This holiday season, give the gift of good food while supporting local farmers and food crafters in our community. At CUESA’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and Jack London Square Farmers Market, you’ll find the makings for wholesome winter feasts, along with unique gifts that nourish the body, the earth, and our local community. As the days turn cold and rainy, farmers market vendors count on loyal customers like you to help sustain their businesses year-round.
We’ve gathered some ideas for delicious and distinctive stocking stuffers and host gifts, as well as fixings for creating a sustainably sourced goodie basket for someone you love. These are gifts with real people and stories behind them. Shopping at the farmers market, you can meet the makers, learn about their crafts, and know that you’re helping family farmers and small food businesses thrive.
In this time of gratitude, we thank you for supporting our local farmers and food makers throughout the year. Happy holidays from CUESA!
Farmers Market Schedule
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, San Francisco
The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is OPEN throughout the holidays, including Christmas Eve on Saturday, December 24, and New Year’s Eve, December 31!
Jack London Square Farmers Market, Oakland
Jack London Square Farmers Market is open on Sundays EXCEPT Christmas Day on December 25 and New Year’s Day on January 1.
Holiday Gift Ideas
Hidden Star Orchards’ farmstead hard apple cider uses organic apples from the Smit family’s farm in Linden, in four crisp flavors: Goldrush, Gravenstein, Sour Apple (crabapples), and Treeo (a Pink Lady, Aztec Fuji, and Granny Smith blend). They also have spiced cider, apple sauce, apple butter, and pure fruit juice extracts, which provide highly concentrated flavors for sauces, salads dressings, cocktails, and whatever other uses creative cooks can dream up. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays and Tuesdays; Jack London Square, Sundays.
Using heirloom apples from their Sebastopol farm, Little Apple Treats has made a name for themselves with their Good Food Award-winning apple cider caramels. They also offer apple bark, toffee, granolas, biscotti, apple vinegar shrubs, and a modern mulled cider mix with roses, hibiscus, dried apples and citrus, and spices. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Bringing a contemporary twist to Christmas food traditions, June Taylor sources from local farmers for her distinctive holiday treats, such as mincemeat (traditional or vegetarian), Nordic herbal syrups, and citrus peel candies. Her legendary Christmas Cake takes a whole year to prepare, with different fruits being preserved each season. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Swanton Berry Farm makes a wide variety of low-sugar organic jams using berries grown by Union labor on the Pescadero coast. Recognized for the commitment to social justice for farmworkers, Swanton is one of the few farms in the country to carry the Food Justice Certified label. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Perfect for host gifts, get a selection of Achadinha Cheese Company’s finest in a beautiful gift basket, including their award-winning farmstead goat cheeses Brocha and Capricious. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays; Jack London Square, Sundays.
Give the taste of summer with Frog Hollow Farm conserves, featuring the farm’s popular Brentw0od-grown organic apricots, nectarines, and peaches. Gift baskets available. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Happy Girl Kitchen Co.’s award-winning jams, marmalades, and shrubs showcase fruit from local farms, made and bottled in their Pacific Grove kitchen. Their Raspberry Lemon Jam won a Good Food Award in 2016, but there’s no shortage of enticing flavors to try, like “Da Bears” Lime or Pink Grapefruit Marmalde. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Compliment your holiday cheese plate with Bella Viva Orchards dried fruit, grown by the Martino family in Denair, California. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Marshall’s Farm’s locally sourced honey straw gift packs make a colorful stocking stuffer. Marshall’s honey jar gift packs provide a sampling of local varietals such as Star Thistle, Orange Blossom, Napa Valley Wildflower, and California Sage Honey. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Fall is the time for harvesting walnuts, which means they’re as fresh as can be at the farmers market right now. Glashoff Farms’ Good Food Award-winning walnut oil, made from Franquette walnuts, adds a rich, toasty flavor to dress up any winter dish. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
For holiday snacking, fifth-generation San Joaquin family farm Old Dog Ranch offers bags of raw walnuts, as well as flavors like Mexican Hot Chocolate, Whiskey Spice, and Rosemary. Grab-and-go gift bags available. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Heat up the holidays! Tierra Vegetables has plenty of gifts for the spice lover in your life, including hot sauces, chile jams and oils, and dried chiles, all sustainably grown and processed in small-batches at Lee and Wayne James’ farm in Santa Rosa. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Inspired by a family recipe, Happy Quail Farms’ Farm-Style Relish is a Good Food Award winner, with its tangy blend of mild and spicy peppers from David Winsberg’s suburban Palo Alto farm. David also offers gift packs and boxes of his Wholly Mullies, Smoky Cayenne, and Habanero sauces. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays and Tuesdays.
