BERKELEY, Calif. — From Arrous Lambert Douglas, who sells the Street Spirit newspaper for $2, to Priscilla Lucero, who sells strawberries and tomatoes from her family farm, to Eli Deyoe, who plays guitar for the people perusing the market’s many offerings, the Berkeley Saturday Farmers’ Market attracts “all walks of life,” said Marcel Ramos, who was staffing the Ecology Center’s table on a recent morning.
They gather, along with more than 50 vendors and hundreds of customers, on the corner of Center Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way to buy, sell, entertain — and eat.
James Zealous, who says he’s a weekly shopper with a passion for supporting local businesses, buys a copy of the paper Street Spirit when he attends the market. Zealous said that the “uncomfortably true articles that you are not going to find on national media” are what draw him to purchase the paper on a weekly basis. The paper covers homelessness and poverty and gives about 100 homeless vendors an opportunity to make money without panhandling.
At the city’s Saturday Market, Douglas sells the print edition, as he has for 40 years, and says that the customers are what makes it worth returning weekly.
“These people are so friendly,” Douglas said. “They treat you so well. You just got to be honest and all that. Just be yourself,” he added.
In contrast to Douglas and Zealous, this is Ramos’ first summer experiencing the farmers’ market while working with the Ecology Center. His favorite aspect of his job is “the amount of diversity” he gets to experience on a daily basis.
“Being able to work with the ecology center has made {diversity} so apparent and has made it something I just really, really want to be apart of,” he said.
Ramos’ ideals align with the Berkeley Farmers’ Market Code of Conduct, which states that “all are welcome here. Hate is not.” Signs throughout the street highlight the goal that the market is a safe place for all to gather and share what they have to offer.
A short walk around the market, next to a park and city hall, reveals a festive atmosphere: Children are laughing with ice cream dripping down their chins and adults are engaging in friendly conversations with vendors and other customers.
The market has a high standard for products sold, and the quality of produce is a reason why customers, such as Zealous, say they continue to shop there.
“This is California! Why the hell would we have to import produce?” he said.
One vendor, Priscilla Lucero and Lucero Organic Farms, has been attending the Berkeley Market since the 1990s. An important factor for the Lucero family when deciding which markets to participate in are the customers.
“All the customers are really friendly and appreciate you,” she said. Her husband, Curtis, “chooses to do the markets that have the people who are really interested in the organic,” she added. Lucero noted that their organic long-stem strawberries are what they are most known for and have a consistent clientele.
Across from the white Lucero canopy tent and through the crowd of chatty customers, Eli Deyoe, a 14-year-old, plays his guitar for shoppers, as he has been since he was 8.
“I guess that this is like my summer job, instead of getting an actual job,” he said.
He is covering his favorite artists, including Ed Sheeran and the Plain White Tees. Deyoe also said he is working on writing his own music, and while he is reluctant to share it, the market provides the perfect space for him to experiment.
More than anything, the Berkeley Market creates a sense of community. It brings together everyone from families with strollers to elderly couples with walkers to Berkeley students enjoying their Saturday with friends. People who attend often create connections with others, and say that is what brings them back week after week.
As Deyoe, whose high school is nearby, said between songs, “Everyone is here, so I guess it’s a good place to be.”