Our Roots
In 1974, we envisioned a food system that values the true costs associated with growing and moving food from farm to table. In the early days of the People’s Food System, the unifying principle was “Food for People, Not for Profit.” These words still resonate for our business today.
2020s

VV installs eight new electric charging stations at the Cesar Chavez warehouse.

VV is recertified as a San Francisco Green Business Innovator.

VV rebrands and launches newly redesigned website.

Mary Jane Evans nominated Women in Trucking’s Top Women to Watch in Transportation.
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VV explores fully electric trucks. Fleet grows to 35 power units.
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VV selected as Top Green Fleet 2019 recipient from Heavy Duty Trucking.
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VV joins CleanPowerSF’s SuperGreen program.
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VV trials solar panels on truck cabs to fuel battery pack.
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VV receives Top Green Provider award from Food Logistics magazine.
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VV becomes a San Francisco Legacy Business.
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VV celebrates 45th anniversary.
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VV is awarded the Sustainability Award at the 2018 Excellence in Business Awards ("Ebbies") in recognition of our environmental sustainability efforts throughout our warehouses, operations and green fleet.

VV receives Outstanding Company award from the Climate Collaborative & National Co+op Grocers and Sustainability Award from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Ebbie Awards.

VV receives Golden Semi award from the Ecological Farming Association for our long-time service in providing food logistics for the annual EcoFarm conference over the years.

VV begins fueling trucks with renewable diesel.
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VV is featured in Mark Kichell's movie: Evolution of Organic, a documentary about the history of organic agriculture.

VV receives Acterra Business Environmental Award in the Spare the Air Leadership category.
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VV featured in Facebook Supplier Diversity #SheMeansBusiness campaign on International Women's Day.
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VV becomes a certified California Green Business.
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VV featured in Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff’s book "Other Avenues are Possible", a history book about Bay Area food co-ops and food-buying clubs in the 1970s.

VV receives Certification of Appreciation from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in recognition of 25 years of participation as a sampling site for the Pesticide Data Program from 1991-2016.

Awarded Most Sustainable at Amy's Kitchen Supplier Summit in recognition of our commitment to sustainable agriculture.
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Lease additional 30,000 square feet of warehouse space and remodel. New warehouse is up and running.

VV receives Ebbies Award for Small Business Woman of the Year from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. This new category was awarded to a female owner, co-owner, or leader of a small business in San Francisco who demonstrates excellent standards of business, who is committed to improving the community in and around her business, and who functions as a trailblazer and role model for future women-owned businesses, both within and beyond the San Francisco Bay Area.

VV becomes a certified B Corporation.
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VV featured in Grist online article as part of a series about how to make regional food systems more sustainable.
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VV celebrates 40th anniversary.

Former Mayor Ed Lee holds press conference at our warehouse in collaboration with VV to address a tax measure that reduce taxes for small businesses.

VV featured in US Business Executive magazine for our leadership in setting standards for sustainable food and business practices.
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Receive Green Fleet of the Year award from FleetOwner Magazine. Fleet increases to 30 power units.
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New company logo is introduced. Lease additional 6,000 sq. feet on Minnesota St. VV moves to entirely company-owned trucks.
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Lease new hybrid trucks and trailers with hybrid reefer units. Marketing Communications department established. Hire our first Chief Administrative Officer.

Organic Produce Wholesaler Coalition forms. VV joins as founding member.

May 18, 2010 becomes the official Veritable Vegetable Day as appointed by the city and county of San Francisco.
2000s

Mary Jane Evans featured in John Curl's non-fiction book "For All the People" which traces the hidden history of cooperatives, cooperation and communalism in US history

First Organicology conference held in Portland Oregon.

Fleet grows to 25 trucks. First new generation engines with extremely low emissions arrive. Inventory Control department is rolled out.

Solar field installed on roof of 1100 Chavez St. warehouse.
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Slow Food Nation event organized by Slow Food USA is held in San Francisco. The event attracted more than 50,000 people and was a citywide celebration of slow food and sustainable agriculture.

Lease 10,000 additional sq. ft. in warehouse directly across the street. VV establishes a ‘green team’, reduces waste stream by 95%.

VV celebrates 30th anniversary with "The Opera in Operations" themed party.
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Formalized training program put in place. Received Small Business Award “Unsung Hero” from Bay Guardian.

Received city of San Francisco Environmental Achievement Award.
Mary Jane Evans receives Organic Leadership award from the Organic Trade Association (OTA.)
1990s

VV celebrates 25th Anniversary with gala event.
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Fleet grows to 20 trucks. Begin deliveries to the Southwest and backhaul from Nogales, enabling greater control of incoming product.

VV sends out first printed party invitation "Welcome to our New Home."

Continuing to grow and thrive, VV moves to 1100 Cesar Chavez St to operate in 25,000 sq. feet. Fleet grows to 15 trucks. Karen Salinger joins the ownership team.

VV celebrates 20th anniversary with "Circus" themed party

VV starts Socially Responsible 401K plan for staff.
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VV participates in San Francisco's Gay Pride Parade.
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VV hosts a western themed party at our 1600 Tennessee warehouse.

VV receives Sustie Award: Stewards for Sustainable Agriculture from the Ecological Farming Association (EFA.)
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Record breaking freeze hits California devastating farms for many years.
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California passed the California Organic Foods Act (COFA). The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) was completed as part of the U.S. Farm Bill and called for the establishment of the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) and National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), finally backing the “certified organic” claim with federal legislation.

CCOF founded the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) to fund the educational objectives of CCOF and on-farm research of organic growing practices.
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VV starts working with Joshua Boneh and computerizes system.
The “Alar scare” pushes organics even more rapidly as a published report causes people to question the use of dangerous chemicals in agriculture.
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Outside consultant hired to assess organizational structure of the collective. Restructured with Bu Nygrens and Mary Jane Evans as owners.

Growers petition VV for an expansion of the market. To accommodate, VV moves to a 7,000 sq. feet warehouse on 1600 Tennessee Street.

VV starts truck run to the Northwest: Oregon and Washington.

The first Tasting of Summer Produce event is held.
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VV offers samples of organic food at San Francisco's Earth Day, held at Chrissy Field.

VV hosts it's first party with Mary Jane Evans as the DJ.

VV starts composting program and sends compost to farms.

VV hires our first female driver, Lori Dovi.

The first Ecological Farming Conference (EcoFarm) was held at the Firehouse in Winters, California.
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VV starts long-haul truck service to Southern California
1970s

Bu Nygrens joins the collective.

Karen Salinger joins the collective.

VV adds on a trucking division to enable direct pick-up at farms throughout California with our own leased tractor-trailer trucks.

VV moves to new 5,000 sq. ft warehouse space at 233 Industrial St. We design and build the coolers ourselves with People’s Refrigeration managing the installation.

VV establishes a relationship with Bill Jessup from B&J Ranch, a citrus grower located in Thermal, California. Today B&J Ranch sells exclusively to VV.

VV establishes more and more direct connections with farmers throughout California with an emerging emphasis on organic growing methods. Mary Jane Evans joins the collective.

VV begins supplying produce to more local customers including Rainbow Grocery, Other Avenues and Chez Panisse

Market-maker, mentor and muckraker, Stuart Fishman is one of the founders of VV. He challenged our emerging community to clearly define & verify organic systems. Leading by example after joining Rainbow Grocery in 1977, he demanded transparency and accountability from all participants in the trade.

VV forms to become a produce supplier for the People’s Food System, a collective that sought to bring low-cost, nutritious food to neighborhood co-ops and community storefronts. The People’s Food System operates in the Mission at 3030 Alabama St. with fellow supply collectives using about 3,000 sq. feet of warehouse space.
VV begins sourcing produce from Eco Farms and Organics Unlimited--two farms we still partner with currently.

CCOF was founded with 54 grower members for the purpose of defining organic standards and certifying organic growers.
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