Celebrating 15 Years of Mission Community Market

Brie Mazurek and Sheree Bishop, Foodwise Staff
July 17, 2025

San Francisco’s Mission Community Market has meant many things over the years: a farmers market providing affordable access to fresh, local food, a bustling gathering place for families, a showcase for emerging businesses and artists.

This year, the beloved market, also known as Mission Mercado, celebrates 15 years of bringing Mission neighbors together through local food, the arts, and community. Nestled at 22nd and Bartlett Streets in the heart of the Mission District, the Thursday afternoon market hosts around 30 farms and local businesses, from spring through fall.

“I look at it as being a catalyst project,” says Ilaria Salvadori, who planted the first seed of the farmers market. “It’s a project that has value in itself, but there is a larger value for the community because it’s able to bring further change.”

The Perfect Place for a Farmers Market

In the late 2000s, Ilaria, a Mission resident and urban designer working for the San Francisco Planning Department, was assigned to work on the Mission Streetscape Plan, with the goal of creating more public spaces for pedestrians. One day, she found herself walking on Bartlett, a small residential street between Mission and Valencia, and noticed that it would make a perfect place for a farmers market.

She brought the idea back to the planning department but faced skepticism at first. So Ilaria went directly to different community groups to ask if they thought that opening a farmers market would be a good idea. The answer was a resounding yes.

Ilaria convened a working group of neighborhood stakeholders to determine how to create a market that would be unique and supportive of the businesses and community. Founding members included groups like the nonprofit La Cocina and nearby businesses at the time, like Escape from New York Pizza, Loló, The Make Out Room, Revolution Café, and Bi-Rite Market.

“Our goal was a bit of a hybrid goal between commerce, food access, community building, and placemaking,” says Ilaria. “Since then, we tried consistently to be present for the community, always integrating ideas that could bring people together.”

From Block Party to Mercado

The project eventually received fiscal sponsorship from the San Francisco Parks Alliance. Jeremy Shaw, an urban planner and Mission resident, joined the early meetings as a member of the San Francisco Great Streets Program, and eventually became the first market manager.

Through partnerships with La Cocina, Mission Economic Development Agency, Community Alliance, and the Mission Small Business Association, the organizers began recruiting vendors. “We selected farmers, food vendors, and local entrepreneurs who were aligned with the mission of the market and who wanted to see it grow,” Jeremy says.

Mission resident Kim Leonard of En Vie Naturals, who had recently graduated from the Women’s Initiative business program, was among that first cohort and continues to sell at the market today. “I remember being excited because I was just starting out and didn’t know how I would introduce my products to people in my area other than online, but also I loved the idea of a farmers market being in the Mission,” Kim recalls.

On June 19, 2010, Mission Community Market made its debut with a block party and fundraiser on Bartlett Street, with artists, performers, community mural painting, and yes, lots of good food. Community support for the market was strong, and on Thursday, July 22, 2010, a weekly market launched, hosting about a dozen vendors.

“We felt it was a vibrant neighborhood in need of a farmers market,” recalls farmer Phil Carter of Winters Fruit Tree. “Early on, the market was a struggle economically, but we felt it would be successful in time. It’s definitely different from other markets; the customer base is very diversified and the market has a neighborhood feel to it. The community support we have developed over the years has allowed our farm to be successful.”

Farmer Poli Yerena of Yerena Farms recalls selling just six flats of strawberries on their first day, but he saw the potential. “It’s always been more of a family-type market, with kids coming from the schools with their parents, and different musicians taking part in the celebrations,” says Poli, who also served on the market’s board of directors.

Supported by a scrappy and passionate group of volunteers, the market grew slowly but steadily through social media and word of mouth. “I’m really grateful for the early group of farmers that gave us a shot, in addition to all the neighbors who supported us in taking a risk on this new idea, right in their front yard,” says Jeremy.

Thriving Through Transition

The market has survived and thrived through many changes in the Mission over the last decade. In 2015, a four-alarm fire destroyed the historical Mission Market building at Mission and 22nd Street, a home to restaurants and food businesses.

But the farmers market remained a beacon, bringing joy and beauty to Bartlett Street on Thursdays and providing the impetus for community murals and urban design projects. “Through the farmers market and street closure, we were able to advocate to get the street redone,” says Ilaria. “The street design was a response to the market, not the other way around.”

In April 2017, through a partnership between the Mission Community Market and the city, La Placita was unveiled on Bartlett, creating a new public space that would provide a permanent anchor for the market and serve as a gathering place for community events. The market also expanded onto 22nd Street, creating more visibility on Mission and Valencia Streets.

