{"id":317433,"date":"2026-05-15T16:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/317433\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T16:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:28:12","slug":"west-sacramentos-indigenous-urban-farms-grow-fresh-food-and-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/317433\/","title":{"rendered":"West Sacramento\u2019s Indigenous Urban Farms Grow Fresh Food and Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI just sat there, and I closed my eyes, and I listened,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw what it was they were doing as a system to try to break us down, to kidnap us off the streets and profit off of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melbourne spent time getting educated in prison and learned that it costs California nearly $128,000 annually<\/a> to incarcerate a person. That realization stayed with him. \u201cI couldn\u2019t allow that to happen,\u201d he said. \u201cNot to me any longer, or to anybody I knew or anybody in my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Melbourne was released, he returned to West Sacramento with a different sense of purpose \u2014 thinking about how to intervene with young people, before they ended up where he had.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that if you feed a kid better, they\u2019ll perform better,\u201d he said. \u201cTest scores go up, behavior problems go down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2018, he has built the nonprofit Three Sisters Gardens, spanning four farms across West Sacramento. But, not without some challenges.<\/p>\n

The model remains susceptible to fluctuations in federal funding priorities.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kenny McDowell plants microgreen onions at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. (Louis Bryant III for KQED)<\/p>\n

Melbourne had set his sights on a $21 million grant<\/a> from the US Environmental Protection Agency, a program that was discontinued by the Trump administration. <\/p>\n

Currently, the organization depends on a mix of local and state funding, with land leased from the city at a subsidized rate of $1 per month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a lot of learning to know that I can transform what used to be an illegal business into a legal business,\u201d said Melbourne. \u201cAnd use our hustle mentality to support our youth and ourselves into a future that\u2019s brighter for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melbourne sees access to food as one entry point. But the work extends beyond nutrition \u2014 into job training, workforce development and life skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to use the lived experience that I have for all the pain and suffering that I went through to be able to change these youngsters, to divert them,\u201d he said about being a mentor, educator and a resource for the young people in West Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Cultivating community<\/p>\n

Nancy Long, 18, found the Three Sisters Gardens nearly two years ago, at a time when she felt unmoored. <\/p>\n

Now, between packing produce for distribution and tending the soil, she said she has found a sense of purpose \u2014 in both the work itself and in giving food away.<\/p>\n

\"\"Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. (Louis Bryant III for KQED)<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up very poor, and I feel like this is actually helping a lot of people because not a lot of people get food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Long, who is Cambodian American, now brings produce home for her family, who use it in soups. Before joining the garden, she said she struggled in school and often kept to herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really in a bad place in my life,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I got this job, I changed a lot, and it also helped me with my mental health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working at the garden, she said, has changed how she sees herself and how she interacts with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like this garden has made me a better person,\u201d she said. \u201cI really am glad, and I appreciate that I have Alfred in this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the young people who come through the gardens are looking for stability \u2014 a steady job, guidance, a place where they feel seen.<\/p>\n

Melbourne\u2019s role often extends beyond supervision. <\/p>\n

He checks in on the young people working with him and, at times, helps them navigate challenges outside of work.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kenny McDowell plants onion microgreens at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. (Louis Bryant III for KQED)<\/p>\n

For 21-year-old Dominitt Henderson, that meant straightforward advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will tell you the truth straight up to your face,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cHe won\u2019t hide nothing from you \u2014 that\u2019s what I like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other youth described more tangible forms of support.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe helps me a lot,\u201d Amari Sullivan said. \u201cHe gives me jackets \u2014 whatever I need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenny McDowell said that support has made a difference during difficult moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019ll be times where I miss a couple of car payments,\u201d McDowell said. \u201cHe\u2019ll help me out. Little things like that, it counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over time, the work begins to take root in other ways. <\/p>\n

McDowell said being part of the garden gave him a sense of direction and something to build toward.<\/p>\n

\"\"Interns Damia Zhang and Leilania Tian inspect seed containers at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. (Louis Bryant III for KQED)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a purpose,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to see a brighter future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melbourne described the work as reciprocal \u2014 something built alongside the young people, not just for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s them coming to me and us just feeding off of each other,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I really, truthfully, in the end want to build is community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI just sat there, and I closed my eyes, and I listened,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw what it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-317433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}