Category: food

BERKELEY, Calif. — The number of farmers’ markets has grown exponentially in the United States, with 8,727 markets listed on the USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory. The Downtown Berkeley Farmers’ Market prides itself on its natural, organic, locally grown food. These small farmers do not condone to the harmful practices big businesses use to mass-produce products.

Nicole Sayre, a book illustrator who sells Massa Organics’ almond products every Saturday, said her company creates a natural environment in its farms, complete with sheep to graze under the different trees to limit the number of weeds rather than using chemicals for that purpose.

Buying these earth-friendly food products can have a positive impact on the environment, but some vendors with good intentions aren’t getting the business they once had.

Katy Pomelov, who sells microgreens with Lifefood Gardens, has gone from selling at 11 markets to two, one in Berkeley and the other in Oakland, California.

Pomelov explains that the profitability of her products has dropped by about half — and she’s heard the same from other vendors in other counties.

The Lifefood Garden booths used to have two people behind them, but now there is only one because there are fewer customers.

“People shop for the experience at farmers’ markets,” Pomelov said. “It’s more of a novelty thing now.”

At any market, people generally come for fresh, high quality food paired with a lively atmosphere. Whether it’s music or happy conversation and laughter, the experience of being at a farmers’ market is what draws people in.

Lisa Jobson said, “I don’t usually buy a ton here. I come for the novelty and the freshness.”

Farmers’ markets are organized as a community, where the vendors can build relationships with their regular customers.

Though friendly atmosphere brings people in, convenience is still highly valued by most.

As markets increase across America, shoppers tend to opt for the closest one rather than their usual one, so individual vendors end up losing the business they once had, Pomelov said.

But in 2016 study, the Pew Research Center found that four in 10 Americans say that some (34%) or most (6%) of the food they eat is organic. And young adults, 18 to 49, say they are more likely to consider organic purchases for health reasons.

BERKELEY, Calif. — For more than 10 years, the Berkeley Farmers’ Market has been at the forefront of a statewide effort to facilitate purchases of healthy, affordable food for those who struggle financially. Berkeley farmers’ markets are among the most affordable in the Bay Area because they accept electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards and are participants in California’s Market Match program.

EBT cards are magnetically encoded, just like debit and credit cards. Recipients of federal welfare aid have their benefits stored in EBT cards, which can be used to buy food at stores. Some farmers’ markets, like the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, accept EBT cards.

Berkeley Farmers’ Markets began accepting EBT cards as valid forms of payment in 2008. Though they had previously accepted paper food stamps, scanning a magnetic stripe card presented a new set of challenges. To this day, most vendors at farmers’ markets have no way to scan cards and accept payments. The solution to the problem involves a token system through which money is transferred from a card holder’s EBT account to special coins worth $1 each that can be spent on certain farmers’ market products.

Thanks to the Market Match program — a program funded by a national grant designed to incentivize healthy eating — EBT card-holding shoppers are matched dollar for dollar for any amount of money they spend off of their cards up to $10. Therefore, in addition to EBT tokens, shoppers can receive up to 10 Market Match tokens to spend every time they visit a Berkeley farmers’ market.

Because  the Ecology Center, which administers Berkeley’s farmer’s markets, holds three weekly markets, card holders can receive up to $30 from the Market Match program every week without leaving Berkeley.

Paras Maharjan, a produce vendor from Riverdog Farm in Guinda, Calif., estimates that 15-20 percent of Riverdog customers pay with EBT or Market Match tokens.

“I think it’s a great program,” he said. “I think that they could maybe increase the amount of the Market Match to $15 or $20.”

There are some stipulations to the way EBT and Market Match tokens can be spent, though. EBT tokens can be used to purchase any food product except for hot prepared foods, and Market Match tokens can only be used to buy fresh produce.

Paul Stone, a Berkeley Farmers’ Market manager who has been working with the Ecology Center for more than 20 years, understands that the goal of the Market Match program is to encourage people to eat healthy, and therefore does not have many problems with ways the tokens can be spent. Though he would like to see the spending capabilities of Market Match tokens expanded to nuts and dried fruit, he is generally a proponent of both EBT and Market Match programs at farmers’ markets.

“I’m sure I would make some tweaks but I understand why there are restrictions,” he said. “The whole reason we do this is to get great, healthy food to the public.”

