Community Based Programs
East Palo Alto Community Farmers Market
The East Palo Alto Community Farmers Market offers the only source of seasonal, local, and organic produce to community members in East Palo Alto. In addition to encourage healthy lifestyle choices, the market supports beginning organic farmers transitioning from work as farm laborers on industrial farms.
EPA Seed Library
The seed library, a project in partnership with the Public Library of East Palo Alto, enables gardeners to check out, plant, grow, and eventually save seeds, ensuring a regenerating source of organic and heirloom seeds for gardeners in our community.
EPA Fresh Checks
Fresh Checks is an innovative incentive program for low-income consumers at the East Palo Alto Community Farmers Market, enabling participants to double the value of their purchases at the market and take home more fresh, local, sustainable produce!
EPA Tool Lending Library
The Tool Lending Library reduces expenses for home gardeners by offering all the tools needed to establish and maintain home gardens free of charge.
EPA Backyard Gardener Network
The Backyard Gardener Network is a resource-sharing community of gardeners in East Palo Alto committed to growing our own food and celebrating the bounty of our community.
We engage residents and stakeholders in a full-scale initiative to increase access to fresh, local, healthy and affordable produce. Some of our accomplishments include:
- operating the East Palo Alto Community Farmers’ Market for five successful seasons;
- creating Fresh Checks, an innovative coupon incentive program that makes fresh fruits and vegetables at the EPA Community Farmers Market affordable to low-income families;
- creating The Root Box, a Community Supported Agriculture program operated out of the East Palo Alto Community Farmers Market that provides high quality, local, sustainable produce at an affordable price and supports the existence of the farmers market;
- sponsoring the EPA Backyard Gardener Network, a group that supports the capacity of local residents to grow their own food;
- managing the East Palo Alto Seed Library, a source of free, locally viable organic and heirloom seeds for community members;
- managing the East Palo Alto Tool Lending Library, which includes garden maintenance and food preservation tools that help increase the productivity of local gardeners and longevity of their harvests;
- offering free cooking and nutrition classes for adults and children in partnership with Cooking Matters;
- teaching a series of free monthly gardening workshops;
- managing the Collective Roots Community Garden, the only community garden in East Palo Alto, as well as multiple gardens at community partner sites throughout East Palo Alto;
- and more!
Read about these Community Based programs in the news and learn more about the impact we are having in our community!