[A few episodes back](http://www.publicradio.org/columns/dinnerpartydownload/2011/05/episode-96-billy-collins-food-raves-and-wandering-waste.html), I took a trip up North to experience San Francisco’s super fun [Underground Market](http://foragesf.com/market/). The idea of the monthly event is to provide a place for up-and-coming Bay Area chefs and food vendors to sell their fare… even if they can’t yet afford to get health-code certified.
Alas, [all the attention from media folk](http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/travel/10headsup-sf-market.html) seems to have brought the event some *less*-desirable attention… from the likes of, yes, the health department. Today, event organizer Iso Rabins sent out a message to his email list:
“As many of you have heard, the health department came to the last Underground Market on June 11th and served us a cease and desist letter, stating they no longer considered the market a private event.
“The market was able to function to this point because it was considered a private event […] We organized it in this way following a suggestion by the health department. Everyone who walks through the door is a member who knows they are eating un-certified food , so technically the health department doesn’t have to be involved.
“This was not an unexpected event […] This shutdown is an opportunity to find a workable model that can help not only The Underground Market in SF, but similar markets all over the country. ”
Rabins is asking for folks with legal and political organizing expertise to email [markets@foragesf.com](mailto:markets@foragesf.com). And he’s seeking investors, designers, contractors and lawyers to help him set up a new “incubator project” for fledgling food businesses — contact him at [iso@foragesf.com](mailto:iso@foragesf.com).
As for me, I promise not to air anything that will cause them further hassles by The Man.
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