from City Slicker Farms:

On Sunday, November 1, 2009 from 11am-3pm City Slicker Farms will be having a groundbreaking event to celebrate and start construction on a new Community Market Farm at Fitzgerald and Union Plaza Parks . The event will take place at the neighboring parks, located at 34th and Peralta in West Oakland . 

In 2007, Councilmember Nancy Nadel proposed the opening of a new urban farm at Fitzgerald & Union Plaza Parks and that it be managed by City Slicker Farms.  After two years of community outreach and planning with the Cityof Oakland , Oakland  Parks and Recreation, park neighborsand West Oakland residents, we are ready to break ground.   This project represents an innovative way nonprofits and community members can collaborate with local government to turn under-resourced parks into food-producing gardens.  Once completed, the new Community Market Farm will include:

• Fruiting trees and raised garden beds for food production
• Chickens
• Weekly farm stand providing organically grown fruits, vegetables, and eggs at
• a sliding scale for West Oakland (no one turned away for lack of funds)
• Urban gardening workshops and other educational events
• Volunteer opportunities and internships for youth and adults
• Farm tours
• Open space for community members to recreate

Please join us on Sunday, November 1, 2009 from 11-3 to celebrate food and community.   The day will include:

•  Opening Ceremony: tba
•  Opening Remarks:  representatives from City of Oakland , park neighbors, and City SlickerFarms
• Unveiling of an inspiring new report:  “Cultivating the Commons:
• An Assessment of the Potential for Urban Agriculture on Oakland ’s Public Land ” which identifies vacant/underutilize d public land that could be used for food production.
• Entertainment:  Music by West Oakland artists
• Digging in the Dirt:  Construction of planting beds...all are invited and encouraged to help

About City Slicker Farms

City Slicker Farms increases food self-sufficiency in West Oakland by creating organic, sustainable, high-yield
urban farms and backyard gardens.  These spaces provide healthy, affordable food and improve the environment.  We seek to serve all West Oakland residents, prioritizing people who have least access. Our farms and gardens demonstrate the viability of a local food-production system, serve as community space, empower children and adults who want to learn about the connections between ecology, farming and the urban environment, and give West Oakland residents tools for self-reliance.

Barbara Finnin, Executive Director
1625 16th Street , Oakland, CA 94607, 510-763-4241