About Alchemist CDC
Alchemist CDC is a mission-driven organization that connects Sacramento area communities to land, food, and opportunity toward a vision in which all neighborhoods are vibrant, equitable, healthy, and diverse.
In practice, this means we work within the local food system to cultivate equitable food access, inclusive economic development, and community-centered place-making. Our programs connect not just to one another but also to many issues, policies, and partner organizations throughout the region and across the state.
Alchemist’s Farmers’ Market Work
As of 2026, Alchemist CDC operates 6 certified farmers’ markets and directly facilitates CalFresh access and Market Match nutrition incentives onsite at a total of 9 farmers’ markets. In the past 12 months, we have facilitated $1.91 million in CalFresh and Market Match at these 9 markets. We have seen 488,000 customers visit our 6 certified farmers’ markets in the past year. At an average of $30 in spending per customer, this means $14,661,000 in spending with local farms and businesses in the past year. A study by Shermain Hardesty, a former Cooperative Extension agricultural economist in the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, determined that every dollar in spending at a farmers’ market stimuates $1.86 in local economic activity. This translates into $27+ million in local economic stimulus from our 6 markets in the past year.
Alchemist also provides 11 certified farmers’ markets and 3 farm stands with access to the Market Match program on the administrative backend, including the Davis Farmers’ Market (Wed & Sun), Woodland Farmers’ Market (Saturday & Tuesday), Sutter Davis Farmers’ Market, and UC Davis Farmers’ Market. This backend Market Match access also extends to the Center for Land Based Learning’s Mobile Farmers’ Market, covering all of their locations in Yolo and Sacramento Counties. Across all connected markets and farm stands, $2,296,564 in CalFresh and Market Match has been distributed from October 2025 to September 2026.