SAN DIEGO — The Food Shed is now open to the community. On Monday, The Food Shed opened its doors, distributing fresh, organic produce to residents in City Heights. The new program purchases fresh produce from farms across San Diego and distributes the fruits and vegetables to underserved communities.
Under a cloudless and sunny sky in the Tijuana River Valley, Cris Juarez runs into a problem with her broccoli that many farmers face. It's full of aphids, she says.
Little bugs notwithstanding, it's a full-time job taking care of a half-acre of crops.
"We have broccoli, we have arugula, cilantro, parsley, spinach, cauliflower," said Juarez.
And her neighbor Andy at Grow Eco Farms will sell their fresh produce to Ricardo Cataño and the Food Shed, in City Heights.
"It's a human right, that we all deserve," said Cataño. "Not only to have food but to have good quality food."
WATCH RELATED: The Food Shed | Bringing local farms closer to home.
The Food Shed’s program, the Food Hub has partnerships with many farms in the county. Buying fresh, pesticide-free organic produce and transporting it locally. Many supermarket chains have to ship their produce from hundreds of miles, contributing to climate change.
They’re then able to get it into the hands of the people of City Heights- a community with few places to get organic produce. When the Foodhub officially opens next week, people will be able to use EBT and Calfresh when they pick up their box of fresh fruits and veggies.
So if you do pick up a box filled with your favorite greens, you can thank farmers like Cris, for sharing her harvest.
"So having the fresh, nutritious food that is coming straight up from the earth, like delivered to the hands of the people that are gonna eat it, it's very important." says Juarez
The Foodhub will officially open this Monday, the 14th.
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