food you can trust. Here’s a look at some of our partnerships.
Farm-Fresh Eggs
We opened the doors of our first restaurant more than 40 years ago, and since day one, we’ve sourced our eggs from the same local man, Jerry!
Certified Angus Beef
All three of our restaurants purchase their meat from a facility here in East Sacramento: Reeds Gourmet Meat Co. Since they started in 1966, their facility is USDA-inspected, and they pride themselves on mastering the essentials needed for proper meat processing: cleanliness, sanitation, and food safety. We’ve bought our meat from Reeds since 1997, especially since they provide some of the highest quality naturally-aged, freshly-cut Certified Angus Beef.
Wholesome + Homemade
When we say homemade, we mean it! For starters, our family recipes have been passed down through the generations, and we love sharing our traditional meals with our customers! Since we’re big fans of homemade food, many of our menu items are made from scratch, including our muffins, scones, strawberry jam, country gravy, and fresh-roasted salsa, to name a few. Our orange juice is freshly squeezed daily, with no sugar added, and even our seasoned salt and whipped cream are homemade!
Stanislaus Food Products
We love working with Stanislaus Food Products, who provide us with their “best of the best” canned tomato products. They’re a family-owned company with “Real Italian” values, whose goal is to provide their tomatoes from vine to can in under 6 hours. This process captures the fresh flavors of the tomatoes. They also offer several other “ready to serve” products, such as sauces and bases.
Umpqua Dairy
Founded in 1931, Umpqua Dairy makes natural, locally-made products that are nationally-recognized for their quality. Theyhey make everything from milk, butter, and cream to juice, punch, and frozen yogurts!
Now that you have read about all our incredible partners and their delicious products, is your mouth starting to water? Us too! We’d love to serve you one of our farm-fresh meals made with many of these ingredients. We look forward to serving you!
