We Californians are lucky. We live in the nation’s No. 1 state for agriculture, and virtually every city and town boasts a farmers market. But it’s worth checking out the market in the next town over or across the bay for new varietals, new artisanal vendors, new farmers with advice on what to buy and how to prepare, plus cool onsite entertainment and new restaurants.
We offer up farmers market suggestions nearly every year. Here are eight more to check out this summer. (And you’ll find even more here.)
Campbell Farmers Market
Shoppers browse the huge array of heirloom and cherry tomatoes that C-Farms of Fresno brings to the Sunday market in Campbell and the Saturday market in Sunnyvale, above. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Campbell, nicknamed the Orchard City, achieved success as a fruit growing and packing center more than a century ago, when the Santa Clara Valley was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight. These days, Campbell remains a draw for foodies with this large, lively farmers market featuring produce grown a few hours away — and with the city’s fine array of restaurants, many along the market route.
On summer Sundays, stone-fruit fans flock to the Rojas Family Farms tables, where they can sample the nectarines and peaches (look to yellow varieties for old-school flavor, white varieties for sugar-forward notes), plums and pluots before purchasing. The Fresno-Tulare farm offers mix-and-match pricing. Nearby is C-Farms and its tomatoes: More than a dozen tiny cherry tomato varietals, from Sungold to White Cherry, and on the day we were there, some of the season’s first heirloom tomatoes. “I was picking them until 3 a.m.,” said the proprietress, who’s been in the business 32 years.
Terrific artisanal producers abound. Stop at the Far West Fungi stand early in the day for the best selection of organically grown mushrooms and popular, umami-rich Lion’s Mane Mushroom Jerky and Shiitake Mushroom Jerky. Another favorite is Stackhouse Orchards, whose second-generation owners specialize in nuts and dried fruit. Cajun Spice Almonds are a top seller. And we found the best hot-day refresher: Hidden Star Orchards’ Apple Cherry Cider and other flavors are transported frozen to market so you can enjoy a fruit slushie after you shop. The apples are grown in Placer County and pressed at the San Leandro cidery.
Eat there: Campbell Avenue is restaurant row, with many serving brunch or lunch on Sundays. Among the ag booths is a new food one, Pizza & Amore, which bakes artisanal pizzas to take home with your market haul.
Details: Sundays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. along Campbell Avenue downtown. Year-round, with the exception of the city’s festival weekends. https://uvfm.org/campbell-sundays
Walnut Creek Farmers Market
July and Aug. are prime months for Brentwood’s famous corn at Bay Area farmers markets. (Bay Area News Group archives)
If there’s one place to see and be seen in the East Bay suburbs on Sunday mornings, it’s the Walnut Creek Farmers Market. Sure, the market draws home chefs looking for the freshest of whatever is in season. But its downtown location also makes it something of a social hot spot. A visit in June found the after-brunch crowd browsing for delicious baked goods, fresh flowers or unique gifts, many dressed in fluttery sundresses and wide-brimmed hats. (Perhaps they were channeling Meghan Markle, who sources raspberries at her Montecito farmers market for her luxury jam.)
This market boasts a large variety of great stalls run by farmers and artisanal producers from all over California, including some as far south as Fresno. Don’t miss the gorgeous fresh-flower arrangements and raspberry jam (maybe better than Meghan Markle’s!) sold by the family-owned Rose Lane Farm in Knightsen, the heirloom tomatoes and greens from Brentwood’s J&K Smith Farm, and the grass-fed beef and pasture-raised lamb offered by Santa Rosa’s Sonoma County Meat Company.
You can pick up noodles and base to make your own ramen at the stall run by Foster City’s Sakura Soup Company. Or browse the live herbs and perennials from the famed, Vacaville-based Morning Herb Farm, which also sells beautifully arranged pots of culinary herbs to decorate your patio or share as gifts.
Eat there: Find pork buns, pot stickers, rice bowls and wonton soup from Papas Dumpling, and some of the Bay Area’s best chocolate chip cookies, as well as croissants, danishes and its signature croffles, from Danville’s East Bay Bakery.
Details: Sundays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Locust Street between Cole and Lacassie streets in downtown Walnut Creek; https://www.cccfm.org/walnut-creek-market/.
Los Altos Farmers Market
The nonprofit Hidden Villa regenerative farm grows produce for local food banks, community-supported agriculture boxes and the Los Altos farmers market booth. (Photo courtesy of Lanette Anderson/Hidden Villa)
Los Altos history mingles with fresh produce at this appealing Thursday afternoon/evening market that’s well worth a trip from the South Bay or East Bay.
