Food
On Saturday, Phat Beets Produce introduced a flea market component to its weekly farmers’ market in North Oakland. By bringing in over 10 different vendors offering cooking demos, artisans showcasing different crafts and neighbors selling household items, Zach Matthews, one of the co-organizers for Phat Beets, said the flea market concept is geared toward getting more people to participate in the weekly farmers’ market.
More than 300 people packed the North Oakland Senior Center on Thursday evening to discuss the future of urban agriculture in Oakland. The forum, organized by Oakland’s planning and zoning division, is the city’s latest effort to gain public input on updating its urban farming regulations.
James and the Giant Cupcake opened last week, near the corner of San Pablo and Alcatraz. Owner Eurydice Manning had to shut the store down for a two hours the third day the shop was open because they were sold out, and frantically bake more.
It’s summertime, and Oakland’s community gardens are thriving. But in a city with only about 200 plots for 40,000 people, waiting lists are long, and the Office of Parks and Recreation is expanding the gardening program as fast as it can.
Youth Greening Oakland (YGO) is an eight-week “earn and learn” summer program that hires teenagers to work in urban gardening projects while also learning about environmental justice and food sustainability issues.
For 10 years, Rachel Saunders made jam on the side, mostly for friends. Then, she said, making jam “sort of became more of a hobby.” But ultimately it became North Oakland’s Blue Chair Fruit Company — see how they make one of their artisan marmalades.
A new bill authored by Oakland State Assemblyman Sandre Swanson could lift the ban preventing former drug offenders from receiving food stamps. “It is the right thing to do,” Swanson said, adding that California invests millions of dollars supporting prisoners that are released, only to find them returning within a couple of years.
The last bell of the school year rang for Oakland school students on Thursday. But where to swim, travel or play sports aren’t the only questions these newly liberated youth—or their parents—have on their minds. How to provide a daily, nutritious meal is a more immediate concern this summer for low-income families and the 20,000 children that depend on reduced-price meals during the school year.
Oakland home gardeners may be able to legally sell their produce in a few months. On Wednesday the city’s Planning Commission unanimously approved a proposal from city planners that includes modifying the zoning regulations to allow “crop growing” as a home occupation.