Foodwise Community

Programs: Education programs: cuesas educational initiatives inspire eaters of all ages to participate in cultivating a healthy food system, including cooking demonstrations, farm tours, youth programs and more. Cuesa offers a variety of free cooking demos, educational exhibits, food and farm tours and sustainability talks to connect people and build community around healthy, seasonal food. The food shed gives curious shoppers the opportunity to deepen their understanding of sustainable food systems by exploring topics such as the drought, biodiversity, food labeling, and more. Each year, cuesa offers about six full-day excursions to explore the farms and facilities of our farmers market sellers. Through cuesas tour program, participants see, taste, and learn about their food first-hand, guided by the farmers and producers themselves. Cuesa hosts evening lectures and panel discussions inside the ferry building on pertinent issues about our food system, such as farming in an age of climate change, food waste, humane animal husbandry, and the rise of urban agriculture.

farmers market programs: cuesa has managed the ferry plaza farmers market in san francisco since 1994, and the jack london square farmers market in oakland since 2016. Cuesas markets are certified farmers markets renowned for diverse offerings of high-quality, delicious local products. We pride ourselves on activation of our farmers markets as educational tools for cultivating a healthy food system. For example, foodwise kids is a free program for elementary school classes that uses the ferry plaza farmers market as a classroom for empowering the next generation of healthy eaters. Through comparative tastings, exploring the market, and a hands-on cooking lesson, we nurture childrens love for fruits and vegetables, teach them to prepare healthy, seasonal foods, and raise their awareness of their role in a sustainable food system. Schoolyard to market, a youth development and entrepreneurship program, gives high school students the opportunity to grow produce and vegetable seedlings in their school gardens and sell them at the ferry plaza farmers market. Students learn about gardening, sustainability, and nutrition and gain valuable job skills in business, marketing, and sales.