If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Cheryl Magid, Coordinator, Community Service Projects, at cmagid@emanuelsf.org or leave a message at (415) 751-2541 x161.

Do you have a green thumb? Would you like to learn from those who do? Join us at the Pe'ah Garden at the home of Peace Cemetery in Colma. Please help us feed the hungry and enjoy the beautiful out-of-doors at the same time. Our garden is a major supplier of produce with over 28,000 lbs grown in the last two years and donated to the San Francisco Food Bank. Volunteers are needed on Sunday mornings from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, and with enough interest, the days and hours could be expanded. The garden work continues through November, and the planting and harvesting cycle happens several times.

Available again this year, garden sections, approximately 10' x 40', for personal gardening. You can grow your own vegetables. It's a wonderful opportunity for those of all ages to participate in the full cycle of food production - planting, weeding, harvesting, and best of all - eating!

In keeping with the concept of the Pe'ah Garden, we ask that you donate part of your harvest to the San Francisco Food Bank; you can decide what is appropriate. You may garden anytime the cemetery is open; the hours are Sunday through Friday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.

If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Cheryl Magid, Coordinator, Community Service Projects, at cmagid@emanuelsf.org or leave a message at (415) 387-3700 x194.



Congregation Emanu-El Neighborhood Food Programs

We are lucky, because most days in San Francisco Farmers' Markets are open. It is a great opportunity to take your family or friends on an outing in the sun and show them that food doesn't always come from grocery stores. They can also see that not all fruit has a waxy texture and when in season, fruits and vegetables have remarkable textures, smells, and flavors.

A Farmers' Market is usually an open-air market, in place for a few hours at the same time and place every week where local farmers sell directly to customers. You can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs, fish, herbs, flowers, and much more at reasonable prices. This summer the following should be available: cherries, apricots, corn, melons, cucumbers, summer squash, and onions. The best part is that you can taste the fruit or vegetable before buying it. What a wonderful way to experience a decadent strawberry so sweet that it melts in your mouth!



Five Reasons to Buy Local Food

1. Local produce tastes better and it's better for you - Food grown in your own community was probably picked within the past day or two. It is crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor.
2. Local food supports local farm families- Local farmers who sell directly to consumers cut out the many middlemen and get full retail price for their food, which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing the work they love.
3. Local food protects genetic diversity - Local farmers that sell direct to you or to your local restaurants and grocery stores grow a huge number of varieties selected because they have the best flavors, provide a long harvest season, and come in an array of eye-catching colors.
4. Local food preserves open space, and supports a clean environment. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.
5. Local food is about the future: By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure there will be farms in your community tomorrow.

Source: Community Alliance with Family Farmers- www.CAFF.org

This summer take advantage of the farmers' markets located at the following locations (subject to change).

Heart of the City Farmers Market
United Nations Plaza (Market between 7th & 8th Street)
7:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sunday, Wednesday

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
The Ferry Building (Embarcadero at Market Street)
8:00 am/10:00 am - 2:00 pm; Tuesday, Saturday

Alemany Farmers Market
100 Alemany Blvd (Hwy 101 & 280)
6:00 am - 5:00 pm; Saturday

Kaiser Hospital- San Francisco
Geary Street at St. Joseph's Street (Kaiser Commons Area)
10:00 am -2:00 pm; Wednesday

Bayview Hunter's Point Farmers Market
Bayview Opera House
4705 3rd Street (at Oakdale Avenue)
8:30 am - 12:30 pm, Wednesday

Fillmore Farmers Market
O'Farrell Street & Fillmore Street (Fillmore Center)
9:00 am - 1:00 pm; Saturday

All Farmer's Markets in San Francisco accept EBT cards, WIC and senior Farmer's Market vouchers.



Writing about the Pe'ah Garden isn't as easy as working in the garden. This may seem an unlikely description but the activity of using my hands to take out a head of romaine lettuce from the earth is very exciting to me.

Recently a group of volunteers from the Young Adult Community at the Temple came to the garden for a morning of harvesting. With enthusiasm and energy they harvested lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and Swiss chard that amounted to about four hundred pounds. We divided into groups, some of us picking, some washing, and some packing the boxes to go to the Food Bank. The cooperation among the group was wonderful. Since we didn't know everyone, there was a lot of schmoozing going on which gave a strong sense of community among the group.

Because we accomplished our goal of harvesting so quickly, there was time for a group to plant a crop of bush beans. We worked from 10:00 am until noon, and at the end of the morning everyone agreed that working at the Pe'ah Garden was a great experience.

It is gratifying for everyone who participates to do something that truly helps repair some of the inequity in the world. I must admit that when I go into a market to buy groceries, I am not thinking about whether I can afford a head of lettuce. When I pick the lettuce at the garden I am glad that I can give something to people who do think about where there next meal is coming from.

Thank you to all the volunteers who have come to the garden to help. We couldn't do it without you. Whether you stay an hour or two, every bit of work helps. I am also grateful to be in a community that is willing to do the work.

- Kate Nangle

GARDEN SCHEDULE:

EARLY SPRING: Plant seeds in the greenhouse

LATE SPRING: Transplant seedlings into the garden

THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER AND FALL: Harvest vegetables and replant others