Foodwise Community

Launched in January 2019, Foodwise Teens is a semester-long paid job training program where teens build skills to sustain healthy lives and a healthy planet. Building on eight years of success in CUESA’s Schoolyard to Market program, Foodwise Teens transforms CUESA’s youth programming and takes it to the next level. Students learn about food justice, develop job skills, and get hands-on experience in the garden, in the kitchen, and at the farmers market, while getting paid for their work.

Shoppers who use CalFresh (SNAP/EBT) benefits at CUESA farmers markets can double their dollars up to $15 per market day with Market Match and receive free market coins to spend on fruits and vegetables. Market Match is a nutrition incentive program that makes fresh produce more affordable. Fruit and vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet, but they cost more per calorie than most processed foods, so families on a tight food budget are often unable to afford enough for optimum health. Market Match helps level the playing field by making local and sustainable produce more accessible to people with limited income.

CUESA hosts occasional evening lectures and panel discussions inside the Ferry Building. Past speakers have included Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle, and Vandana Shiva. The talks cover pertinent issues about our food system, such as farming in an age of climate change, humane animal husbandry, and the rise of urban agriculture around the country.

From seasonal tastings and cooking programs to evening talks and farm tours, CUESA provides educational experiences for you to meet farmers and food makers, learn and share food knowledge, and take action.

What better way to learn about where your food comes from than to visit the place where it was produced? Each year in the spring, summer, and fall, CUESA offers about six full-day excursions to explore the farms and facilities of Ferry Plaza Farmers Market sellers. Through CUESA’s tour program, participants see, taste, and learn about their food first-hand, guided by the farmers and artisans themselves. Most tours have two stops, some include hands-on experiences (like kitchen skills classes and U-pick harvesting), and all include a delicious farm-fresh lunch.