Mandela Partners

People

Mandela Partners is a nonprofit organization that uses food as a tool for local residents, family farmers, and community-based businesses that have been historically oppressed to build wellness, wealth, and economic opportunities in their own neighborhoods.

Where

Oakland, 14 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

About

Founded in 2004 in West Oakland, CA, Mandela Partners was established to fill a gap created by long standing inequities: a challenging local food environment, a racist legacy of redlining and economic disinvestment, and limited opportunities for quality jobs, small business support, and long-term wealth building. For new business owners, the nonprofit’s Food Business Pathways Program helps them start, test, and grow their business. Through the Building Equity program, Foodwise partners with Mandela Partners to host local food entrepreneurs in popping up at the farmers market to connect with the larger Bay Area community.

Their programs also include: produce distribution programs that bring fresh fruits and vegetables from small, BIPOC-owned farms to Oakland and surrounding food-insecure communities; culinary training for community members facing barriers to employment, with a focus on those returning home after incarceration; workshops, mentorship, and resources for small food business owners and entrepreneurs; and culturally-relevant wellness education. Over the past 19 years, Mandela Partners has distributed over 2 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, generated nearly $10 million in local economic returns, partnered with dozens of fellow community organizations, and worked with tens of thousands of community members to improve their health and wellness, economic stability, or both