Ventura County's First Free Farmers Market a Worthy Success

On October 17, 2017, the Simi Valley Community Garden, in an innovative collaboration with Food Forward, a Los Angeles based food gleaning and recovery organization, hosted Ventura County's first Free Farmers Market at the Community Garden.

The Free Farmers Market provided thousands of pounds of fresh produce to local residents, all of which was distributed at no charge to attendees.

The goal of the Free Farmers Market is to connect the vast abundance of healthy produce available through the recovery efforts of gleaning organizations, directly with any and all families and individuals who are confronting food insecurity. No prequalification is required to participate in the Free Farmers' Market. The program simply encourages residents to come and take what you need.

No one could have anticipated the incredible reception from the public, as 100% of the available produce was distributed to individuals, families and regional agencies who attended the Market.

- "Thanks so much for doing this!! My daughter is a single Mom of 3 and this really helps her out!"

- "This was awesome! Everyone was so nice and welcoming! Such an awesome event! Thank you so much!"

- "What an incredible idea. My mother lives on a fixed income, and this food will go a long way to helping her get through the month."

- "Thank you so much for putting on this event. See you next time."

Based on the tremendous success of the inaugural event, the next Free Farmers Market is scheduled for Tuesday, November 14, 2017 from 2:00pm - 5:00pm at the Simi Valley Community Garden, 1636 Sinaloa Road, Simi Valley, CA 93065. CLICK HERE for additional information and a flyer for the event (http://www.SocialFeedSV.org). See you there!