BERKELEY, Calif.  — The Ecology Center Farmers’ Market here is not simply a source of food, beverages and more. This market has become the home to people from all around the world who explore the extent of produce and form new relationships with people within their community. With over 50 unique vendors, shoppers have been combing into new discoveries and tastes since 1987.

“I love growing stuff myself so sometimes it’s a way to taste something… that I might want to plant, which is fun,” Lisa Jobson, a local shopper, said. “I come for the novelty and the super fresh [food].”

The vendors inform curious customers on the food they love and broaden their knowledge on the process of growing fresh produce. “The educational and social aspect of the farmers’ market… is so much fun, and getting feedback of your product as well,” Sebastian Bariani, who works for the family business, Bariani Olive Oil, said.

The market also brings new connections. “From my perspective as a vendor, the relationships with customers and tourists are ones you don’t get at the supermarket,” Bariani said.

“We met at San Francisco Market maybe 15 years ago… you can’t help but learn about olive oil when you’re working with him,” Tom Dawson, one of his friends, said. “To me, I love olive oil, and it’s more fascinating. I’ve been making olives, too, for the [business].” The excitement and fascination the vendors have for their products shows, too.

“When it comes to lifestyle, I love the open air, the freedom that I find in farming,” Bariani said. “I don’t really come here for sales.” The production of olive oil is a year-long process.

“Every day of the year he’s committed to making olive oil, even though he’s only really making it three months out of the year,” Dawson said. “During those three months, he’ll work 24-hour days.”

Dawson added that Bariani’s 80-year-old mom and dad work, too.

“His dad’s driving around in a tractor spreading olive paste to use as an organic amendment,” part of the Barini farming technique, he said. The company website describes alternative manufacturing through packaging reduction.

The Berkeley market, which runs three times a week in different parts of the city year-round,  was the first in the country to ban plastics. The Bariani Olive Oil website describes their alternative manufacturing through packaging reduction, too.

“We do so many things. We look forward to the pruning of the orchard and it’s exciting… the pruning of the orchard starts in January and it goes until the end of April. Producing the olive oil is basically from October until the end of December so during that stage of the year, we’re just super excited about the olive oil making and the smells that fill the air,” Bariani said.  

“It’s just amazing.”

For more information, visit the farmers’ market website and the Bariani Olive Oil website.

BERKELEY, Calif. — As you peruse down Center Street at the Downtown Berkeley Farmers’ Market, you are met with the welcoming feeling usually found in a local coffee shop or a hometown park. Making your way through the medley of colorful canopies, it is difficult not to notice the plethora of peaches. Although this is not an inconvenience to any passerby, individual vendors are trying to come to grips with this abundance.

In 1987, The Ecology Center opened the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, which allowed the community to access organic fruits and vegetables while supporting local farms and families.

Being a peach farmer entails more than it lets on. The Golden State in particular is a geographical hub for growing and harvesting peaches. Out of the 33 peach-growing states, California grows more peaches than the other 32 combined. Peach season happens from May through September, according to California Dream Big.

Danny Lazzarini, who has been involved in the market for 15 years and now manages the Peach Jamboree, described how the market can be ever-changing.

“There used to be one farmers’ market a week in Oakland, and it used to be the Jack London Farmers’ Market,” she said, “and that was a really good market for us. Now that market is struggling because there is pretty much a farmers’ market every day of the week.”

Lazzarini expanded further how farmers invest in their produce.

“You have to factor in the gas. You have to factor in the stall fees. You have to factor in the staff.  You have to factor in the trucks. You have to have three times as much,” she said with a warm smile.

The livelihood of a peach farmer is extremely dependent on their growing season, with their lifestyle in constant flux based on how well their crops turn out. Peach farmers “have three months to make a livelihood for the rest of the year,” Lazzarini said, which creates a hectic daily life.

She described how farmers can have financial security one day, and overnight that security can be lost. The Berkeley Farmers’ Market provides an outlet for these farmers to sell their goods, providing security.

But despite the uncertain lifestyle and ever-changing market, these farmers would not want it any other way.

Gary Spivey, a long-time employee at a peach stand at the market, said he loves the interactions he has with the customers, and the fun he has with the business.

“I love it,” he said. “I love talking to people and handing out grapefruit. It’s a lot of fun.”