FREE FARM STAND: Sharing is Self-Sufficiency

I am feeling pretty crazy right at the moment which means I should probably get out into the garden more. I think the crowds at the stand are overwhelming me a bit! There were people lined up on the sidewalk. Yikes! I started worrying that the stand is becoming too successful and therefore big, and therefore a drag for people having to wait in line. I want to stay small and personal and have time to chat with everyone. To spread good vibes, not institutional rushed hurried vibes. At the same time manna is coming down from heaven. I feel spiritually nourished from all the great helpers we have and the harvests we are bringing in from our neighborhood gardens and fruit trees. I hope more people are growing some of their own food as that is the only sustainable way this will work, growing our neighborhood vegetables and fruit and sharing the surplus. I know we are planting many seeds of all kinds...seeds of change and hope, seeds of inspiration, seeds to grow our own, be it gardens or evolutions.

This week we need:
plastic or paper bags or cloth bags with handles, small pots about a yogurt container size, locally grown or gleaned produce, intern and garden helpers,, photographer to document what we are doing, Spanish speakers to help on Sundays (just show up!)

........ Feed the hungry while meeting your neighbors ............

Got organic food to share? Know about organic gardening and want to share your knowledge with the public? Got seeds or seedlings to donate? Have a fruit tree that we can glean fruit from for feeding the poor? Care to volunteer your time helping us tend our gardens? Hook up with the Free Farm Stand!

We strive to attain the following goals:

•help make locally grown, fresh and nutritious organic produce accessible to all, especially those families and individuals on low-incomes and tight budgets.

•help empower people who have the space to grow their own food and become more self-reliant.

•promote good nutrition and health

What we do:

•We grow as much food as can in our Mission neighborhood and distribute it for free at our Sunday Free Farm Stand.

•We offer garden advice and help to those who want to put in a backyard garden.

•We grow seedlings and starts to give away and other plants.

•We offer a place where neighbors can come and share their extra produce that they have grown with others.

•We provide a drop-off place for local organic surplus food from both local gardeners and organic farmers.

•We offer a weekly gathering spot where neighbors can get to know each other and share their diverse cultures and traditions.

•We harvest organic fruit from backyard fruit trees and public spaces give away it away at the Free Farm Stand.

•We give away honey from local bee keepers and educate neighbors about bees and gentle beekeeping.

•We are working with the San Francisco Permaculture Guild on a number of food growing projects to turn a vacant lot on Potrero Hill into a Permaculture mini-farm that will grow food that will go to the Free Farm Stand and other groups that distribute food to the hungry.

•We are working with about fifteen kids that attend Jamestown after school program, teaching them about gardening and where our food comes. We work with them to gain a sense of care for their community.

The Free Farm Stand happens on Sundays 1-3pm. For more information or if you want to help or if you have or know of a fruit tree that needs picking email us.