Many low-income families in oakland, richmond and EL sobrante struggle with food insecurity and access to healthy affordable foods

The Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service awarded Planting Justice $703,025 under the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program to establish new market access opportunities for small local growers in the Bay Area through September 2024. The project will operate a farmers' market truck serving stops in Oakland and Richmond, establishing market access for at least five growers and serving an estimated 15,600 customers annually. A weekly farmers' market will also be established at Planting Justice's Good Table site in El Sobrante connecting at least seven producers to 200 customers per week. The organization will expand its online sales platform to include value-added products from five additional producers, reaching 2,000 customers annually. At least ten total producers classified as new, beginning, or socially disadvantaged will gain online marketing opportunities through the funding.

At the same time, small farmers are challenged by a lack of access to markets and infrastructure to support produce and value-added product sales. Planting justice's equity for small local growers: creating access through market expansion project will establish a sales platform for small growers through the daily operation of a farmers' market truck and weekly farmers' market as well as the expansion of online retail to include value-added products, with the goal of decreasing food disparities and increasing the prevalence of direct producer to consumer markets for BAY area producers. The goals of this project are to establish a weekly farmers market at planting justice's the good table site in EL sobrante that will bring together at least seven (7) producers and serve 200 customers/week; establish a farmers' market truck route with stopping points in east oakland and richmond, CA that will give market access to at least five (5) BAY area based farmers, and serve 15,600 customers/year; expand planting justice's online sales to include sales of value-added products from at least five (5) producers, reaching 2000 customers/year; and provide online marketing opportunities to at least ten (10) total producers that fit the definition of new, beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers.