Heart of the City Farmers' Market

Heart of the City Farmers’ Market is a uniquely independent, farmer-operated, 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that operates a year-round farmers’ market on Sundays and Wednesdays from 7am-4pm in San Francisco's Civic Center. Originally located at the United Nations Plaza, we were relocated by the City & County of San Francisco in 2024 to Fulton Plaza between the Downtown Library and the Asian Art Museum. Our historic market opened in 1981 with a mission to support and sustain small farmers and make fresh, nutritious produce more accessible for low-income customers. We are a uniquely independent nonprofit farmers’ market that is operated by a governing board of farmers and community representatives. Since the market's first day, our farmers have been committed to helping to support a healthy Heart of the City. Our nonprofit operates one of the largest farmers’ market food access programs in the nation,distributing over $4 million a year in food assistance from our information tent. We are popular shopping destination for customers seeking a diverse selection of produce that is grown locally by farm families who have built their small businesses around the needs of the low-income neighborhood we serve. Known as the most affordable farmers’ market in San Francisco, we attract customers from all over the City to spend Cal Fresh benefits, access Market Match incentives to stretch limited budgets, and utilize food vouchers from Eat SF, WIC, Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, and Veggie Rx from Fresh Approach. Over 70% of Cal Fresh benefits spent at San Francisco’s more than 30 farmers markets are spent here. Since 2015, we have distributed over $15 million in free fruits and vegetables to low-income customers. The market is open year-round, rain or shine, including most holidays. We close for Pride Parade in June, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. No Cash?  BUY TOKENS & VOUCHERS AT OUR INFO TENT Credit Cards, debit cards, and EBT cardsare accepted at our market information tent on Fulton Street at Larkin Street. Use your card to purchase $5 vouchers and $1 tokens that you can use to shop with our vendors. All vendors accept cash. EBT purchases are matched dollar-for-dollar up to $30 a month at our information tent through our Market Match program in partnership with the Ecology Center. Heart of the City Farmers’ Market’s mission is the support and sustain small and medium sized growers and make fresh food accessible for low-income customers struggling to afford produce in a City with the highest cost of living in the nation. Our farmers bring fresh, high-quality food from local farms to the heart of San Francisco's most vulnerable low-income neighborhoods. We are an independent, 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that operates a California Certified Farmers Market governed by a community board known as The Heart of the City Farmers Market Community Advisory Board. This board includes five farmers elected as representatives by our member farmers and two community representatives elected by our farmer board members to help the organization connect with and meet the needs of the neighborhoods we serve. We work to create healthy neighborhoods including facilitating purchasing programs to infuse vulnerable communities with healthy food, nutrition education outreach with local social service providers, schools, and after-school programs, a gleaning program to donate produce to our most needy neighbors, and partnerships with local health organizations make resources available during market days.  Our food access programs have grown to become the largest in the nation and over $3.5 million in food tokens and vouchers are distributed from our info tent each year. Our busy HOCFM information tent promotes HOCFM’s food assistance programs in six languages and our established network of over 50 social service provider partners help us promote the program to San Francisco residents most at risk of food insecurity. Rela