Extra Food, Second Chances: Fighting Food Waste at the Farmers Market

April 24, 2026

Have you ever wondered what farmers do with produce they are not able to sell after the farmers market? At the end of each Saturday market, ExtraFood volunteers wearing green aprons approach farmers and ask if they’d like to donate any of their produce. That food is then redistributed to community programs that ensure San Franciscans in need have access to healthy, local food.

Throughout San Francisco, Sonoma, and Marin, ExtraFood recovers and redistributes fresh food that might otherwise go to waste. In the past 12 months, their volunteers have delivered over 49,000 pounds of fresh produce from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market to the Free Farm Stand in the Mission, to be shared with low-income families and individuals. 

We spoke to Sarah Camper, ExtraFood’s Senior Operations Manager, about their Food Runners program and how ExtraFood is fighting food insecurity in the Bay Area, with donations from our local farmers.

Addressing Hunger, Food Waste, and Climate Change Simultaneously

According to the SF-Marin Food Bank’s Hunger Report, at least 1 in 5 Californians is currently struggling with food insecurity, uncertain of where their next meal will come from. Despite this, California also discards 2.5 billion meals of fresh, unsold, edible food each year. On top of the discarded food never reaching those who need it, food waste also generates greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

ExtraFood’s mission is threefold: to address hunger, curb food waste, and fight climate change through food recovery and distribution programs. Since they were established in 2013, they’ve rescued over 20 million pounds of food, 5 million of which were recovered in the last calendar year.

They offer a variety of programs that redistribute produce from backyards and local farms, offer soup and community meals, and partner with local organizations to respond to food access emergencies. In addition, their food recovery programs take food from local businesses, schools, grocery stores, and farmers markets to be given to shelters and other community programs.

From Food Runners to ExtraFood: 30+ Years of Food Recovery at the Farmers Market

Since the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market started in 1993, Food Runners volunteers have worked to recover excess produce from our local farmers. Founded in 1987 by Chef Mary Risley, Food Runners delivered over 17 tons of food to shelters and food programs each week. When Mary retired in 2022, she chose ExtraFood to continue the legacy. Now, Food Runners exists as a program of ExtraFood.

“Mary Risley was a pioneer in the food recovery movement. When she was looking to retire, she approached Will Dittmar, our CEO. They came up with a plan to thoughtfully integrate ExtraFood and Food Runners. She still sits on our advisory board,” Sarah says.

ExtraFood continued to maintain many partners, donors, recipients, and volunteers who had worked with Food Runners in the past. One of those partners is Foodwise, which allows ExtraFood volunteers to pick up food donations from the farmers market every Saturday year-round. Volunteers Keith Goldstein and Seth Acharya, who started with Food Runners, have been picking up at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market since its early days and continue to do so with ExtraFood to this day.

“We are so thankful for our longtime Food Runners volunteers who were able to integrate with us! Some folks have been doing the same food rescue every week for 30 years. Our weekend coordinator, Eileen, was a staff member with Food Runners and serves as an important link in keeping our volunteer relationships in San Francisco extremely strong,” Sarah shares.

Sarah says that the transition from Food Runners to ExtraFood is meant to be slow and intentional, as they’ve gotten familiar with the existing community and are starting to work toward expanding that network of volunteers in the future.

Relying on the Generosity of Local Farmers to Curb Food Waste and Hunger

Since SB 1383 went into effect in 2022, businesses across California have been required to donate 20% of all edible food that would otherwise be thrown away. Though this law also applies to certified farmers markets, Sarah is mindful that local farmers are the actual donors supplying the food. 

“We fully understand that in donating to us, they are sharing out of the immense labor they have done in growing their produce,” Sarah says. “We also try to recruit farmers market teams or individuals that can commit to regularly doing this food rescue so the farmers get to know our volunteers.”.

After picking up food donations from the Ferry Plaza, volunteers travel to the Free Farm Stand on 23rd and Treat streets, where the food is offered to community members free of charge the following morning. This volunteer-run food distribution project is set up to look like a farmers market, where low-income families can get fresh produce in a dignified manner that allows them to choose what they want to cook and eat.

Since the transition from Food Runners to ExtraFood in 2023, Ferry Plaza Farmers Market farmers have donated 120,535 pounds of food. 

Sarah shares, “This food represents over 100,000 meals of beautiful produce that have gone directly into the hands of our neighbors who need it the most. Whether it is to help offset their grocery budget or it’s the only produce they are able to get for the week, the generosity of the farmers at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is such a gift.”Learn more about Extra Food here.

Topics: Climate change, Environment, Farmers market, Food access