page_title: Phat Beets Produce
section_title: Farmers' market and produce stands
hierarchical_section_title: Phat Beets Produce / Organization of the collective / Farmers' market and produce stands
caption_attribution_description: English: Portland Farmers Market in the South Park Blocks at Portland State University
context_page_description: Phat Beets Produce is an American food justice collective focusing on food justice in North Oakland, California, started by Max Cadji and Bret Brenner in 2007. Their programs include weekly farmer's markets, free produce stands, youth gardens, community supported agriculture programs, food and social justice workshops, and previously, a kitchen and cafe cooperative. Cadji helps residents have access to nutritious food by coordinating between farmers, institutions, and low-income communities to utilize empty land for urban gardening.
  Their mission addresses disadvantaged North Oakland residents, actively opposes the systematic forces of gentrification in the North Oakland Area, and stands in solidarity with criminal justice issues. The organization states that it draws largely from the Black Panther Party, whose founding members lived in the North Oakland area. The Black Panthers focused on black empowerment and racial issues, but also addressed food justice issues, most notably their Free Breakfast for Children program.
context_section_description: A major component of urban agriculture is actually getting the produce to the local residents. Besides beet boxes, farmers markets are the main source of this exchange in the community. Phat Beet Produce has two farmers’ markets in clinics and two community produce stands. The 4 different farmers markets located in: North Arlington Medical Center, North Oakland Children’s Hospital, Farm Free Stand – Arlington Medical Center, and Saint Martin De Porres Community Produce Stand.  The produce that is sold at these farmers’ markets comes primarily from small farmers and farmers of color. At the farmers’ markets, there are also vendors that sell already cooked food. In terms of future expansion, Phat Beets Produce plans to open a new farmer's market on June 14 of 2014. The location of this new farmers' market will be near the Destiny Arts Center in North Oakland.
  Will Scott, the President of the African American Farmer’s of California is one of the many farms that participate in the farmers’ markets. Even though the Scott’s Family Farm is based in Fresno, Will Scott makes the trip to Oakland in order to increase presence of farmers of color in our nation. One commentator in “The Disappearing Farmer” stated that there is, “loss of land by our farmers, African American farmers, who are now less than 2% in the country, and have been losing about a half million acres of land a year in this country. And there were some indicators that for every acre lost, there was a reciprocal loss of economic wealth in our community.”    African-American history of agriculture in the United States is an important driving force for present-day farmers of color. Furthermore, throughout history, there has been a correlation between land ownership and power.
caption: Farmers' Market
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