July 26, 2022 – Weekend travelers driving up and down Highway 1 will now have a place to stop for certified organic produce, flowers, baked goods and and other farmers’ market favorites.
The Power Plant Market debuted last Saturday with four vendors selling organic produce and Ad Astra Bread, but market manager Jody Lombardo says they will add five more stalls next weekend, with a number of well-known local farmers’ market vendors—such as Ashby Confections, Sweet Prairie Haskap and Blossom’s Biodynamic Farm—set to come onboard in August and food trucks to be added in September. In addition, she plans to offer live jazz once a month and make it a two-day market—Saturdays and Sundays—later this summer.
The farmers’ market is held in the parking lot in front of Power Plant Coffee + Store, a beautifully curated shop of coastal home goods and plants, which Mark C. Anderson reported on last year.
Lombardo—who formerly owned Fresh Prep Kitchen in Santa Cruz and lives in Moss Landing—consulted on the menu for the coffee shop and was asked to partner on the market project by owner Charles Drake.
“The hardest part has been recruiting farmers for the market,” she says. “The big name organic farms are all busy with other markets on the weekend and don’t have the staff to add another market, but we’ve been able to attract farmers from ALBA Organics who were having trouble getting into the other markets.”
Opening weekend included Luna Dorada Organic, Royally Grown, Vasquez-Lopez Farm, Katie’s Ag Solutions and Ad Astra Bread. In addition, The Power Plant has its own market stall where they sell organically-grown culinary herbs. Each farmer is responsible for providing proof of organic certification.
Lombardo—who also runs her own catering company called Bay Living Culinary—plans to add prepared foods to the weekend mix in September, offering her own hot clam chowder and a lineup of popular food trucks that includes Kuki’s, Ate 3 One and Scrumptious Fish and Chips.
Promotional materials for the new market say about 34,000 cars pass by on Highway 1 each day. They are hoping just a small percentage of those travelers can be enticed to stop and shop.
Eventually they would like to see the market top out with about 40 vendors, among them certified farmers, bakeries, gourmet foods, handmade crafts and jewelry. For information on participating contact Lombardo at: jody@thepowerplant.store
About the author
Deborah Luhrman is publisher and editor of Edible Monterey Bay. A lifelong journalist, she has reported from around the globe, but now prefers covering our flourishing local food scene and growing her own vegetables in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
