Every Saturday Hayward’s B Street is turned into a thriving marketplace. Farmers, bakers, chefs and florists from the greater Northern California area line the street, providing locals with a cornucopia of fresh products and delicacies.
The market is organized by the Agricultural Institute of Marin, a non-profit organization which oversees seven farmers’ markets across the Bay Area.
Market manager Matt Toy, believes that “the whole idea is to allow farmers to have direct access to the consumers.”
Farmers’ markets across the country enable growers and suppliers to cut out the “middleman” by bypassing corporate supermarket chains, which drive up prices. Toy believes that farmers’ markets not only provide lower prices to the consumer, but allow the vendors “flexibility in what they can provide,” resulting in products that offer “different sizes, shapes and smells.”
Mother and daughter Cynthia and Cynthia Palomino were out early on Saturday selling produce from their Palomino Family Farm in Escalon, California. “Summer is usually real busy for us, but things start slowing down in the winter due to the weather,” said daughter Cynthia Palomino, whose family relies on farmers’ markets throughout the year. These markets prove to be so important to her that she travels to upwards of six per week. The family is led by Cynthia’s father, Rocky Palomino, who is proud of his freshly grown produce and lives by the philosophy: “you get out of farming what you put into it.”
“I think it’s very important that everything is freshly picked,” said Brenda, a vendor from Terry Farm in Denair, California. Brenda said. “The taste is really better.” Brenda does not believe that supermarkets provide the best options for consumers, saying, “if the customer is looking for fresh fruits, it’s best to come to the market.”
Volunteers from the Hayward Community Gardens were also on hand. Among their unique products included honey, mined locally from their very own apiaries.
But patrons of Hayward’s Farmers’ Market do not just come for the shopping—they come for the entire atmosphere. “I’ve been coming here for years,” said Pete, a Hayward resident. “It’s a great place to see familiar faces and I can always find something new.”
On his most recent outing, he found a pumpkin and nut muffin that he had purchased and enjoyed from Great Harvest Bread of El Sobrante.
Jerry, a vendor from Watsonville’s Fernandes Flowers, echoed the sentiment by saying that the Farmers’ Market provided a family-type atmosphere. “This market is good for the public and good for the community,” said Jerry. Those who have stopped by on a late Saturday morning would understand, “it’s like being with your family, you get your kids and you head out to the market.”
