The Underground Market was founded in December 2009 as a venue for beginning food entrepreneurs to get their products to the public without the cost and delay of the myriad regulatory structure that has arisen around food production. Through monthly members only events, vendors are able to sell food that was often cooked out of their home or other non-professional space. The Underground Market is an incubator, a first step for artisans as they grow the financial and community support to embark on their road to small business ownership. Helping people realize their potential to succeed, and the personal agency that comes with that success, are major goals of forageSF. With over 300 vendors and 50,000 attendees, The Underground Market has become an institution for of the people of this city to experience the amazing wealth of food being produced all around them.

The idea for an Underground Market has spread, with markets being created by locals around the country and around the globe. People realizing that the food being produced in their communities needs to be shared, without the regulatory hurdles that hamper so many makers. We hope The SF Underground Market can create a viable, reproducible model for others with the same ambitions around the world.