Make a stop at the Hidden Villa stand, where the veggies and fruit are grown just a few miles away. Hidden Villa is a 1,600-acre regenerative farm and wilderness preserve founded in 1924 by the Duveneck family. Right now, the stand offers summer squash, strawberries, broccoli, tomatillos and lettuce; coming soon will be tomatoes, corn and stone fruit. Interested in helping with the harvest? The nonprofit farms hosts volunteers on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon.
Nearby is the booth from ApricotKing, one of Hollister’s few remaining apricot farms. Patti and Gary Gonzales grow the rare, flavor-packed Blenheim varietal — the apricot by which all others are judged. If the 2024 season for fresh apricots has ended by the time you visit, not to worry: They sell dried Blenheims and Blenheim jam year-round.
Eat there: Buy an artisanal pie from the new Pizza & Amore booth at the farmers market. Or duck inside the nearby State Street Market where you can dine at Cetrella, with its seasonal Mediterranean specialties, or let the Good Salad booth toss some greens for you.
Details: Thursdays, 4 to 8 p.m. along State Street downtown through Oct. 10; www.pcfma.org/losaltos.
Danville Farmers Market
Danville is a dual draw on Saturdays. Lyn Shapiro pushes a stroller with her dog, Bodie, through the farmers market. Others are here to visit the San Ramon Valley Museum, in the background. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
A bright yellow, 1890s railway depot forms the backdrop for Danville’s Saturday morning farmers market. The depot was built for the then-new Southern Pacific Railroad line between San Ramon and Avon, a long-gone town near present-day Martinez. Today, the depot is a museum, and the old railroad right-of-way is the popular Iron Horse Regional Trail. So you’ll see plenty of strollers and cyclists stopping off to browse the farm stalls. It’s a full-circle scene for a town that a century ago was surrounded by farms, orchards and fields.
Danville’s bustling market boasts some of our favorite vendors, including G&S Farms, who grow that famous Brentwood sweet corn, and Cipponeri Family Farms, whose owners raise fruits, vegetables and nuts on their farm in Turlock. Always on hand: East Bay Artisan, makers of flatbreads and Detroit-style pizzas you can take home to finish baking, and Vallejo’s Mi Fiesta Catering and their delicious enchiladas and tamales.
Eat there: Head for San Rafael-based Brittany Crepes’s stall for a brie, pesto and tomato crepe, or a sweet version with fresh strawberries, raspberry sauce and whipped cream, made by French native Laurent Le Barbier. Or pick up beef, chicken or mushroom empanadas, made by Livermore’s CTK Empanadas.
Details: Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Railroad Avenue municipal parking lot, corner of Railroad and Prospect avenues, Danville; www.pcfma.org/market/danville-farmers-market.
East Palo Alto Farmers Market
Celsa Ortega, a Salinas-based farmer, is one of the vendors at the East Palo Alto Farmers Market, which is run by Fresh Approach, a Concord-based food access nonprofit. (Photo courtesy of Jeremy Dutra)
Don’t want to wait for the weekend to get your farmers market fix? Head for Bloomhouse on East Palo Alto’s waterfront, where nonprofit Fresh Approach is empowering local farmers and making fresh produce more accessible at their Wednesday markets.
On a recent morning, the market bustled with shoppers chatting in Spanish with farmers and sampling Caprese salad at one of Fresh Approach’s monthly food demos. The stalls are all run by minority farmers, says community manager Jeremy Dutra. Among them: Celsa Ortega, a single mother from Oaxaca and the farmer behind Induchucuiti Organic Farm. After the floods that hit Monterey County last year, Ortega partnered with Fresh Approach to change her business plan and develop a presence at farmers markets. She’s been able to diversify her farm and is on track to buy the land she farms in the next few months.
Eat there: San Leandro-based Hummus Heaven serves up incredibly delicious dips, pita chips and more. Don’t miss the lemon mint hummus paired with the lemon and herb pita chips.
Details: Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at 2555 Pulgas Ave., East Palo Alto; freshapproach.org. Fresh Approach also hosts mobile farmers markets in Antioch, Richmond and San Pablo.
