Our Story
History of The Berkeley Basket
The Berkeley Basket is a backyard CSA that was founded in 2009 by Sophie Hahn (Berkeley City Council Member), and Willow Rosenthal (Co-Author of The Essential Urban Farmer and founder of City Slickers Farms.) Berkeley Basket has been providing local families with fresh, organically grown, "hyper-local" produce for more than a decade.
In 2012, Sophie Hahn and Willow Rosenthal led a successful effort to amend Berkeley's Zoning Code to allow the sale and trade of homegrown produce throughout Berkeley's residential areas. Berkeley residents growing food in their “Edible Gardens” can now legally sell or trade homegrown produce, eggs and nuts without a permit, with modest restrictions to ensure the sales activity doesn’t disturb neighbors. The passage of this “Edible Gardens” legislation provided a new chapter to Berkeley’s local food movement and inspiration to other communities around the country.
Originally called "Shattuck Gardens," the CSA has been tended by several skilled and passionate urban farmers over the years. From 2009-2017 the project was hosted in Sophie's backyard, serving 7 families. In 2018 expanded into Jack Shepherd and Katharine Gale's spacious West Berkeley yard, which allowed us to grow our CSA membership to 13 shares. In 2019 we expanded again, designing and installing raised beds in a third West Berkeley yard. Co-farmers Moretta Browne and Marianne Olney-Hamel currently grow veggies in these 3 gardens, serving 21 families.
Our mission is to provide hyper local, organically grown produce in the city, while nurturing relationships in our community and honoring our responsibility to the earth. We tend our veggies from seed to harvest, and many of our CSA members walk just a few blocks to pick up their weekly veggies. While the pandemic has put a pause on hosting events in the gardens, we look forward to a time when we can once again invite the public to potlucks and garden work days.
Sophie Hahn - Co-Founder:
sophie@sophiehahn.com
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Willow Rosenthal - Co-Founder:
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