Blossoms, bright green hillsides and longer days signal the start of spring around the Monterey Bay and the beginning of a new year of seasonal eating. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the farmers’ markets, where the first tables of asparagus are showing up this week. Can mounds of strawberries be far behind?
“It’s like a homecoming,” says Catherine Barr, executive director of the Monterey Bay Certified Farmers Markets (MBCFM). “Spring is rebirth and renewal. It’s the start of the season and we begin to see produce and people we haven’t seen all winter.”
Barr supervises four farmers’ markets: the Saturday morning market at Cabrillo College in Aptos; the Friday market at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey; the seasonal Carmel Barnyard market on Tuesday mornings, which opens May 1; and the Sunday morning market at Del Monte Center in Monterey, which opens May 6.
Those coming back to the farmers markets this spring will have a chance to visit and buy from more than 90 of their favorite farmers, like Route 1 Farms, Pinnacle, Minazzoli and Schoch Dairy. But there are also several new vendors arriving at the markets and adding to the wonderful mix of locally-grown products available to shoppers.
New vendors, new products
Long-stem David Austin Roses grown in the Salinas Valley will be coming to the markets this spring as a welcome addition for cut flower fans and floral designers. These are magnificent English heirloom roses with a heady old-fashioned fragrance and tightly packed heads of petals that resemble a peony or camellia and are highly sought after for wedding bouquets.
Also returning to the markets for the first time in years are Portobello and Cremini mushrooms, which are sure to be popular with gourmets and vegetarian shoppers.
Fans of the award-winning jams, pickles and ferments made by Happy Girl Kitchen in Pacific Grove will be pleased to learn it is joining the Cabrillo and MPC markets at long last. “We have wanted to be at these farmers’ markets for years and finally our name made it to the top of the waiting list,” says Todd Champagne, who owns Happy Girl with his wife, Jordan. Their stand will also offer freshly prepared grab-and-go salads, desserts and drinks—everything healthy and organic.
Another newcomer this spring is Blossoms Biodynamic Farm. Based in Corralitos, founders Carin Fortin and Delmar McComb farm according to the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and make herbal bitters, tinctures, salves and skincare products that will now be available at the Aptos and MPC markets.
And shoppers at the MPC market will have a new source for healthful grass fed beef, pork and rabbit as L & M Grass Fed Meats joins that market this spring. Long a favorite at farmers’ markets in the San Francisco Bay area, the Modesto-based ranchers also operate their own meat packing plant where they produce sausages, bacon and jerky.
Shop like a chef
If you want to shop like a chef, the MPC market is the place to go. It’s especially popular with chefs from area restaurants like Grasings, Passionfish, Carmel Belle, Montrio Bistro and Big Sur Bakery and the market offers a “Chef’s Shop Early” program, so that they can enter at 9:30am—half an hour before the regular customers.
“Chefs appreciate the early start because they can get in and out with their boxes and bulkier orders without getting in the way of other shoppers,” says Barr.
Another MBCFM program that gets more popular every year is the credit card machine. Customers who arrive without the necessary cash can simply go to the market info table and swipe their credit or debit card and receive the amount they choose in market coupons. The market absorbs the credit card fees.
Likewise, people who use SNAP/EBT funds to buy food can exchange them at the info table for farmers’ market coupons.
Each of the MBCFM markets has it’s own distinct personality:
The Aptos Market (Saturdays, 8am-noon year round) was started in 1976 and is the oldest in the group. It is often voted the top market in California and is currently ranked second in the nation by the American Farmland Trust. The same families have been shopping at the market for generations, bringing kids and now grandkids. Barr says it has a real “home town” feel.
The MPC Market (Fridays, 10am-2pm year round) is a bustling paradise for foodies. Many restaurants stock up on “the freshest of the fresh” ingredients at the MPC market in preparation for the weekend rush. Barr says it’s her favorite of the four markets.
The Carmel Market (Tuesdays, 9am-1pm from May 1 through September) is nestled in the Carmel Barnyard shopping center and it’s a low-key, laid back market, where you can go get a cup of coffee and stroll among the stalls without the crowds or long lines of other markets.
The Del Monte Market (Sundays, 8am-noon from May 13 through September) is also a relaxed market, filled with beautiful produce, flowers and plants. It’s a good place to head with your shopping list and get ready for the week ahead.
Barr—who has run the markets for the past 25 years—says she’s seen changes in customers in recent years.
“They are getting smarter,” she says. “And they want more details about the variety of produce they are buying and where it comes from.”
“People are eating seasonally and locally more than ever before,” she adds. “And it’s very rare now that people ask ‘Where are the bananas?’”
Monterey Bay Certified Farmers Markets
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
