CUESA to Become New Operator of Jack London Square Farmers Market

April 15, 2016

Sustainable Food Leader Behind San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Expands to Oakland Starting May 15

OAKLAND, CA (April 15, 2016) — CUESA (the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) is excited to announce that it will begin operation of the Jack London Square Farmers Market in Oakland in May. CUESA, the San Francisco-based nonprofit that operates the iconic Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, will be assuming responsibility of the market from Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association (PCFMA), who started the weekly Sunday market in 1989.

“We’re grateful to PCFMA for what they have built, and excited and honored to be coming to Oakland’s iconic Jack London Square,” says CUESA’s Executive Director Marcy Coburn. “We look forward to working with Oakland communities and existing farmers market sellers, while bringing CUESA’s educational programming to Jack London Square.”

PCFMA’s last day of market operations will be Sunday, April 24, followed by a hiatus of several weeks. CUESA plans to reopen the market on Sunday, May 15, and continue it weekly. CUESA will invite current sellers to continue, while providing new opportunities for emerging farmers and food businesses from the East Bay and beyond.

“Oakland has a rich and vibrant food scene that rivals San Francisco in many ways,” says Coburn, who has been an Oakland resident since 2011 and was previously the director of the Eat Real Festival and Food Craft Institute, based in Jack London Square. “We are invested in listening and learning from the community about their needs in the coming months.”

Known for its strong ties with Bay Area chefs, CUESA will be actively reaching out to East Bay chefs and food businesses to support local growers by buying produce at the Jack London Square Farmers Market. Through CUESA’s successful Market to Chef Program, more than 400 chefs currently source ingredients from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

“We opened Haven at Jack London Square in 2011, and we’re excited to have CUESA as our new neighbors in this growing food community,” says Daniel Patterson of DPGroup. “We have had a long relationship with CUESA in San Francisco; I’ve been shopping at their markets for over a decade, and I recently had the chance to introduce our new chef at Coi, Matthew Kirkley, to my favorite farmers there.  I look forward to doing the same with Haven’s chef Matt Brimer once the new market opens.”

Following a series of monthly pop-up markets at The Yard at Mission Rock last fall, Jack London Square will be CUESA’s first weekly farmers market beyond San Francisco’s waterfront, and its first market in the East Bay. CUESA will maintain its headquarters and deep roots at San Francisco’s landmark Ferry Building, where the organization will continue to operate the triweekly Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

Later this summer, CUESA plans to host an official grand opening of the market and kick off signature public education programs such as free cooking demonstrations by local chefs, seasonal celebrations, and culinary activities for all ages, all in the service of connecting urban dwellers with the northern California foodshed.

CUESA farmers markets accept EBT (CalFresh/food stamps), and EBT shoppers can double their fruits and vegetables dollars up to $10 per market day at CUESA markets through the Market Match program.

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About CUESA

CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) is a mission-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating a sustainable food system through the operation of farmers markets and educational programs. Founded in 1994, CUESA has operated the world-renowned Ferry Plaza Farmers Market at the Ferry Building in San Francisco since 1997, and remains a cutting-edge force in influencing how people grow, produce, and eat food in America. Since 1993, the market has been a crucial link between San Francisco residents and the farmers who practice sustainable agriculture in the region.

Media Contact

Brie Mazurek, Marketing & Communications Manager
Phone: 415.291-3276 x104

Photo by Tory Putnam.

Topics: Farmers market, Press release