TradioV Announces a New Television Show Featuring the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

April 5, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TradioV Announces a New Television Show Featuring the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

San Francisco-based production company TradioV will partner with the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) to create Fresh from the Farmers Market, an education-based food show that will air nationwide this spring.

SAN FRANCISCO Thursday, April 5 — TradioV, a San Francisco-based television and radio production company, announced its partnership today with local nonprofit the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) to create a new TV show, Fresh from the Farmers Market. The show will debut on Free Speech TV and cable networks in late spring 2012. CUESA is well known for the operation of the much-loved and iconic Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, which will serve as the inspiration and backdrop for the new education-based food show.

TradioV is an independent multimedia network and production company that specializes in lifestyle programming. Fresh from the Farmers Market is one of nearly a dozen media projects that TradioV will be producing for local and national broadcast networks like Free Speech TV. The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is at the center of the vibrant San Francisco food community and the farm-to-fork movement that has made San Francisco one of the top culinary centers in the world. As the location that best exemplifies the connections between people, food, agriculture and sustainability it was deemed a natural fit for the new TV program. TradioV’s Founder and President Mike Zinna states, “When I relocated to San Francisco last year to open our latest broadcast facility, I was inspired by all the energy at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. I immediately identified this vibrant gathering place as a natural setting for an exciting television show. The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market reminded me of all the piazzas in Italy — so many of which are the heart and soul of their community.”

sites/default/files/happel-headshot-199x300_0.jpgThe casting call for the show’s host and co-producer brought in a number of dynamic, talented and well-qualified individuals from the Bay Area community and beyond. TradioV selected San Francisco resident Annie Happel to fill the role. In an interview Annie states, “I am truly inspired by the Bay Area’s incredible food scene and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share the glories of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market with a nation-wide audience.” Happel is the author of Happelsauce (a food blog), marketing manager, world explorer, home cook, and seeker of all things delicious. Her work on organic farms in France and Spain helped to prepare her for this role.

Zinna states, “We feel fortunate to be partnering with an incredible educational organization like CUESA, and collaborating with a natural talent like Annie Happel. When I began to conceive this show, in my mind’s eye I thought of a host just like Annie. And then, she walked in the door. Her authenticity, passion, and love for people and the sustainable-agriculture lifestyle will be instrumental to the show’s success. Annie is the quintessential ‘farmer girl next door,’ and she will deliver anecdotes and storylines that will resonate with Farmers Market lovers across the nation.”

As an educational nonprofit whose mission is to help cultivate a more sustainable food system and inspire consumers to make better choices, the show is a natural extension of CUESA’s own broader education goals. “We are excited to extend our education efforts to a medium that has previously been cost-prohibitive. We are incredibly grateful that we will be able to tell our story in partnership with TradioV,” says Dave Stockdale, CUESA’s Executive Director.

The show will give viewers an inside look at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, including how everyone from farmers to notable chefs approach issues from seasonality and changing weather patterns to producing and selecting produce which meets sustainability criteria. Viewers will not only meet the people behind the food at the market, but will also receive expert cooking tips. The show will take viewers out to farms and to artisan production facilities, giving them the opportunity to understand where food comes from and how it is produced. As Happel states, “I’m looking forward to taking complex agriculture issues and practices and breaking them down into relevant, digestible, and entertaining segments for the audience.”

Stockdale says, “We feel that farmers markets are a wonderful resource for consumer education – there are so many stories to tell – and it is exciting to extend this learning opportunity beyond those people who have the opportunity to shop at farmers markets regularly. We currently host farm tours and evening lectures and discussions throughout the year, and we are looking forward to growing the audience for the valuable information that comes through these experiences.  If we can put these lessons in a format accessible to a nation-wide audience we feel we can reach a much broader base of decision makers. At CUESA we believe that customer education is central to long-term and much needed changes to our food system.”

Fresh from the Farmers Market will reach nearly 40 million households nation-wide airing on Free Speech TV, Dish Network, DirecTV and other Cable networks. Additionally clips from the show will be available on the CUESA YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/cuesasf).

Viewers can learn more about the show, when it will air, and become a part of the community at http://www.facebook.com/FreshfromtheFarmersMarket and at .

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The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) is dedicated to cultivating a sustainable food system through the operation of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and its educational programs.
 
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