About us

Valley Verde’s Community Food System (non-profit 501(3)(c) organization), promotes healthy eating and provides food access and micro-entrepreneurship training to low-income families of San José/Silicon Valley.

Our urban agriculture model includes:

Organic Gardening Classes and resources for setting home-based organic vegetable gardens
Super Jardineros (Super Gardeners) program, that trains families to grow seedlings in backyard greenhouses, creating their own micro-enterprise and generating disposable income.
The Finca - Urban Farm gathers the community around food, gardening and composting. It's here, in our own greenhouse were the multiethnic seedlings are grown for the families attending our programs as well as open sale.

THE IMPACT OPPORTUNITY

The community of South Bay Area in the San Francisco area includes a large population of “working underprivileged,” 92% are immigrants of Latino and Asian origin. This group often lives in food desert communities, which lack access to fresh, organic vegetables.

High rates of food insecurity are exacerbated by the high cost of living in Santa Clara County, often yield disparities in health outcomes. While Santa Clara County’s median income is one of the highest in the nation, there is a tremendous income gap, which continues to grow every year. This means that many working families can’t make ends meet.

Approximately 17% of children in our County live in food insecure households, not having access to healthy food on a daily basis.

Even though Silicon Valley is one of the most culturally diverse regions in the country, with 65% of the population belonging to multiethnic communities, culturally preferred vegetables are not readily available in the mainstream stores.

THE SOLUTION

Our Programs

Valley Verde offers the following programs year-round with the goal of making a lasting impact on food security, environmental conservation and access to green space for underserved families in San Jose and Gilroy, CA.