Save the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market

Write to BUSD and City CouncilSupport the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market by writing a letter to BUSD and City Council today.

Suggested Talking Points:

• Your opinion on whether or not Derby Street should stay open or close.

• It is vital that the needs of the Berkeley Farmers’ Market are met in order for it to continue as a thriving community resource.

• Urge City Council and BUSD to meet the seven major needs of the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market:

  1. Provide ample customer parking, including handicapped parking as required by law.
  2. Provide overflow vendor parking for approximately ten vehicles.
  3. The design of the site MUST provide maximum visibility and accessibility. It cannot be obstructed by a fence or trees, and must provide easy and open access to both customers and vendor vehicles. This issue is extremely important, as visibility and access will make or break the Farmers’ Market.
  4. Vendors must have access to restrooms with running water, as required by law. The market would also like to provide public access to restrooms.
  5. Both high and low lighting for nighttime operation is a must for the business of our vendors to survive.
  6. The Farmers’ Market must not miss a single week of operation during the transformation of the East Campus site, as this could essentially destroy the business of the vendors and close down the market.
  7. The long-term operation of the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market must be guaranteed, whether it ends up on City Property or BUSD Property.
     
     
• The reasons that the Berkeley Farmers’ Market is an important community resource and why you want to save it. Examples include:
  
  
  • The Market supports kids and families through nutrition and health education as well as providing a positive learning environment.
  • The Market is a positive community space to buy fresh, healthy, local food and to spend time with neighbors and loved ones.
  • The Market supports Berkeley’s local economy by supporting small local farmers and food businesses.
  • The Market supports many local organizations and businesses that provide fresh healthy food to our community, including People’s Grocery and Farm Fresh Choice, Food Not Bombs, BUSD’s Salad Bar Program, and many local restaurants such as Chez Panisse.

Send Your Letters To:

Address your letters “To BUSD and the City of Berkeley”
Send to:

1. Mayor Tom Bates and City Council
   2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley 94704
2. BUSD Board of Directors
   2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley 94704

Background Information:

In September 2005, after almost ten years of debate, the Berkeley Unified School District voted to close Derby Street in order to put in a regulation size baseball field for use by BUSD base ball players, which cannot fit on the East Campus site with Derby Street open. In addition to the baseball field, a multi-use playing field would also be installed for other sports, such as field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse. However, Derby Street will close primarily to make room for the baseball field, and the multi-purpose field will overlap the dirt infield of the baseball field.

The issue will now go to the Berkeley City Council, who will decide before April 2006 on whether to take the next steps to close Derby Street. A CEQA required Environmental Impact Review is needed.

If Derby Street does close, displacing the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market, BUSD and the City of Berkeley must include a viable site for the Market to continue in the site plan. The seven major needs of the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, described above, must be met in order for the market to survive this major transition and continue to serve our community.

If you would like occasional email updates on this issue and how it affects the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market, please request this at the Ecology Center Booth at any Berkeley Farmers’ Market, or call us at 510-548-3333, or email linda@ecologycenter.org.

History of the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market:

The Ecology Center has operated the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market on Derby Street for nearly twenty years, providing access to fresh, healthy, locally grown seasonal foods to the community of south Berkeley while supporting small farmers and local businesses.

The Farmers’ Market supports kids through nutrition education programs. Farmers’ Market staff teaches nutrition and agriculture classes in Berkeley Elementary Schools and lead field trips to the Market. The Market also supports BUSD’s Salad Bar Program by administrative support as well as direct access to produce from local farms to our schools.

As a cornerstone of the East Bay Alternative Food System, the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market supports several programs that ensure regular access to fresh healthy foods in low income neighborhoods. These programs include Farm Fresh Choice, Spiral Garden, People’s Grocery, and Food Not Bombs.

Chefs from all over the Bay Area, including from Chez Panisse and Oliveto, shop at the Tuesday Berkeley Farmers’ Market every week.