The Mo' Better Food Market started on the front lawn of McClymonds in 1998. During those days, I was the Director of the Business Academy at McClymonds High School.

Our business students ran the Farmers Market as a Student Run Enterprise. In addition to managing the farmers market, the students learned how to manage the website-mobetterfood.com, microsoft office (excel, word, powerpoint), food policy and food insecurity. We utilized the high school (McClymonds High School), as a location for a farmers market.
We sold fresh produce grown by the African American farmers of California. Without funding. We met the farmers and agreed to support each other.

After hosting the market at McClymonds for a few years, I became the Co-director of the West Oakland Food Collaboration, while maintaining the affairs of Mo' Better Food.

During the collaboration process, it was suggested, and we agreed to move the market to Mandela Parkway and 7th Street in West Oakland to increase the markets visibility. We also changed the name to Mandela Farmers Market to signify our new location.

We received a three year grant from the U.S.D.A. to expand the Mo' Better Food Market, while planning a cooperative grocery store. Today's Mandela Foods Cooperative is open for business. It was started through the West Oakland Food Collaborative.

Other organizations apart of the store collaboration to establish a community owned cooperative grocery store were: People's Grocery, The Black Dot Collaborative, Mo' Better Food, The Enviromental Science Institute.

Our vision is to establish this model of building farmers market as a step towards building grocery stores in communities that lack grocery stores and lack a connection with small farmers.