In the shadow of Interstate Highway 280, for the past 20 years people have been tilling the land on a steep hillside below St. Mary’s Playground in San Francisco.
Alemany Farm, the city’s largest urban farm at 4.5 acres, today will celebrate 20 years of harvest with its anniversary harvest festival, which begins at 11 a.m.
The organic farm offers horticulture, volunteer and educational programs and educates local residents about how to grow their own food.
“Alemany Farm offers a unique opportunity to learn about the joys and health benefits of growing and consuming natural foods in an urban environment,” University of California at San Francisco physician Dr. Michelle Schneidermann said in a statement Friday.
The city’s parks department manages 35 community gardens on city-owned property, and Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg said that the agency is “so proud that Alemany Farm has become San Francisco’s largest urban farm.”
The festival is sponsored in part by the city’s Department of Environment, Recreation and Park Department and Housing Authority, as well of the Department of Public Health.
Events on the farm today will include a pig roast and barbecue, farm tours, a pie contest, world music and tabling for new programs debuting new year.
The festival is scheduled to run until 5 p.m. at the farm, which is located at 700 Alemany Boulevard.
Patricia Decker, Bay City News
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