Lucky Dog Hot Sauce’s eight hot sauce varieties have earned 58 national industry awards. Mix and match flavors like Applewood Smoked Habanero Pepper and Hickory Smoked Jalapeno for the chile head in your life. Jack London Square, Sundays.
Fourth-generation farm Sciabica & Sons’ fresh flavored olive oils are made by cold-pressing lemons, jalapeños, basil, or fresh garlic with fresh California olives—no artificial flavors. The four-flavor gift pack makes a great host gift. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Based in Hollister, Big Paw Olive Oil Company offers a variety of extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars, both plain and in infused flavors. Assemble your your own gift pack. Jack London Square, Sundays.
Casa Rosa Farms is known for their pasture-raised meats, but they also offer olive oils fresh from their farm, as well as vinegars made with farm-grown ingredients like Brown Turkey Fig and Pomegranate. The gorgeous labels were drawn and designed by farmer Rachel da Rosa herself. Jack London Square, Sundays.
Salmon lovers, Cap’n Mike’s Holy Smoke offers gift packs of their smoked salmon, salmon jerky, salmon sticks, and other smoked fish delicacies. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Nana Joes Granola is known for their innovative, gluten-free granolas made in San Francisco using farmers market ingredients. Michelle Pusateri’s spiced mixed nuts and cookies also make great stock stuffers, or you can give a sampling of the full Nana Joes line in a pre-wrapped gift basket. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Tout Sweet Pâtiserrie has all manner of stunningly crafted seasonal tarts and cakes for your holiday gatherings, plus brittles, pâte de fruit, sweet meringue kisses, and of course, their signature macarons. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Craftsman and Wolves candies are works of art unto themselves, as are their seasonal pastries like their Butternut Squash and Burnt Caramel Tart, Smoked Ginger Molasses Cookies, and Panettone. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Give the gift of warmth and good health this winter with loose-leaf teas from Yerba Buena Tea Co. For the holidays, they’re offering gift packs of three teas of your choice plus an infuser. All herbs and tea leaves are purchased through fair trade and organic farms and distributors. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Stocking stuffer for coffee lovers: East Bay-based Highwire Coffee Roasters’ 2016 Celebration is a culmination of the year, using small, exceptional lots of coffee to create a limited-edition winter blend that has “a zesty, candied fruit sweetness with a touch of spice and a smooth mouthfeel.” Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Add a holiday flair and bring home the scent of eucalyptus and other California grown plants with holiday wreathes from Four Sisters Farm and Cypress Flower Farm. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Season, taste, and freshen with Allstar Organics’ dried herbs, salts, sugars, and hydrosols, which beautifully bottle up the flavors and scents from their organic Marin farm. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
To pamper that special someone, Eatwell Farm has a whole suite of lavender sachets, scrubs, salves, hydrosols, essential oils, and other aromatic products. All of them are made with lavender and other items grown on their organic farm in Dixon. Ferry Plaza, Saturdays.
Wisdom by Wisdom makes natural, handcrafted soaps and body butters in a wide variety of scents and colors, including poppyseed, oatmeal milk and honey, peppermint, and lavender. Sweet treats for your skin, her cupcake and cake slice soaps look and smell good enough to eat. Jack London Square, Sundays.
Lil Milkers Valley luxurious soaps, scrubs, and salves are made using milk from Nigerian dwarf goats (yes, dwarf goats!) and herbs and flowers from Lonely Mountain Farm. Find Lil Milkers popping up at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on December 22 and 24.
Package all of your farmers market goodies in our seasonal tote bag, which makes a bold and functional fashion statement. Available for purchase at the CUESA Info Booth at all of our farmers markets.
Can’t decide? We’ve got the perfect gift. Delight your friends and family by letting them choose their own delicious gift with Farmers Market Gift Coins. Gift coins work like a gift certificate, have no expiration date, and can be redeemed at any CUESA farmers market stand. They are conveniently pre-packaged in $25 boxes and $10 bags, but they are available in any amount. Market coins also make great corporate gifts. Stop by the Info Booth or call us to purchase. Learn more.
Article Topics:
Farmers market
Holiday
Local
Seasonal