While the market continued to grow, it was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain operationally. Anna Derivi-Castellanos, cofounder of Three Babes Bakeshop, was an early supporter of the market, and later joined the board of directors. “Being a mostly volunteer-run market for much of its existence, it was extremely challenging,” she says. “We will be forever grateful to all the folx, paid or unpaid, who invested their hard work and resourcefulness into MCM, and the community that kept us going for this long.”

The board approached Foodwise (then known as CUESA) to manage the market, providing a natural fit, with shared values and overlapping vendors. On April 5, 2018, Foodwise took over the operations, working with the existing vendors and partners, while introducing some new vendors and educational activities. “I’ve been very grateful for Foodwise being involved and think they’ve been able to respect the spirit of the market,” says Ilaria.

By Community and for Community

Equitable food access and community health have always been core to the market’s mission. The market continues to make fresh, local food affordable for Mission residents of all income levels, distributing more than $60,000 annually through CalFresh EBT and Market Match, which doubles shoppers’ benefits at the farmers market.

“This has been a particularly successful project because it marries the idea of food access to placemaking,” says Ilaria. “It’s not just a buzzword⁠—it’s a reality in the Mission. I always liked the idea that Bartlett is symbolically placed between Mission and Valencia, which represent the two identities of the neighborhood. I like to believe that the market was able to bring them a little bit together, in a dialogue that is often really difficult. At a time when gentrification was reaching peak effects, I like to think that the market brought some kind of moment of reconciliation and meeting each other.”

“One of the things I loved most was just seeing the same faces and neighbors every week, as well as all the connections between the farmers and producers,” recalls Jeremy. “It was critical to the market’s success. It was always a unique market. It felt genuinely from the Mission District.”

Kim of En Vie Naturals reflects, “I’ve had the pleasure of seeing babies grow up into young men and women, as well as engagements and marriages. The fierce determination of organizers, market staff, vendors, and customers especially in the beginning was crucial. I smile now just remembering the market’s very humble beginnings.”

Building Equity for Small Businesses in the Mission

Many of the market’s original vendors continue to the day, including Arata Farms, Blue House Farm, Coastside Farms and Specialties, En Vie Naturals, Urban Sprouts, Winters Fruit Tree, and Yerena Farms, while new ones have joined along the way.

La Cocina, one of the Mission Community Market’s founding partners, and Foodwise work together to provide a platform for early-stage BIPOC and immigrant entrepreneurs through the Building Equity Program, welcoming Camucha’s Kitchen as a seasonal pop-up and Tonantzin as a regular vendor this year.

“The market has functioned as a launching pad for many of our businesses,” says Emiliana Puyana, La Cocina’s Director of the Incubator Program, “It has always been a reliable access to market opportunities for La Cocina entrepreneurs. It’s sort of a warm, open door that has allowed for us to work alongside our business owners as they vet their concepts, work on operational efficiencies, build clientele, and build relationships with local farmers.”.

A number of La Cocina businesses have been showcased at the Mission market over the years, including Reem’s California, Nyum Bai, Mama Lamees, Mi Morena, and Mi Comedor. 

Emiliana’s connection to the market also extends back to when it first opened, and she ran a pickle business called Jarred SF Brine. “I used to be an entrepreneur at La Cocina, and it was the first farmers market that I sold at. At Mission Community Market, there’s this beautiful mix that, to me, represents San Francisco. You don’t see it at very many farmers markets. It feels kind of magical in a way that feels harder and harder to find these days,” she says.

Connecting Past and Present

Racquel Goldman, owner of Norte54, joined the Mission Community Market in 2020, bringing her small-batch modern pan dulces (Mexican baked goods). Since then, she has watched the market transition from masked and socially distanced interactions to the expanded and even more deeply connected community that it is today. 

Racquel says that she was surprised by how much she felt seen by the Mission community, where approximately one-third is Latino. “ I wasn’t even thinking about the cultural connection I would be making. It’s been like kismet to have all these families come through.  Especially with the connections I make with families like the Yerenas. Poli and Silvia feel like such a cornerstone vendor to this market, and they’ve fully supported me.” 

As the market community comes together to celebrate 15 years and toast to many more, Foodwise’s Associate Director of Operations, Andrea Akers, reflects on the love and appreciation she has felt from the community since she stepped into her role managing it.

“Every week, you see the same faces, you see new faces. It’s just a breath of fresh air. To see those same people, I know that they’re doing well and they’re coming down here to get fresh fruits and veggies to share with their family, to mingle, make new friends, and network. There are so many things that happen at the market.”

Celebrate 15 years of the Mission Community Market with us on July 24, 2025. 

This article was updated from a previously published version.

Topics: Farmers market