The Pescadero Grown! Certified Community Farmers’ Market started in July 2011, and will continue through November 3. Before the market opened, residents of Pescadero — an agricultural region of southwest San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California –had few local outlets where they could purchase local, sustainable food and products. Many more are now available at the weekly Pescadero Grown! markets in Pescadero and La Honda, which also have a token matching program for recipients of CalFresh and WIC, and other low income residents of Pescadero, and nearby La Honda, Loma Mar, and San Gregorio.
Peunte employed local youth to help with the market. Four participated in the HomeSlice program, in which they learned about food systems, harvested fresh vegetables and cooked them using healthy recipes. Samples of the cooked vegetables were distributed at the market along with recipes, in English and Spanish. The four youth also were trained in methods of collecting audio and in photography. They captured voices and photographs of the farmers’ market during the first two weeks of the market’s operations.
Pescadero Grown! and the HomeSlice program received generous support from many sources inside the community and beyond — see the video for their names!
