Our Past

Beginning in the early 1970’s, Veritable Vegetable was part of a movement that sought to bring low cost, nutritious food to neighborhood coops and community storefronts. Called simply The People’s Food System, and extending throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area, the idea was to provide a large-scale collective alternative to the corporate food system. We wanted fresh, healthy food free of chemical poisons, farm worker protections, and profits kept within our rural and urban communities.

Simultaneously, an increasing number of farmers were rediscovering organic farming and developing new organic techniques. Many growers were struggling for the survival of their farms and their communities in the face of agribusiness and suburban development. We established relationships with these growers and began distributing their produce beyond the original Food System. We sought to promote sustainable agriculture and extend knowledge about fresh food and agricultural issues.

The Bay Area was fertile ground for this change in agriculture and embraced organic food, farmland protection and fresh produce with enthusiasm. Many other communities around the world recognized the need to support their local farms, protect soil and water from pesticides, and demand a more nutritious food supply. VV is proud to be part of this continued effort, worldwide.

Through the years VV has been an integral part of change, stimulating the increasing demand for fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, developing certification standards, working to pass legislation, and helping to unify the produce community.

Maintaining our roots

Though our business has grown into an organic success story, our values remain intact. Healthy relationships and healthy communities are our priority. Through our work, we support and honor the health of small farms and sustainable agriculture, our rural and urban communities, and our staff. We care about investing in our employees and positively impacting the planet. Economic success allows us to contribute to projects and causes we believe in, and to translate our values into action.