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.”