{"id":327679,"date":"2026-05-22T11:11:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/327679\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T11:11:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:11:30","slug":"a-sacramento-food-desert-is-getting-a-transformative-first-of-its-kind-public-market-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/327679\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sacramento ‘food desert’ is getting a transformative, first-of-its-kind public market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picture this: A city neighborhood<\/a> has exploded in population<\/a>, from a few hundred people to more than 3,000 residents in just a few years. With a new $450 million soccer stadium<\/a> being built nearby, experts expect that population to rise to more than 9,000.<\/p>\n

And yet, there are glaring gaps in the community. With no neighborhood school, library<\/a>, or community center, people have few local public spaces to gather. And with a stark lack of grocery stores and restaurants, residents have found themselves living in a \u201cfood desert<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nonprofit Alchemist Community Development Corporation<\/a> has its finger on the pulse of this emerging neighborhood in Sacramento, California\u2019s historically industrial River District. It also has an innovative solution to fill many of those glaring gaps: Alchemist Public Market (APM)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist\u2019s rendering of the front of Alchemist Public Market. Photo courtesy of Alchemist CDC<\/p>\n

A vibrant public space that serves as an incubator for new food businesses<\/p>\n

The first-of-its-kind public market will include a corner store that accepts WIC and CalFresh (California\u2019s SNAP benefits program) and sells grocery staples and products from local makers. People will be able to connect at the market\u2019s eating areas, co-working space, inclusive playground, and weekly farmers market.<\/p>\n

But APM will also provide opportunities for up-and-coming food entrepreneurs. The space will be home to eight small incubator restaurants in a shared food court, as well as a shared-use commissary kitchen that can support dozens of independent food vendors. <\/p>\n

Shannin Stein, Alchemist\u2019s director of advancement, tells Upworthy that one goal of the market is to make sure people living and working in the neighborhood aren\u2019t left out of the economic conversation as hundreds of millions of dollars are invested in the surrounding area. That goal aligns with Alchemist CDC\u2019s long-time support of food entrepreneurs from underserved populations.<\/p>\n

Helping food entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground<\/p>\n

Alchemist CDC has multiple programs that help support burgeoning food businesses, and APM will serve as an extension of that support.<\/p>\n

Nikki Gaddis-Chester, owner of Jerk Street Tacos<\/a>, has been part of the Alchemist\u00a0Kitchen Incubator Program (AKIP)<\/a> for the past two years and looks forward to having a space at APM. She tells Upworthy that mentorship from Alchemist has \u201csignificantly transformed\u201d her business journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis vibrant community has not only supported the growth of our small mobile food business, but has also equipped us with essential tools for developing and sustaining our menu,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jessica Brown, founder of Latin Caribbean culinary brand Caribe Azul<\/a>, tells Upworthy that APM will be \u201ca powerful opportunity for entrepreneurs who have the creativity, culinary experience, and drive to start a business but may not yet have the structure, knowledge, or support to build a strong foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown has participated in Alchemist CDC\u2019s Microenterprise Academy<\/a> program, a 12-week training course for starting a food business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came into the program with a clear concept for my Latin Caribbean cuisine, but building a business can feel isolating when you are managing so many parts on your own, from operations to marketing and promotion,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I experienced through\u00a0Alchemist\u00a0felt like opening a gate to a portal I did not realize I had access to, but that was always there. It helped me recognize the strengths I already had while giving me the structure to apply them with confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The APM project aims to connect people to local agriculture and food businesses while also meeting the goal of environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n

\u201cAPM is being built as a state-of-the-art, all-electric, sustainably designed campus that reflects Sacramento\u2019s leadership in environmental innovation, investment in local food systems, and community-centered economic development,\u201d Stein said. \u201cWe want this to be a place where neighborhood residents, visitors to Sacramento, and anyone who loves food and community feel welcome and connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

So-called \u201cthird places<\/a>,\u201d where people can meet up outside of home or work, play an important role in building community culture. Sam Greenlee, CEO of Alchemist, describes how local residents will be able to use the space:<\/p>\n

\u201cAlchemist\u00a0Public Market will serve as a heart for this emerging community. At APM, people can walk over to buy their grocery staples, and that includes people who depend on EBT and WIC nutrition benefits. Community elders can read the paper and chat over a great cup of coffee. Parents of young kids can meet up to enjoy delicious food while their kids have fun in the play area. Co-workers can go out to lunch and find enough variety to make everyone happy. Teens can come by after school, get a snack, and check out ping pong paddles or a basketball to play in the park next door. Families can meet their neighbors at the weekly farmers\u2019 market, listen to local musicians during dinner, and celebrate after Sacramento Republic FC\u00a0matches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alchemist Public Market broke ground in April 2026<\/a> with bipartisan support and significant public funding secured. Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty and Congresswoman Doris Matsui attended the groundbreaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlchemist Public Market will drive economic growth, support public health, and transform a vacant space into a community center, increasing food access for the immediate neighborhood and fostering economic growth that will ripple across Sacramento,\u201d McCarty told Upworthy. \u201cWe were proud to support Alchemist CDC\u2019s Farmers\u2019 Market access program and look forward to this all-electric market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greenlee concurs on the importance of the market as a driver of the local economy. \u201cAPM is going to be an economic development engine at the heart of our region for decades to come,\u201d he said, \u201claunching new businesses that represent the diversity of our communities, filling vacant storefronts, hiring neighbors, paying local taxes, and altogether making Sacramento a more vibrant place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenges of nonprofit projects in tough economic times<\/p>\n

Of course, like most nonprofit organizations, Alchemist has had to play whack-a-mole with challenges since the market\u2019s inception. The economic woes we\u2019ve all experienced in recent years have taken a toll on the project and its organizers as they navigate the ever-evolving world of government funding, manage cash flow timing, and deal with dramatic increases in building material costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity-based organizations are often expected to solve deeply complex social and economic challenges, but without the same incentives, flexibility, or financial backing commonly available to traditional for-profit development projects,\u201d Stein said. \u201cIt can create a difficult dynamic where nonprofits are asked to prove success long before receiving the level of investment needed to fully realize that success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though construction has already begun, the project faces an immediate need for a bridge loan to move forward as red tape ties up funding disbursements. However, Alchemist is determined to bring the market and all it has to offer to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project\u2019s existence is the story of numerous almost-insurmountable challenges, and the tenacity to find a way through each one,\u201d Greenlee said. \u201cEarly on, many people understandably thought the project was a bit pie in the sky; a great idea that seemed unlikely to become reality. As a non-profit, we have always faced challenges funding the next step of the project\u2026But at every step in the process, we have demonstrated our commitment to see this project through, and we have found people stepping up to help us through each and every obstacle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can find updates on Alchemist Public Market here<\/a> and learn more about what Alchemist CDC does here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Picture this: A city neighborhood has exploded in population, from a few hundred people to more than 3,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[27207,83272,136132,109939,121,123,122],"class_list":["post-327679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-community-development","tag-food-access","tag-food-entrepreneurs","tag-public-market","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327679","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=327679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}