Farmer Poli Yerena

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The farmers who operate Heart of the City Farmers Market have brought fresh local produce to this neighborhood every Wednesday and Sunday for 31 years... and starting Aug. 3 we'll be here Fridays too to provide week-round fresh food accessibility. Produce purchased from local farmers is picked only one or two days before it is sold, which means it is fresher, more nutritious, and lasts longer.

Our idea is to partner directly with local community organizations to encourage residents to sign up for farmers market tours. We've seen first-hand how learning about where food comes from, who produced it, and how it was produced creates close bonds between local farmers and the community and helps to establish healthy shopping and eating habits. We also teach how to eat with the seasons to find the lowest prices. These tours give residents an opportunity to meet our farmers, learn about seasonality and selection, and discuss cooking produce in a microwave, crock pot, and on a stove top. We also do EBT card orientations all day at our Market Information Tent to encourage shopping for healthy food with food stamps.

Our market is run to keep costs as low as possible for our farmers so they can keep prices lower for this neighborhood. We have accepted food stamps since our very first day and for the past 11 years, we've accepted SNAP/CalFresh EBT benefits at our market information tent in exchange for tokens to shop. 80% of EBT benefits used at farmers markets in SF are used here and participation continues to grow 30% each year. We also work with TNDC to stock a Free Produce Store in the Tenderloin for the area's poorest residents and Project Open Hand to get fresh produce to residents with mobility challenges.

We know incorporating produce into a diet with very limited resources is difficult and daunting. We hope through partnerships with community organizations to expand our outreach, we can help show the neighborhood that eating healthy can be affordable.