Vic Hill spent 63 years without health care. Two years ago, he signed up for health insurance through Puente. It was just in the nick of time. A San Mateo County doctor gave him a physical, ran some tests, and found stage II colon cancer.

“It’s a disturbing cancer from the standpoint of not being able to feel it at all,” muses Hill, who lives in La Honda on a fixed income.

Thanks to San Mateo County’s Medicaid Coverage Expansion program (MCE), Hill had successful colon surgery to remove the cancer – for free. His doctor’s visits and medications were free, too.

“I’m feeling fortunate, because it looks as though it was removed and we got it in time. Thank you, Puente,” says Hill, who has a general aversion to doctors and hadn’t been to a hospital since he was 9 years old.

Staff members at Puente’s La Honda office made a point of telling Hill about Puente’s medical safety net services when he visited the La Honda Farmer’s Market one day in 2010.

Puente acts as an agent for numerous county-backed health care options for the uninsured. Between 2008 and 2012, Puente signed up or renewed a whopping 965 children and adults for programs like Healthy Families and Healthy Kids. The number of local enrollees has grown every year, and includes coverage for undocumented children.

Puente recently mounted a major campaign to reach out to La Honda residents like Hill, who are living in a part of the region that is even more geographically isolated than Pescadero. Many live hand-to-mouth, stretching dollars from their monthly Social Security checks, and may not have the wherewithal to drive to Half Moon Bay or San Mateo to get enrolled in a health care program, says Lorena Vargas de Mendez, Puente’s Safety Net Services Manager.

“I know a lady in La Honda who doesn’t have a car. The fact that Puente was there to help her get enrolled in comprehensive health coverage is huge,” says Vargas de Mendez.

Hill still doesn’t much enjoy going to the doctor. But he’s sold on the benefits of having Puente in the neighborhood.

“Without some kind of social safety net I can’t imagine what people around here would be doing,” he says.

Contact Lorena Vargas to Mendez to learn more about Puente’s safety net services and whether you qualify. lvargas@mypuente.org or (650) 879-1691 x116

We are a couple of months into the “off season” at our Pescadero Grown Farmers’ Markets, but most of us know that for our farmers, the work never stops. For the next few months we will be posting pictures of our star Market farmers to highlight what they do, how they do it, and their amazing products. We’re calling it- Spotlight on the Farmer.

Our first spotlight is on the Markegards. Markegard Family Grass-Fed is owned and operated by Erik and Doniga Markegard. Markegard Family Grass-Fed provides the community with pastured, locally born, raised and processed meat and dairy through a community supported agriculture program where individuals and families purchase shares or individual cuts of beef, lamb or pork and participate in a weekly or monthly buying club. Markegard Family delivers weekly to Pescadero, San Gregorio, La Honda, Half Moon Bay, Woodside and San Mateo. Ranch days are held at TOTO ranch in San Gregorio on the second Saturday of every month starting in February.

In their own words:

• Our ranch is pesticide and chemical fertilizer free
• Our cattle and sheep are never grain fed or given synthetic hormones or antibiotics
• No genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
• Raised on a family ranch
• Animals are never confined or in feedlots
• Our grazing methods improve the biodiversity of the land
• Certified by Animal Welfare Approved and American Grass-Fed Association

Our philosophy in grazing is to manage the herds to simulate the large herds of Elk and Antelope which once roamed California’s grasslands. We accomplish this by keeping the herd moving through rotational grazing, so as never to overgraze an area, but to stimulate growth and grass-land health through properly timed grazing. Watershed Stewardship, Keyline design, permaculture and Holistic Management are the foundation of our land stewardship.

On top of her work on the ranch, Doniga Markegard has served as a consultant for Puente to work towards better serving the needs of our agriculture community on the South Coast, including projects on food security, food system awareness and creating opportunities for young and beginning farmers and ranchers. Read more here. Over the past two years Doniga also worked on ways for local residents to access information on purchasing local, healthy food. As a result of her teaming up with the San Mateo County Resource Conservation District, the South Coast Food Shed brochure was put out along with a comprehensive map of all of the farms and ranches on the South Coast, highlighting those farms and ranches with local access to the food that is grown on the South Coast. Based on conversations with the local agriculture community as well as a survey, Puente was able to embark on a local collaborative seeking to bring South Coast agriculture goods to a direct market hub in San Francisco. Read more about that here.

With their passion for a secure, healthy local food system the Markegard Family works to be involved in the greater South Coast Community through participation in Pescadero Grown as well as other local partnerships.

For more information and to place orders or purchase gift certificates visit (Orders $100 or more made in San Mateo County only, can even be delivered right to your door):

http://markegardfamily.com/

https://www.goodeggs.com/markegard