by Colleen Lynch

School may be out, but this fall, fresh produce will be in. A total of 12 Oakland schools will be hosting weekly produce markets to begin at the start of the school year. These are open to students, parents, and local community members who want to stock up on fruits and vegetables delivered from area farmers.

What started as a pilot program run by EBAYC in just two of their after school programs has expanded through collaboration with several organizations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and OUSD Nutrition Services. According to program coordinator, Christine Cherdboonmuang, the idea of running these produce markets grew out of a community food assessment and survey conducted by EBAYC youth interns in the San Antonio neighborhood.

The results showed that many residents were traveling outside of the community to purchase healthy foods. With the goal of addressing this issue and increasing local, healthy food access, the school produce markets were started at two area schools. After showing how these markets could attract a growing crowd of customers and were becoming an important part of their host schools, there were requests for placing markets at more Oakland schools. A new partnership with OUSD Nutrition Services and support from the Robert Wood Johnson Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Initiative allowed the project to scale-up last year.

Putting on these weekly produce markets requires the time and energy of many players to operate successfully. Each market is staffed by a manager hired by the school, who in many cases is the parent of a child at the school. Volunteer students and parents are responsible for setting up and breaking down the produce stands as well as assisting with the actual sales.

Each school also has a designated market liaison. This staff member is responsible for promoting the program to faculty members and students, encouraging them to purchase produce and use the market as a site for creative lessons outside of the classroom. The most important part of the market is, of course, the produce.

Food is delivered by farmers to a central OUSD location and then sorted for distribution to the different school markets. Some farmers make a special trip to deliver for the school markets, while others build in an extra stop on the days they are selling at area farmers’ markets.

Gehry Oatey, teacher and market manager at Melrose Leadership Academy, has enjoyed being part of this movement towards healthy foods for the students and their surrounding community. When he began working at the school five years ago, he incorporated a garden and cooking lessons into his activities with the children. Since then, the school has worked up to coordinating a thriving school produce market program.

Running on Wednesday afternoons, the Melrose Leadership market bring in upwards of $500 in sales each week. This translates into a significant amount of healthy produce that is made available to students, their families, and neighbors. Mr. Oatey describes the best part of the market as people being excited about healthy foods. It provides an opportunity for customers to learn about which fruits and vegetables are in season and what it means to purchase organic produce. He also observes how the market has really added to the school’s overall environment, acting in a positive way to bring people together around healthy food.

The Oakland Farms-to-School Network is looking forward to a bright future. Coordinator, Christine Cherdboonmuang hopes to see the school produce markets’ continued growth with the addition of several more participating school sites over the coming years. Look for a school produce market near you this fall, when apples, tomatoes, and a whole host of other fresh
produce will be in prime season.

The OUSD Produce Markets will begin operating this fall, the third week in September. For a full schedule of the market days and times see the OFPC Healthy Living page. The markets are also set to accept EBT cards this fall.
Health Kids Healthy Communities
EBAYC
Oakland Unified School District Nutrition Services
Oakland Food Policy Council