Growth from the Ashes

    In 1893, German immigrants constructed the beautiful St. Paulus Lutheran Church located on the corner of Gough Street and Eddy Street, it was one of the few buildings in the city that remained standing after the 1906 earthquake but on November 5, 1995 a fire burned the church to the ground leaving only the basement behind. For ten years, the 1/3 of an acre lot was left abandoned and became known as “da’ pit” by locals and was filled with trash, homeless camps, and needles. Those who were part of the church knew though they were unable to rebuild their church they still wanted it to go to good use. Pastor Megan Rohrer of  Welcome Ministry organized this abandoned basements’ transformation into what is today known as the Free Farm.

 

           

    The Free Farm opened its gates in January 2010 with the goal to provide free organic produce to the community and those that attend the Free Farm Stand held on Sundays from 1 p.m. till 3 p.m. on 23^rd Street and Treat Ave. The Farm was founded by a group of  non- profits, one of the members Tree, affirms that though the farms growth new goals have been discovered. The members believe that the Earth is a common treasury for all to share, without owners just care takers, and through the Free Farm project the members are cultivating new farmers that will recognize that environmental, mental, and spiritual health are all connected to the planet and what they consume. Thus, the communities who work at the farm will begin to recognize that they are all one and everything is connected. Through activities like sharing circles before lunch, morning yoga, and the meditation herb labyrinth Tree and the other creators of the Free Farm are hoping volunteers and community members can better their minds and the land . The Free Farm does practice what it preaches; most of the materials and infrastructures on the farm are from recycled materials. Any money that the farm has received to pay for tools, truck rentals for picking up manure, seeds have been done so from donations or grants, and the farm just received a thousand dollar grant from Kaiser. The Free Farm team has cultivated the entire one-third acre piece of land and built a hot-house, a nursery for seedlings, a composting toilet, and a tool shed…they even have two bee hives!

 

          

    Since its opening the Free Farm has grown three and a fourth tons of food that has all been given out for free. The volunteer hours are Wednesday and Sunday from ten a.m. till 2 p.m. includes a free lunch, and on Saturdays at 1 p.m. they distribute free food from the farm to whoever wants it. Many of the farms neighbors come to the garden for the free produce. In fact, one of the neighbors says that the garden has completely transformed his life. This neighbor now watches over the garden a few days a week hand watering the fragile plants when there are not work days. The Free Farm has been such an asset to this low-income community and has truly come up to flourish from the ashes creating a new life in this community, but the Free Farm is in threat. The church is planning on selling this once abandoned lot to market housing developers in two to three years, and demolishing the farm. This land has seen a lot of history and many lives of buildings, now this land is bringing life again out of “da’ pit” and the ashes, the Free Farm will need the communities help in the next few years to keep its growth alive. Go visit and see what transformations are in store for you…

 

The Free Farm Wordays

Wednesday 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.

Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Includes free vegan lunch.

Food Distrbution Saturdays @ 1 p.m.

Check their website here for free classes and updates.

Feeding the People

   San Francisco’s Tenderloin district is the lowest income district in the city and many of the residents have little access to healthy food options, there is no super market so the general population buys their groceries from corner stores. In addition many Tenderloin residents cannot afford the cost of healthy food. The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) wanted to address this food justice issue in 2010 by creating a small community garden to provide fresh produce to the people of the Tenderloin. The Tenderloin People’s Garden partnered with the city of San Francisco two years ago to transform a dilapidated lot, owned by the department of Public Works, and created this community garden. The garden, located on McAllister and Larkin, has bi-monthly harvests in which two hundred to three hundred pounds of produce are given away to the members who work in the garden. The Tenderloin Peoples Garden is volunteer lead and many of the participants live in homes provided to them by the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation. With  two-hour workdays (Monday through Friday) the volunteers participate in and receive produce from the garden in exchange for their work. Through this exchange TNDC hopes to create, “a more equitable food system that prioritizes all people’s access to the basic human right of healthy food.”  The workdays consist of about ten to twenty volunteers, mostly seniors, where they transplant seedlings, harvest produce, till the beds, weed, or create compost. The People’s Garden even host Elementary and High School classes in the garden to teach them these skills. They are hoping to expand their program further by creating new gardens and new programs to outreach to more community members.

      The Tenderloin People’s Garden mission is to truly understand the wants and the needs of the Tenderloin community. Community organizer Ryan Thayer spoke about how organizations must understand the people of the Tenderloin before implementing a program to help the community. Many organizations attempt to do great things for the community, but they are unsuccessful because the people of the Tenderloin do not respond as enthusiastically as expected. The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation is working to make effective change in the people’s lives of the Tenderloin. They have renovated thirty apartment buildings in the past thirty years to provide low-income homes for the people of the Tenderloin. In addition, because many of the homes in the Tenderloin do not have kitchens and are so debilitated that the only kitchen appliance permitted is a microwave; they are working to create a Microwave Cookbook in several languages in hopes that the people of the community can learn to cook healthy meals in their microwave. Through this cookbook community members can take home the vegetables from the garden and learn to prepare delicious meals with the resources they have. TNDC is also brainstorming the idea of creating a local communal kitchen space where those who wish to cook their own meals are provided with a space to do so. This communal kitchen would also hold educational nutrition programs.

    The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation also gleans food from the local farmers’ markets and distributes that produce, for free, every Thursday morning to 476 Eddy Street. They hope to also create rooftop gardens to provide more fresh produce to the community, rooftops are an important and under-used resource for food production that could greatly benefit the Tenderloin community. The Tenderloin People’s Garden was the first step for TNDC in their goal for food justice. In the past year, the garden has donated produce to three hundred plus people, but the organization is not stopping there. They know that healthy options are limited in their neighborhood and they are slowly changing that notion. That small plot of land on McAllister and Larkin has brought healthy meals to many people, and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation plans to build on this continued success. They are willing to get their hands dirty literally and figuratively to bring healthy food to the people of the Tenderloin, and they welcome all to join in the fight and leave with some veggies!

