A Farm to Feast Tale: Celebrating CUESA

Plenty is on a mission to revolutionize the global food system with our vertical farms, and we believe there’s no better place to look for inspiration than the organizations who have been growing change within their own local communities for decades.

The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture was founded in 1994 and has been offering fresh, local produce to urban-dwellers in the Bay Area via their growing collection of farmers markets and education initiatives since 1999. CUESA’s unique programming such as hands-on cooking lessons and market exploration for children, paid job training programs for teens, and cooking demos, market tastings, and seasonal celebrations for adults, inspire eaters of all ages to do their part in creating a regenerative and democratized food-future for all.

CUESA has long understood the power of good food to nourish people, local economies, and the earth, so for Plenty — an organization so focused on improving the health of plants, people, and planet that we’ve actually created a whole new form of agriculture — CUESA was an obvious choice to both learn from and support. As a non-profit driven by their mission to grow communities through the power and joy of fresh food, CUESA relies on the support of Bay Area companies, and it is Plenty’s honor to be one such like-minded organization.

October marks the three-year anniversary of Plenty’s involvement with CUESA’s rollicking Sunday Supper: A Farm to City Feast. As a sponsor, we’re thrilled to know that our financial contribution goes toward providing vital funds to CUESA’s Foodwise Kids and Foodwise Teens initiatives , empowering the next generation of healthy eaters to learn and love their role in the sustainable food system that organizations like CUESA and Plenty are joining forces to create. But, as always, Plenty is most equipped to provide our support by way of delicious fresh produce…

CUESA’s Sunday Supper event kicked off with hors d’oeuvres, hand-crafted drinks, and a behind-the-scenes peek at the active kitchen where San Francisco’s top chefs were preparing unforgettable menus using the freshest local ingredients. This year, we were pleased to partner with Chefs Sayat and Laura Ozyilmaz to provide produce for the Noosh team’s dish — a mini sabich bowl with falafel, seasonal pickles and Plenty purslane. And it was our further delight to then partake in the bountiful feast spread before us, followed by a live and silent auction where private dinners with acclaimed chefs, farm getaways, and exclusive food experiences were all up for grabs.

When attending CUESA’s Sunday Supper, there is no question that such an event could only be fueled by passion: the passion to take all the joy and delicious food packed inside that Grand Hall, and multiply it back out into the community. Money raised by the Sunday Supper event funds more than 50 percent of the cost of CUESA’s education programs which create opportunities for the next generation to learn how they can create healthier lives and a healthier planet.

To further support CUESA’s mission to build community and share food knowledge with the Bay Area, Plenty donates unused seedlings to CUESA’s affiliated gardening classes, and advises how to cultivate the tastiest greens possible by sharing our expertise in plant and flavor sciences. Thus far, Plenty has donated approximately 5,500 plants of assorted leafy greens like spring mix lettuce, bok choy, kale, cabbage, leaf broccoli, purple mizuna, Swiss chard, radish greens, and collard greens to their Foodwise Teens and Foodwise Kids programs.

We plan to do even more to support organizations that are regenerating health and joy within their communities. Global change can only happen when local change happens first, and Plenty is proud to learn from the valuable, long-standing work of organizations like CUESA, while also sharing our talents and resources with them. The food revolution is happening — one child, one farm, and one community at a time.

Originally published at https://www.plenty.ag on October 15, 2019.