–Press Release–

August 4th, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SILICON VALLEY YOUTH CLIMATE ACTION LAUNCHES A

“BRING YOUR OWN BAG” BOOTH TO REDUCE PLASTIC WAST

(NEWARK, CA) — The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM), with support of the Tri-city chapter of Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action (SVYCA), has launched a community-facing “Bring Your Own Bag” initiative at the Newark Farmers Market aimed at reducing single use plastic waste and encouraging sustainable customer habits. AIM reinforced this by implementing a Plastic Bag Ban that has been implemented across all nine of their farmers' market locations across the Bay Area.

As a part of this initiative, the organizations have introduced a weekly booth at the Newark Farmers Market designed to spread awareness about plastic waste reduction while interacting with the community through fun, family friendly activities such as paper bag decorating and environmental coloring pages. Participants can choose to engage in an activity before signing a pledge promising to protect the environment.

Furthermore, the booth includes a “Take a Bag, Leave a Bag” campaign station, where community members and shoppers at the farmers market can donate paper or reusable bags which then supply future shoppers in need, reducing plastic waste in a full circular loop. Hundreds of bags have already been donated and reused in the past several months by community members. “Shopping with reusable bags not only reduces waste and pollution but also reduces costs for the farmers and food businesses at our farmers market,” shared Annie Cheng, Nutrition Access Program Specialist of AIM and Farmers Market Manager at Newark. “Since January, we have seen a reduction in single-use plastic at the Newark Farmers Market, but we still need our community's help. Remember to bring your reusable bags to the farmers market, and if you have extras, donate them to our Take a Bag, Leave a Bag program so that we can get more neighbors on board!”

In an effort to gain an even larger reach, the team has also partnered with local youth art activism group, Brushstrokes for the Bay. Community members of all ages were invited to engage and contribute to art pieces.

“Farmers' markets bring together diverse communities around shared values of local and seasonal food, while spotlighting how local food systems support environmental and human health,” added Andrea Robinowitz and Bella Bertaud, two Zero Waste Fellows from AIM. “More broadly speaking, we hope farmers' markets can be a site for a value shift, where people move away from single use culture towards seeing their everyday actions as part of a larger ecosystem.”

On Sundays, community members can find and learn more about the “Take A Bag, Leave A Bag” campaign near the Newark Farmers Market’s Information Booth. There, local Tri-City SVYCA members are more than happy to talk about zero waste. “We want to encourage open environmental discussion and make sustainability something that people can actively participate in, not just learn about,“ said Aahana Ruparelia, co-lead of Tri-City Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action. “When families engage in an interactive way it helps build lasting habits.”

Additionally, “It is so rewarding to see returning shoppers choose to interact with our booth time and time again. We have seen so much progress firsthand with vendors opting for paper bags and even introducing shopping baskets for produce in order to support the plastic bag ban,” said Jessica Wu, a member of the Silicon Valley Tri-City Action Team. Neha Sathishkumar, another member of the Silicon Valley Tri-City Action Team continued to point out, “We have already redistributed hundreds of bags. However, even with all this progress, our work is still not done. We need customers and vendors alike to bring or donate their own reusable bags and help us make plastic-free shopping a new habit throughout our community.”

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SILICON VALLEY YOUTH CLIMATE ACTION

Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action (SVYCA) is a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on empowering teens and young adults to combat climate change through policy and education initiatives.

AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF MARIN (AIM)

The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM) is a Bay Area-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit and one of California’s leading advocates for the regional foodshed. Beginning in 1983, AIM has operated certified farmers markets, educational programs, and food access initiatives that connect communities with farmers and producers. Today, AIM operates nine certified farmers markets across the Bay Area and The Rollin’ Root Mobile Market, serving 2 million annual market shoppers and more than 400 small and midsize producers from 40+ California counties. AIM envisions a food and farming system that is environmentally beneficial, economically viable, and socially just— nourishing people, place, and the planet. Learn more at agriculturalinstitute.org.

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