 People’s Garden Volunteer Schedule:

Monday:  10am – 12pm
Tuesday: 3pm – 5pm
Wednesday: 10am – 12pm
Thursday: 3pm – 5pm
Friday:  10am – 12pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday

Happy Birthday Heart of the City!

    There is a common thought that if you have food stamps that you’re unable to afford fruits and vegetables. There is also the common thought that if you are below the age of twenty-five that your diet is primarily Easy Mac, canned soup, and Top Ramen. Put the two of these stereotypes together and a nutritious diet seems entirely impossible, but the Heart of the City Market in the United Nation Plaza is defying these stereotypes and has been since it began over thirty years ago. Around sixty percent of its regular attendees are below the poverty level and in a half mile radius surrounding the farmers’ market there are 4,729 EBT participants. In 1981, this market was born out of a desire to feed the communities of the Tenderloin, Mission, and SOMA districts. With the closest grocery store being over a mile away, the founders of Heart of the City saw that there was a need to bring reasonably priced nutritious food to those families who live in the poorest urban neighborhoods. Spending an afternoon with two of the three employees of Heart of the City, one would come to understand that this market is more than just a place to pick-up a few fruits and veggies, it was truly a community of close-knit farmers and workers who are aiming to improve the lives of the people who shop there, and transform a small inlet of space into a vibrant market two days a week.

        

     The Heart of the City Farmers’ Market began thirty-one years ago on June 14, 1981, fourteen dollars of food stamps were spent on opening day, and the market was the first in San Francisco to accept EBT. Exactly thirty-one year later, Heart of the City averages between 1,500- 3,500 dollars of EBT per market, accepting  more than seventy-five percent of the EBT benefits used at San Francisco farmers’ markets. The market is dedicated to help both the small family farms and the people of our community who are struggling to make ends meet. Heart of the City is a farmer-run market, meaning that the farmers who sell at the markets have a say in every decision regarding its operation. The fifty-three farm vendors who sell at the market elect three farmers and two community members for two-year positions on their advisory board; this panel makes every decision for the market. Decisions such as low stall fees and long market hours are aimed to give customers affordable prices. One customer stated it is the, “best place to get groceries, it’s cheaper than Safeway!” Kate Creps, the market operations manager, explained that through the EBT program and Heart of the City the community now has the ability to afford healthy fruits, vegetables, and locally produced farm products, such as eggs, that they otherwise would not have access to. In the past three consecutive years Heart of the Citys’ EBT benefits used have increased thirty percent every year.

           

     Heart of the City serves the people of this community full circle, Civic Center is known for its large homeless encampment population. Through its thirty-one years, the market has been sensitive in working alongside this community. They have hired, for pay, many of the homeless to work before, after, and during market hours sweeping up trash, or as market security. The farmers even pay some homeless to unload heavy boxes, set-up, and take-down their stalls! Through this mutual benefit the market is investing in their surrounding community and bettering the lives of the people, while making the market safer and more beautiful.

           

     Heart of the City Farmers’ Market has had an astounding impact on the low-income communities that surround it. Becoming the “People’s Market” by working for all the people who attend this market on a regular basis, and it shows. Its dedication to help the homeless, the farmers, and the financially needy does not go unrecognized. The people of this community are begging the market to operate one more day a week, but on their tight non-profit budget they have applied for the Farmers’ Market Promotion Grant to make this happen. This grant will enable the market to fund EBT programs, education outreach, nutrition education, and, of course, a new Friday market. With this grant, Heat of the City Farmers’ Market could further exemplify their mission statement to bring good, affordable food to the people of San Francisco and support the farmers who supply the food. On its thirty-first birthday, Heart of the City should be recognized for everything that it has done to take a homeless encampment and bring to life a beautiful market filled with colorful people and colorful food that everyone can afford. Happy Birthday Heart of the City, you truly have the biggest heart of them all!

Heart of the City is located in United Nations Plaza

Market Street between 7th and 8th Street

Wednesdays 7am- 5:30 pm

Sundays 7am- 5pm

Free Community Dinner!

  Once a month, St. Cyprian’s Community Church hosts a free dinner for the community. The food for the meal is donated by Bay Area farmers who have leftover produce after the farmer’s markets, along with some few basic store-bought items, such as flour and spices. Students from the University of San Francisco Environmental Studies program prepare this meal in hopes that people become more aware of the more than 34 million tons of food that is wasted, in America, every year.

    This Thursday, June 14 at 6:30 pm is the third free dinner, the Wigg Party a local neighborhood organization is co-hosting the event and putting on a clothing swap. There will also be live music, and of course, a lot of good food! St. Cyprian’s is located at 2097 Turk Street (at Lyon), San Francisco, CA 94115. We hope to see you there!

To learn more about the event here

To RSVP on Facebook click here

Hello Everyone!

   Welcome to CalFresh Youth’s new blog and website! Through this blog and website we hope to help those many students and young adults that are struggling to put food on the table. We hope to clear up the gray area of: are you or are you not eligible to get food stamps? Do you qualify? Why do you not qualify?

   Through this blog we hope to share the many food avenues of San Francisco; free food events, farmer’s markets, food banks to inform the public of other ways they can access a meal, some food, or even a new vegetable to cook with! There are many amazing places and stories in San Francisco of people who have gone without a good meal, who care about helping others, and those who just want to give. We welcome you to explore these spaces that we share… leave us comments about your adventures, share your stories, and enjoy!