1st Fridays at SoFA Pocket Park are back! Please visit the calendar page for more details on upcoming events.
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SoFA Pocket Park x Veggielution
As San José begins the long recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to revitalize existing urban greenspaces, and even create new ones, to increase community resilience and promote a stronger local food system. Veggielution will expand our presence in East San José to partner with the San Jose Downtown Association to revitalize an underutilized 7,000 surface parking lot in the South First Area (SoFA) downtown art district. We’ve transformed an interim-use space into an urban demonstration garden, farm stand, dog park, and mobile food vending hub. It features murals painted by local artists, and programs and events designed in collaboration with nearby arts organizations to actively engage local residents, schools, nonprofits, and businesses.
The SoFA Pocket Park will connect residents, visitors & families to…
Food growing & cooking, sustainable gardening (composting, water conservation), local food entrepreneurs & products, Museums and arts organizations, and EACH OTHER!
Before
After
Research Reports
Discover how converting an underutilized space into a public, open space can benefit a community.
SoFA Pocket Park Address
540 S. 1st Street, San José
Tending to Crops & Community in SoFA
Veggielution Garden
Raised planter beds growing a variety of food crops suited to local conditions that residents can learn to grow at home
Farmstand selling locally grown products
Pop-up food cart/truck hub with delicious eats prepared by graduates of Veggielution’s Eastside Grown food entrepreneurship training program
Local Color Murals
8 textile-inspired murals by 8 local Bay Area artists. Each artist has expressed their cultural roots through depicted textiles. We are so thrilled to share the vibrancy and diversity of these 8 mural stories with our community!
