Palo Alto, Los Altos farmers markets reopen

Uploaded: May 7, 2015

It's that time of year: The downtown Palo Alto and Los Altos farmers markets are both reopening for the season this week.

The Los Altos Certified Farmers Market opens Thursday, May 7, from 4 to 8 p.m. at State and Second Streets downtown. Don't miss the second annual Maypole dance, the launch of a farmers club for kids, a squash giveaway, live music and of course, fresh produce.

"We are happy to be back after the long winter," Doug Hayden, president of California Farmers' Markets Association, which manages the Los Altos market, said in a press release.

Hidden Villa be among the vendors at the Los Altos Farmers' Market, selling the Los Altos Hills farm's organic meat, eggs, produce and flowers.

The Palo Alto Farmers Market, located between Gilman Street and Hamilton Avenue, will open on Saturday, May 9, from 8 a.m. until noon. A "tour of real life songs of independence, heartache, love, desire, reflection, with a flair for social and political conscience" will be provided by Bay Area band The Buds from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

The Palo Alto market runs through Dec. 15.

What's in season right now? Check out these handy seasonal charts from the Palo Alto Farmers Market to find out: vegetables and fruits.

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Posted by Scott Slusser, a resident of Charleston Meadows,
on May 7, 2015 at 8:07 pm

Hip Hip Hooray! It is the season for local farmers markets! I had recently moved and needed to find a new market near my new house. I was able to do it with this site:

http://www.localfarmersmarket.us

I just put in my zip code and got a list of markets close by.

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Posted by Scott Slusser, a resident of Charleston Meadows,
on May 7, 2015 at 8:07 pm

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Posted by Reader, a resident of another community,
on May 8, 2015 at 7:01 am

It's helpful to ask neighbors, friends, colleagues, etc. about local farmers markets as websites don't tell the full story.

Prices at one market may be higher than another even at the same farmer's table. What costs $3/lb. in Mountain View might end up being $3.25 or $3.50/lb. at California Avenue, and $4/lb. at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market in San Francisco. At some markets the same vendor might have a smaller range of offerings, based on the clientele, etc.

Also, some markets have a wider variety of stands than others. The larger farmers markets have more space, so it is easier to accommodate vendors with more unusual offerings. This leads to some interesting price differences. This past weekend I've seen cherries between $4/lb. and $8/lb. at the same farmers market.

And we can't ignore the parking situation. Some markets are simply easier to access by car. In SF, someone with a car living in the southern part of the City might be better off going to the Alemany market rather than Heart of the City or Ferry Plaza.

Starbucks or McDonald's? Yeah, you can search for the closest location, the offerings are identical and pricing the same. It doesn't work the same way with farmers markets: the offerings, pricing and vendors all differ, sometimes significantly. The closest farmers market may not be the best and many of them are only seasonal. Several farmers markets on the Peninsula operate year round, so it might be better off going a little farther and getting to know the farmers at that market, rather than just going to a closer market that operates only half the year.

Remember, the produce is being grown all year around, so it's just the market that's not there, not the food. If you only patronize seasonally-open farmers markets, you are missing out on a lot of great produce the rest of the year.

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