Growing Food Access at City Farm SLO
Hidden in plain sight, sandwiched between acres of white plastic hoop houses and the local BMW dealership, sits City Farm SLO. Many SLO County residents whizz past the farm via Highway 101 on a daily basis without ever knowing it’s there. For those who venture past the car wash, tire store, and car dealerships, the cul-de-sac gives way to an unpaved road—less traveled, but worth the trip.
City Farm SLO is well known for its educational programs. From Therapeutic Horticulture to Junior Farmers and the Regenerative Farming Fellowship, the farm is often bustling with young people learning about regenerative agriculture. Lesser known is that City Farm also offers a twice weekly farm stand selling farm-grown produce directly to the community. First launched under a small pop-up canopy in the summer of 2025, the farm stand now has a permanent home in the farm’s wash-pack facility just beyond the front gates.
Upon arrival, parking is located on the left-hand side of the road, facing the perimeter of the farm. Shoppers can expect to be greeted by friendly farm staff, often college students completing internships such as College Corps and City Farm's Regenerative Farming Fellowship. The farm stand offers a wide range of seasonal produce grown by City Farm itself or the Collaborative City Farmers, six small farmers that rent and farm parcels of land belonging to City Farm. Produce labels in the farm stand even indicate which farmer grew that item! All farmers utilize organic growing practices, though not all have gone through the lengthy and expensive process of organic certification.
In the summer, the stand regularly offers a vibrant array of produce, often including multiple types of berries, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, greens and more. In addition to produce, the stand stocks a small selection of breads from nearby Bread Bike Bakery, eggs laid by hens on-site, and a large variety of regeneratively raised meats including whole chickens grown and processed entirely at the farm. Read more about the chickens here. Recently the farm stand has also begun incorporating other non-edible, locally produced goods, such as dried herbs, fibers, and ceramics.
The Produce Discount & How it Works
Unlike other local shopping options, the farm stand offers a unique pay-what-you-can model. This means that shoppers can take up to $30 off their produce purchase (excluding other items like bread, meat, and eggs) with no questions asked. Shoppers may elect to use a fraction of the discount or the entire amount. This discount is not tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California. Rather, the funds for this model are provided to the farm by sponsoring businesses and organizations such as Harvestly as well as individual donors. As of summer 2026, the farm stand is not equipped to accept CalFresh, however farm staff are actively working towards it. The stand currently accepts cash, cards, and mobile tap-to-pay.
For customers who would normally be buying full-priced organic produce at nearby grocery stores, they’re encouraged to pay the full suggested price of their produce. However, for those who would otherwise be unable to buy the same quality of produce, using the discount is encouraged. And for customers who are motivated to directly support their neighbors, the farm stand also accepts pay-it-forward donations that go directly to the discount fund.
Understanding and Addressing Food Insecurity on the Central Coast
Food insecurity is not easily visible but that doesn’t mean it’s not an issue in our area. According to Feeding America, in 2024 the rate of food insecurity in San Luis Obispo County was 12.2%. To put the need in perspective, the SLO County Food Bank reported providing over 4 million meals in its 2024–2025 annual report, serving an estimated 45,000 neighbors every month. The issue is reflected at City Farm SLO as well: based on data collected at the farm stand in summer 2026, 15% of survey respondents identified as being at risk of food insecurity.
By operating outside of other established food assistance programs, the farm stand is working to fill a very important gap that’s only getting wider. It’s currently estimated that CalFresh enrollment has declined by about 6% between July 2025 and May 2026, meaning that over 300,000 Californians have lost food assistance due to changing federal requirements.
Furthermore, the Public Policy Institute of California estimates that CalFresh provides an average monthly benefit of just $190 per person. In an average month, this would equate to roughly $6/day, or $2/meal. And although CalFresh is designed to be purely supplemental, most recipients are in the lowest levels of income earners and thus rely heavily on these benefits for their food costs. Therefore, the opportunity to purchase discounted produce without using CalFresh benefits can help low income SLO County residents stretch their food budgets farther.
The issue of high food costs, although most impactful for lower income earners, is ubiquitous. The price of groceries has increased steeply in recent years, up 30% since 2020. City Farm SLO’s pay-what-you-can model provides a flexible source of affordable produce for anyone facing the growing burden of food costs, regardless of whether they qualify for formal food assistance or not.
Stop by the farm stand on Wednesdays from 2:30pm - 6:30pm during peak season, or Saturdays year-round from 10am - 1pm, at 1221 Calle Joaquin, San Luis Obispo.
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