Produce Stand

The Produce Stand allows us to be an even greater source of fresh food in this community with access to hardly any. The stand provides fresh, primarily organic fruits and vegetables from regional farmers to the neighborhood. The completely volunteer staff resells the food at cost in order to make vital nutritious food affordable for everyone.

Produce Stand Winter Hours

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 3:00 to 6:00 pm
on the corner of Sacramento & Oregon Streets

Located on the southwest corner of the Nursery site, the Produce Stand increases community access to low-cost, quality, mostly organic produce by utilizing direct, farmers-to-consumers distribution, maintaining extremely low overhead, and retailing at cost. This results in near wholesale prices for consumers. For many of our low income, time-stressed, and elderly neighbors, the produce stand is the only easy access to good, nutrious food without a car, someone to drive them, or multiple bus rides. Already selling more than 100 tons of fresh organic produce annually, despite minimal operational time, the produce stand has the potential to distribute a larger volume of produce to the hungry and malnutritioned community around it. Our three year plan includes the goal of developing the produce stand into a storefront bulk distribution outlet for fresh, locally, and regionally grown organic produce--as well as locally produced value added products--which will be housed in half of our storefront space on the adjacent corner on Sacramento Street.

In 2006, we doubled the amount of food distributed both in quantity of food and sales dollars. Although entirely volunteer, we have been consistently open, becoming a dependable and relied upon source of food for the local community. Our success this year has enabled us to give more excess produce to our senior neighbors, and to sponsor a Thanksgiving half-price giveaway.  Of all our programs this year, the Produce Stand has most successfully engaged our community: many of the volunteers are our senior neighbors, it meets and immediate need that draws people, which subsequently into the Nursery and Community Farm. This year, on a trial basis, we have expanded the days of operation from Tuesday to include Wednesday and Saturday, which we hope will become permanent in the coming year.