mission community market

The Mercado Match is Back!

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Health promotion | Leave a comment

Wondering what kind of awesome programming MCM offers to the community with funds from our fundraising efforts?

One example is a recent partnership with the Bi-Rite Family of Businesses, which will enable us to bring back the Mercado Match program, which we previously offered in 2011 and 2012.

This wildly popular matching benefit gives CalFresh (food stamp) users up to $10 free to use toward fresh fruit and vegetables when they swipe their card at the market. Beginning Thursday December 5th, 2013, we’ll make this weekly benefit available as long as possible to help incentivize grocery shopping at the market this holiday season and on into 2014. If you’re an EBT user, come by the MCM info booth this Thursday to learn more! 

The Mission Community Market would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Bi-Rite for their generosity!

Spotted at MCM: Three Babes Bakeshop

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Blue House Farm, Happy Boy Farms, Jarred SF Brine, Marla Bakery, Spotted at MCM, Yerena Farms | Leave a comment

ThreeBabes1

The sassy duo behind the organic, seasonal pies from Three Babes Bakeshop were spotted shopping at the market last Thursday. They picked up delicious berries from Yerena Farms (above) and sugar pie pumpkins from Blue House Farm (below).

ThreeBabes2_pumpkins

Anna and Lenore can be found shopping at Mission Community Market every week – both for their pie business and to buy groceries for their apartment. They love that they get to see many of their friends from the SF food community there. They have been buying fruit from Poli and Sylvia Yerena since they launched their business, and are so impressed with Yerena Farms’ delicious berries all year round that they usually source all their berries from them. Lenore used to snack on berries meant for their pies, so now they have a rule that every Thursday she comes to MCM and buys her own personal flat of berries so that she can eat as many as she wants! Some of their other favorites at the market include tasty loaves of bread and delicious cookies from Marla Bakery, veggies from Happy Boy Farms, and pickles from Jarred SF Brine.

The berries and pumpkins Three Babes procured at the market are seasonal fillings for their amazingly flakey pie crust. Two of their favorite fall pies are pluot blackberry and pear raspberry.

ThreeBabes3_berrypie

With Thanksgiving around the corner, sugar pie pumpkin is very popular. They split and roast the sugar pie pumpkins and then scoop out and puree the flesh to make tasty pumpkin pies. While summer is their favorite season for pie fillings, fall is a close second with sugar pie pumpkins being at the top of their list!

ThreeBabes4_pumpkinpie

You can order pies online from Three Babes Bakeshop or through Good Eggs. Get your Thanksgiving orders in and you might enjoy some Mission Community Market produce in your holiday pie this year! The babes can also be found selling their pies at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturdays.

Photos courtesy of Three Babes Bakeshop

Featured Vendor: Boffo Cart!

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Boffo Cart, Vendor of the Week, Vendors | Leave a comment

boffo

If you haven’t yet had a chance to taste some of the delicious dinner options from Boffo Cart, you’re missing out on some of the best food that MCM has to offer.

Operated by Rhasaan Fernandez of Sam’s Log Cabin in Albany, this street food vendor joined the market in April 2013. Boffo Cart offers a unique menu each week that has something for everyone–vegetarians and omnivores alike. The best part is, everything is made with organic, in-season produce. Rhasaan makes his own calzone and piadina dough, and can often be found shopping for his ingredients from the MCM vendors before the market. Come on down to see what this talented chef has whipped up with all the produce from the vendors you’ve come to know and love.

Featured on the Boffo menu this week:

  • The Italian Chopped Pork Sandwich (Pasture raised pork seared with onions, marjoram & basil)
  • Piadina (thin homemade Italian flatbread) with tomato, basil & mozzarella
  • Eggplant Parmesan Calzone with a twist, featuring Japanese eggplant, thai basil, tomato, and bird chilies
  • Panini with Gypsy peppers, onions & mozzarella

Get on down to MCM this Thursday 4-8pm, and come hungry!

 

Welcome Rosi Bustamante to MCM

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog | Leave a comment

Greetings and saludos!  I am honored to serve as the new Executive Director of Mission Community Market and look forward to hosting our beloved open air market and the future Mercado Plaza.  I have been a Mercado fan since it opened, and can’t believe my luck that I am now helping it grow!  I look forward to partnering with vendors, local organizations, the City, neighbors, youth, schools, and YOU to make the Mercado our own and use it to build a stronger community.

Just a bit about myself:  I am from Tijuana, Mexico, and have lived in San Francisco for 15 years.  I moved to The Mission to raise my kids in a Latino environment, which is why my two boys attend a Spanish Immersion school, Buena Vista Horace Mann, two blocks from el Mercado! My professional background has always been in the nonprofit sector, focused on fundraising and building partnerships–two ingredients essential to MCM’s growth!  We will need everyone’s support to make that happen, though – please be on the lookout for opportunities to help us grow to meet community needs in a fun, welcoming, and healthy way. Feel free to drop me an email as well if you’d like to collaborate.

Come and say “Hola!” at the market every Thursday – I will probably be wearing red, and would love to meet you and your family.

Salud! [meaning ‘cheers’, but also, ‘health’!]

Rosi Bustamante

Executive Director

Meet our new intern Dana!

Posted on by Mission Community Market in Blog, Internship | 2 Comments

Hey everyone!

My name is Dana and I will be an MCM Intern this summer. Having spent some time as a Mercado volunteer and shopper, I am super stoked to be joining the team and contributing behind the scenes and on Thursdays. I’ve had a serious passion for healthy, fair, good food for as long as I remember. As with most foodies, this passion started as a love of cooking and eating and has morphed into a desire to make change within America’s food system by deepening consumers’ relationships with the food they eat. I can’t wait to be a regular part of the connections between producers and the public at the Mission Mercado. I’ll also be contributing to this blog regularly with vendor features, recipes, and more.

I spend my time between my job slinging deliciousness as a cheesemonger at Mission Cheese, delighting my roommates with home-baked cookies, and cooking up the treasures I discover at MCM.

Keep an eye out for my future posts and I’ll see you Thursdays at Bartlett & 22nd!