Food

The first ‘Food as Medicine’ fair in Richmond gives people the food and tools to live healthier

Colorful balloons decorated the Corrine Sain Senior & Family Community Center Friday, where close to 200 residents came for the “Food as Medicine Fair,” featuring music, yoga, Zumba, health screenings, raffles, lunch and bags of fresh produce and groceries for people to take home with them.  More than 20 community organizations participated in the fair, the first of its kind for the center, providing information on everything from social justice to cancer. Sponsored by the Community Housing Development Corp. in…

Richmond Farmers Market prepares to open second location, in Marina Bay

The Richmond Certified Farmers Market Association plans to open a new market in Marina Bay Park early next year.  “It’s more than a dream now,” said Councilmember and former Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, who represents the Marina Bay neighborhood and has been a key advocate for the market. “It’s a work in progress that we expect to happen in a matter of months.” The Richmond Farmers Market, which has operated the original Friday venue for 40 years, also will be in…

Food, wine, craft beer, music. Saturday’s Taste of Richmond showcases home-grown bars and restaurants

Fine wines from Richmond vineyards, home-baked cakes, and spicy Quesabirria tacos are among the mouth-watering choices at this Saturday’s Taste of Richmond.  The event returns after a four-year pandemic hiatus, with 18 local food and drink businesses, and three live music performances from Bay Area artists, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Civic Center. Tickets are $25, giving you five tasty samples; for $49, attendees can have the new VIP experience — 10 samples, a swag bag, and…

Mushroom foraging becomes ‘a spiritual journey with nature’

Tony Alvarez pulled his SUV into the deserted parking lot before sunrise on a chilly January morning and unloaded two grocery bags, a jar and a backpack from his trunk as he waited for others to arrive.  It was 6:30 a.m. and he was expecting 15 people to join him for mushroom foraging in Tilden Park, an excursion people pay $100 to experience with Shroomy Walkabouts, a business  he started four years ago in the Bay Area. Participants arrived slowly,…

New campaign addresses food insecurity affecting 8 million Californians

On any given day in Richmond, 16,200 people go hungry.  To bring awareness to food insecurity issues, this month the California Association of Food Banks launched a new statewide anti-hunger initiative called Everyone to the Table. The interactive public engagement campaign encompasses print, social media, radio, online, and TV and can already be seen on billboards across the state and on digital platforms like Instagram and Facebook. The social media format allows people to take part in advocacy through graphics…

What El Cerrito residents need to know about the mandatory compost program

A state law mandating organic waste recycling will go into effect in Contra Costa County on Jan. 1. El Cerrito is drawing up plans on how it will implement the law.  Organics like food scraps, yard trimmings, food-soiled paper and cardboard make up half of the trash in landfills and are the third-largest source of methane in California, according to California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. To reduce methane emissions, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law in 2016 establishing…

VIDEO: At Tamales Tamazula, food is art

Cruz Arroyo owns and operates Tamales Tamazula in Richmond, where his passion for food and tradition drives his business and keeps his customers returning week after week. The 41-year-old tamalero parks his stand at 23rd Street and Lincoln Avenue, where he sells tamales from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., Wednesday to Sunday. He’s had to move his business to various spots in Richmond in the past eight years and jump a few hurdles to keep it going during a global…

Concerned citizens fight growing food insecurity

“Four,” came the shout as another car filed into Richmond Police Activities League’s parking lot on September 22. This was passed down the line to a platoon of volunteers who rushed to assemble four food bundles as the car approached. Every Tuesday and Thursday since early September, thousands of these bundles, prepared by a variety of Oakland restaurants, are distributed to pedestrians and motorists – no questions asked. “The first time, we handed out 500 meals. Then it was 750….