Community Development Graduate Group

The purpose of this project is to identify the ways to promote and preserve two local food products, the mandarin and hand-dried persimmon, in Placer County, California. The first chapter details a general history of agriculture in the county. The next chapter is a detailed description of mandarin supply and demand, an assessment of current marketing channels for the mandarin within Placer County, followed by the overall barriers and opportunities for promoting the product and for expanding the market in mandarin growers in the county. The last chapter is a similar examination of another agricultural product in the county known as hoshigaki (Japanese hand-dried persimmon). This paper concludes with some broader themes reflected by the effort of Placer County’s food growers and food producers to support small-scale, localized food systems and some of the unique lessons this community has experienced.