Puente is helping South Coast farmers explore finding a new footing in a San Francisco market eager for fresh, locally grown ingredients. Expansion is the key to survival, isolated as they are between major cities, says Puente Executive Director Kerry Lobel. “We saw that farmers need more outlets for their products, and agriculture on the South Coast needs more visibility,” Lobel says. And if local agriculture survives, so too do local schools and businesses. “So many small farms have been here less than 10 years. It’s hard to say what their future will be. If there is more demand, the small farms can get to be medium-sized farms,” says Doniga Markegard, who co-owns Markegard Family Grass-Fed with her husband, Erik. Pescadero Grown! and other markets offer a limited audience for perishables, and they require a farmer to give up a whole day of work just to staff a food booth. But what if the demand were consistent enough to justify the labor involved? That’s what Puente hopes to help farmers tap into. And the signs are very encouraging. Betsy Rix, co-owner of the Red Vic Movie House, has offered a space in the former San Francisco movie house to sell Pescadero produce one day a week. Rix and her husband Jack hope to reopen the Red Vic in March … Continue reading Pescadero produce may find new home in San Francisco