San Francisco Farmers Markets: 30 Years Of Fresh Food, 7 Days A Week (PHOTOS)

One morning, in the summer of 1981, fourteen farmers lugged the morning's pick to UN Plaza in downtown San Francisco. They set up a paltry gathering of tables and sold fresh produce, fruits, nuts and flowers to curious passers-by in the downtown thoroughfare in one of San Francisco's most rundown, crime-plagued areas. The market grew. Soon, homeless locals, struggling residents and nearby workers all had access to fresh, healthy food at a fraction of the price at expensive grocery stores.

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Thirty years later, that tradition continues today.

This week, Heart of the City farmers market celebrates its 30th anniversary. The market is the biweekly home to more than 65 farmers and producers, as well as thousands of customers, and certainly not just the wealthy ones: more than 75 percent of food stamps used at farmers markets in San Francisco are used at Heart of the City.

And fortunately for San Francisco, similar markets can be found all over the city, almost every day.

Here's to thirty more years of healthy, sustainable eating with a farmers market for every day of the week: