Good Eggs was founded in the summer of 2011 in the Mission district of San Francisco. You can think of Good Eggs as an online farmers鈥 market, bringing the best quality groceries from farmers and foodmakers in your community right to you: everything from Tartine country loaves to prepared meals and seasonal produce. Folks can order online for delivery or pickup throughout the Bay Area.
Rahmin Sarabi leads Good Eggs鈥 Food Access and Community Development initiatives. 鈥淔rom the beginning, our mission has been to grow and sustain local food systems worldwide,鈥 he explains. 鈥淏asically, I鈥檓 working to make local food accessible to people regardless of their age, income or background, and to strengthen the communities in which we operate.鈥
Good Eggs has been expanding to other cities of late. In what ways do cities help (or hinder) your work?
Food is one of the deepest urban-rural connections. With more people choosing to live in cities than ever before, strong local food systems depend on urban demand. It鈥檚 no surprise Good Eggs was birthed in San Francisco 鈥 a creative, urban environment that has maintained strong ties to the rural foodshed that feeds it. We now have foodhubs in four cities: New Orleans, Los Angeles, Brooklyn and San Francisco. We employ over 250 people and work with over 600 farmers and foodmakers. Eaters love us because they can get their favorite foods beyond the once-a-week visit to the farmers鈥 market and many foods they couldn鈥檛 access otherwise. Farmers and foodmakers love us for offering access to shoppers they wouldn鈥檛 reach, while also putting more of the retail dollar into their pocket than other channels. In the Bay Area, Good Eggs delivers as far south as Mountain View, as far north as San Rafael and into the East Bay 鈥 and this includes many suburbs. A business like Good Eggs does need density for the economics to work out. We鈥檒l be exploring how far into the suburbs we can go over time.
How did you get interested/involved in food systems?
Short story: My dad had a heart attack when I was 13, and I read The Omnivore鈥檚 Dilemma when I was 21. My dad was flying back to Portland from a business trip in Austin when he had the telltale sign of pain shooting down his left arm. As they landed the plane mid-flight and rushed him to a hospital, my mom got a phone call sharing the news. It was a terrifying experience. My dad walked away with minor damage to his heart, but our family鈥檚 relationship to food was colored with anxiety for years to come. Eat the wrong thing, and Dad could have a heart attack ... or, over time, I could.
Fast forward, a few months after college and newly arrived here, I picked up The Omnivore鈥檚 Dilemma. I鈥檇 already started eating more locally through farmers鈥 markets, driven by taste, and the book opened up my eyes to the realities of the industrial food system. I gradually learned of the grace and integrity of local farmers and foodmakers 鈥 people who put their heart and soul into the food and care about so much more than the bottom line. I saw the impact this food had on my health, on the land and in the community through strengthened relationships and better labor practices. Like most everyone at Good Eggs, I could see that a world with stronger local food systems was a better world, a world worth working towards.
What鈥檚 the most fulfilling part of your work?
Hearing from people in our community who are feeding their families better food, and from farmers & foodmakers who are growing sustainable businesses because of the work we鈥檙e doing.
What鈥檚 your favorite city?
San Francisco. What is the adage, love the one you鈥檙e with?
Favorite food?
You can鈥檛 make me pick just one. We are spoiled daily with seasonal team lunches.
Favorite book and/or film about cities?
Can I have three?
鈥淭he City that Ended Hunger,鈥 an article by Frances Moore Lapp茅
Urbanized, a film by Gary Hustwit
The Great Inversion a book by Alan Ehrenhalt