Kensington Farmers Market
A Kensington trio billing themselves as The Great Space Coaster perform at the Kensington farmers market, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Kensington, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group)
“My favorite place to shop, every Sunday!” That quote emblazoned on the website of the Kensington Farmers Market is from Mollie Katzen, author of the iconic “Moosewood Cookbook” and James Beard hall of famer. It’s easy to see where her enthusiasm comes from – this bustling, eclectic market offers fruits and veggies that look three times bigger than they should be and some of the best pastries on this side of the Bay.
Kensington is a tiny, affluent enclave in the Berkeley Hills, and its weekly farmers market offers live music on some weekends, and happy children running free to taste-test all the vendor products. And oh, what products! There’s ultra-fresh seafood, including live crustaceans, from Anna’s Seafood out of Petaluma, pasture-fed meat and poultry from Sonoma County’s Victorian Farmstead Meats, juicy organic fruit from Brentwood’s Frog Hollow Farms, award-winning cheeses from Cambria’s Stepladder Creamery and lovely cut flowers from Sonoma from Crane Creek Growers.
A clerk hangs out freshly baked pretzels from Squabisch of Berkeley, Calif. at the Kensington farmers market, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Kensington, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group)
That’s just a taste of what’s on offer. You can grab bagels for your freezer from Ethel’s Bagels and restock on olive oil and barrel-aged balsamic vinegar from Big Paw Olive Oil. Grab some hot java from Higher Land Coffee and match it with buttery pastries – the whole-wheat chocolate-chip cookies from Base Camp Bakery, maybe, or decadent cakes and mousses from the French-Moroccan patissier at La Noisette Sweets.
Bring your kitchen knives and garden tools, and the Sharp Brothers will put a fierce edge on them, usually in under an hour – a miracle for most sharpening places.
Eat there: Want to eat roasted chicken from a food truck that is itself shaped like a chicken? The Roadside Rotisserie has you covered. Fat Daddy’s BBQ serves up smoky brisket and rib tips, and Lola’s Spanish Cuisine whips up a special seafood paella every week.
Details: Sundays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Oakview Avenue between Colusa Circle and Santa Fe Avenue, Kensington; kensingtonfarmersmarket.org.
Sunnyvale Farmers Market
Shoppers browse the Fresno-based C-Farms stand at the Sunnyvale Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning, July 6, 2024, in downtown Sunnyvale, Calif. (Karl Mondon/ Bay Area News Group)
Taking over the intersection of Murphy Avenue and Washington Avenue, Sunnyvale’s is the largest Saturday farmers market in the South Bay hosted by the Urban Village Farmers’ Market.You’ll find all sorts of varieties of produce here, from Rainier cherries to Mutsu apples, as well as fresh seafood and an entire block of tempting prepared foods. Did we mention the live music?
Don’t miss the Adorable French Bakery booth. The Santa Cruz bakery offers an impressive collection of baguettes and pastries, including croissants, fruit tarts, kouign amann, eclairs and creme puffs. They do savory tarts and quiche, as well.
Eat it there: If you’re craving dim sum, Dumpling King offers potstickers, steamed buns and hearty, delicious vegan siu mai.
Details: Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at 121 W. Washington Ave., Sunnyvale; uvfm.org/sunnyvale-saturday.
Marina Bay Farmers Markets, Richmond
As one of the Bay Area’s newest farmers markets, this Richmond destination is still on the smallish side, with only about two dozen vendors. But what it may lack in size, it more than makes up in scenery, location and variety of stalls offered by multi-cultural vendors. From the market, you can look out over the Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, which opens to San Francisco Bay, and access the San Francisco Bay Trail for walking, jogging or biking. The market also is next to Marina Bay, a large grassy expanse for picnicking near the Rosie the Riveter Memorial.
As for the unique and delicious food products on sale, pick up some Brazilian coconut truffles or cupcakes made with guava, Nutella or caramel-like doce de leite from the Pingo Doce stand, or find creative flavors of granola — including honey-lavender-orange and chai spice – from Selma’s Pantry, a female-owned, Richmond-based business.
Eat it there: Try Calaca Coffee’s chilled take on Mexican-style coffee, infused with cinnamon and sweet piloncillo syrup. Pai’s Eatery stand offers Lao- and Northeastern Thai-style street food, including spicy Lao sausage skewers, basil chicken and pad Thai. Complete the theme with a dessert of mango and sweet sticky rice.
Details: Sundays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Marina Bay Park at Melville Square, off Regatta Boulevard, www.ci.richmond.ca.us/4643/Richmond-Farmers-Market.
Looking for more? Here are eight other Bay Area farmers markets, from Aptos to San Rafael, Brentwood and Davis that are totally worth the drive.
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