Intentionally set in the parking lot of Giant Burger Restaurant, and located merely 100 feet away from the busy intersection of MacArthur and High Street, the Oakland Community Farmer's Market is due to reopen for the 2011 season this Saturday, Jan. 15.

The market - which will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. - features seasonal produce of small family farmers from Salinas, Stockton, Jamestown, as well as urban farmers from East Oakland. It also will include local artisan foods, from Besto-Pesto, Fists of Flour Pizza, youth entrepreneurship program, the Purple Lawn Café and holistic health services and handcrafted pottery offered by neighborhood artist Peter Gee. 

The market - OCFM - is quickly becoming a local foodie destination for East Oakland residents who are interested in supporting community-driven efforts to access healthier foods, supporting local business development and for people who just love having a great farmers market as a cultural food destination right in their own backyard.

In 2011, OCFM is set to have another year of successful growth by participating in three annual community festivals, hosting themed events, featuring live music, all geared to attract more community support to the market.

“We have room for 10 more vendors,” said Jason A. Harvey, Oakland-native and founder of Oakland Food Connection. “Our goal is to create a powerful space where both community and health can thrive together to create a stronger system of support at the neighborhood level.”    

Harvey has been working with youth for about five years. His intern staff spends its time teaching student teachers how to build gardens as sustainable ecosystems, to harvest and cook the food they grow and the connections between the foods they eat and how their consumption is related to a healthy planet.

“Students learn about what real food is about through the lenses of Food Justice, how politics of accessibility affect the health of their community, and the strategies they can use to bring nutritious food into their neighborhoods through gardening and entrepreneurship,” Harvey said. 

In the Purple Lawn Café, OFC’s youth entrepreneurship program, Manager Kevin Jackson flaunts his cooking skills and awareness about what’s going with food access in his community. Using produce harvested from OFC’s gardens and local businesses market farmers, Jackson demonstrates each week how to cook simple and tasty meals.

“This year, I want make more money to hire more youth and teach them how to cook simple, healthy meals for their families," Jackson said. "So I am working extra hard to generate more business here at the Farmers Market so I can offer them stipends for their time.”

To make the market more accessible to small farmers and local artisan vendors, OFC offers sliding scale rates for stalls when necessary, sometimes waiving fees altogether, as long as they meet insurance and environmental health requirements. OFC recognizes vendors face similar challenges recouping the costs of their business investment, as they arrive at any market with a service product they are looking to sell out of and go home with a clear sense of support, connection to a community that supports local business.

"Smaller vendors have a hard time getting into the larger markets," Harvey said. "Building a customer base takes time. A food vendor arrives each week $400 to $600 in debt, and has to seek her/his way out each time. This makes it expensive for a new farmer, for instance, to start out in most markets.

"I try to make it as easy as possible for everyone to launch their business at the Oakland Community Farmers Market, so we support the administrative fees of the farmers market by literally selling beans and rice to our members and customers to cover the fees."

About Oakland Food Connection