Things to Know Before Visiting:

1.  Please call or email to schedule your field trip, so we can avoid having too many groups at one time. Our staff may be available to give a 10 minute introduction to your group. (Contact info.)

2.  Please bring at least one adult for every 6 children. The best way to enjoy the market is in small groups. Please do not let children walk around the market unsupervised.

3.  Bathrooms are located inside the Ferry Building on the ground floor, at either end of the building.

4.  Many groups have lunch across the Embarcadero in Justin Herman Plaza. There are steps to sit on and a grassy area. There are some picnic tables in the farmers market, but they are first-come-first-served and cannot be reserved.

5.  To make the experience more meaningful, some groups ask the children to bring a dollar or two each to spend on food for themselves. Other groups buy food together to create a communal meal or snack.

6.  Please review the following rules with the youth and the chaperones before your visit:

•    The Ferry Plaza Farmers market is a wonderful place to learn about where food comes from, and it is also a place of business. Farmers and their employees have worked hard to produce the food here and have traveled a long way to sell it. Please keep that in mind during your visit and avoid getting in the way of sales.

•    Don’t block customer access to a stand. For groups of more than a few people, line up and approach each stand in pairs.

•    Don't interrupt a seller’s conversation with a customer. Wait until they are done and then ask your question. Keep in mind that some farm booths are staffed by farmers; others are staffed by employees who may not have as much information about the farm.

•    Ask permission at each stand before touching or sampling produce. Please do not take more than one sample per person at each stand unless the seller offers.

•    Do not lean on produce (be especially careful with clipboards).

For more information and to schedule a visit, contact Julie Cummins, Director of Education, at julie@cuesa.org or (415) 291-3276 x106.

Activities

A-Z of Sustainable Agriculture: CUESA's photomural exhibit brightens the front of the Ferry Building. Walk from A to Z with your class and read each panel as you go along. See the online version of the sustainability alphabet here.

Activity Sheets: CUESA has developed several activity sheets for different age ranges to facilitate exploration of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. The activities are designed so that each child has his/her own paper on a clip board (or cardboard), but the activities may be done in groups, attended by chaperones.

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Bingo (Grades 2-3)

Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt (Grades 4 and up)

Additional Education Resources

•    Kids Cook Farm Fresh Food, developed in 2002 by CUESA’s founder, Sibella Kraus, highlights California crops, offers simple recipes, and includes profiles of some farms that sell at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Download it for free (PDF).

•    San Francisco Unified School District's Nutrition Education Project is a resource for teachers on nutrition education and physical activity promotion. It contains facts, links, curriculum, and other resources, including farmers market lesson plans.

•    The California School Garden Network has a page of links to free curricula and activities about gardening, eating, and nutrition.

•    Farm-related lesson plans are available from Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. Some of the activities come from a conventional (not sustainable) agriculture perspective, but the site has many worthwhile lesson plans.

•    Free lesson plans are available for download from the National Farmers Union for a variety of age ranges.

•    The Center for Environmental Education Online has links to free environmental education curricula.

•    Discovering the Food System is a comprehensive learning program for middle school and high school students.