The Family Market

The Family Market Program is our answer to dwindling traditional food supplies and growing health concerns among our service population, specifically diabetes and obesity.

It provides fresh produce and dairy goods to our service population. It operates like a Farmers’ Market, but without charge, and provides an ideal venue for nutrition information. Based on self-selection of the food families like and need, there are no pre-packed bags that may include either insufficient or overabundant quantities. Each Market serves between 200 – 400 people; each household receives approximately 50 -100 pounds of food.

Operating like a free Farmer’s Market, the Family Market is an outdoor food distribution based mainly on self-selection. Instead of receiving pre-packed bags, families may take the food they need. The Family Market distributes donated, locally grown produce, as well as produce obtained out-of-area and trucked that comes to us with fees as well as trucking costs.

We now have a total number of ten sites sites countywide. The Family Market provides an ideal venue for nutrition information, Food Stamps, and other health and human services programs available to low-income Monterey County residents.

We have been able to add a bounty of produce to the diet of our neighbors. A recent survey of our Family Market clients revealed that 98% of recipients said that they ate more fruit and vegetables because of this program.

In FY 2007-08, we served 988,091 pounds of food to 14,130 households. In FY 2008-09, 1,306,593 pounds of food went to 17,922 households. In FY 2009-10, 1,500,526 pounds went to 19,761 households.

Food distributed consists of fresh locally grown produce such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, celery, leeks, lettuce, Portobello mushrooms, scallions and strawberries.

We also distribute fruit and vegetables from all over the state, including potatoes, onions, avocados and other stone fruit. This food is available through a program called Farm to Family, sponsored by the California Association of Food Banks and designed to facilitate produce distribution to the 40+ food banks within the state.

The Family Market runs from April through October each year.

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