An Oasis in a Food Desert

A community mobilizes to launch its own farmers' market

by Veronica Sudekum

April 16, 2008 Palo Alto Weekly

East Palo Alto hasn't had a supermarket within its borders since the early 1970s, but it does have two McDonalds — just 1.5 miles apart. Other dots on the fast-food map are a nearby Pizza Hut and Taco Bell Express.

To buy fresh produce, residents have to travel outside the city's boundaries or depend on the limited selections on corner stores' shelves.