Recently, while driving through the East Bay, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a community farm located near San Pablo Avenue and Marin Avenue in Albany, near door to Berkeley.  It was both unusual and refreshing to see all the greenery at this farm sitting in a swath of land located at a busy intersection.  The sign outside read that this was the "UC Gill Tract Community Farm." This urban farm piqued my interest so I returned home to read up more about it.  According to its websites at https://gilltractfarm.wordpress.com/ and http://ucgilltractfarm.wixsite.com/, "the UC Gill Tract Community Farm is a collaborative community project between the University of California Berkeley and the local community, focused on issues of food justice and urban farming."  The website discloses that the overarching vision of this project is "to conduct collaborative community-driven research, education, and extension focused on ecological farming and food justice, and to foster equitable economies, a healthy environment, and increased resilience in vulnerable communities, both urban and rural."  Educational events concerning food issues are held at the farm, and the farm can be booked for private events.  Students at UC Berkeley are also able to take coursework for credit while working on various projects on and for the farm.  But at its core, the purpose of the farm is to feed the local population and is open to the public for harvesting crops, purchasing vegetables, and for volunteering. Below are the hours of operation if you want to journey out to see this place for yourself and maybe pick up a few vegetables along the way: 

Sunday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm  (Farm Stand  3:00 – 5:00 pm at San Pablo Gate) 

Monday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm 

Tuesday 3:00 – 6:00 pm 

Wednesday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm 

Thursday 3:00 – 6:00 pm