CUESA’s pop-up farmers’ market at the Yard near AT&T park starts September 27th.
As Chronicle staff writer Tara Duggan reported earlier this summer, CUESA’s (the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) new monthly Mission Rock pop-up farmers’ markets at the Yard are set begin later this month.
Well, we now have more details on the very first event — slated for Sunday, September 27th from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. — including the official list of vendors, as well as a theme: “Preservation Celebration.”
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CUESA plots new monthly farmers' market popups at the Yard at Mission Rock
Much like CUESA’s weekly farmers’ market set-up at the Ferry Plaza, the pop-ups at the Yard will feature a variety of seasonal produce and food stuffs from local farmers and food makers. At Mission Rock, the nonprofit organization will focus especially on outfitting the monthly markets with new and upcoming businesses and growers, like Petaluma’s family-owned sheep dairy and creamery, Haverton Hill and women-owned bone broth company, Kitchen Witch, from Santa Cruz.
Tying in with September 27th’s theme of preservation, demos for the first market will include a bread and butter pickle how-to featuring Casey Havre of Lagier Ranches and Loulou’s Garden and a fig conserva demo from 25 Lusk chef Matthew Dolan.
Future market themes will be: “Harvest Festival” (October 25), “Thanksgiving Market” (November 22), and “Holiday Hoedown” (December 20).
Here’s the full list of vendors for September 27th:
FARMS AND FOOD CRAFTERS (*=New vendor)
*Blue House Farm is a certified organic farm established in 2005 on the San Mateo coast in Pescadero. Owned and run by farmer Ryan Casey and staff, the farm grows heirloom tomatoes, sweet peppers, herbs, berries, apples, and leafy greens. Just 50 miles from San Francisco, they are proud to be so close to the people who eat their produce.
*Bluma Farm is a woman-owned and -operated certified organic flower farm on one acre at the Sunol Ag Park. Started in 2014 by Joanna Letz, Bluma grows 60 varieties of flowers for people and pollinators, including scabiosa stellata, Celosias, Ruby silk grass, flax seed pods, Gomphrena, dahlias, and many more. Bluma will be offering mixed bouquets, or customers can put together their own.
*City Bees has produced hyper-local neighborhood honeys throughout San Francisco and the greater Bay Area since 1996. Apiarist Robert MacKimmie uses organic-only methods to guarantee the wholesome health of his honeybee colonies, providing a prosperous and productive flying workforce, which gathers plant nectars unique to the climate of each district in the city. His bees allow everyone to, “Taste the view!”
Dirty Girl Produce, a Ferry Plaza Farmers Market fixture, offers gorgeous lettuces, brassicas, beans, and their famously flavorful dry-farmed Early Girl tomatoes, all organically grown in Santa Cruz.
Eatwell Farm is another familiar face from the Ferry Plaza. In addition to their regular assortment of organic herbs and vegetables, they’ll be offering ice cream from Eatwell Farm Ice Box, which features farm-fresh organic flavors from Eatwell and other Ferry Plaza farms. Straus Family Farm ice cream base provides the canvas for their seasonal delights.
*Fruitilicious Farm produces dozens of varieties of certified organic apples, figs, quince, and citrus in Watsonville. A partnership between organic farming specialists Zea Sonnabend and Terence Welch, Fruitilicious honors the heritage of Watsonville as an historic apple growing region while nurturing fruit with contemporary and timeless organic techniques such as cover crops, foliar nutrition, pheromones, and personal attention.
*Haverton Hill Creamery is a family-owned and operated sheep dairy and farmstead creamery (founded in 2010 and 2014, respectively) in Petaluma. The Adiegos produce 100% sheep milk, award-winning sheep butter, and a signature handcrafted line of sheep milk ice cream. Their products are crafted and produced on the farm from freshly produced sheep milk in small batches.
*Kitchen Witch is women-owned business in Santa Cruz that creates real bone broth from 100% pasture-raised beef, organic chicken, and local pork. The broth is flavorful enough to be sipped on its own for a high-nutrition drink. Kitchen Witch will be offering take-home jars of bone broth and hot broth-by-the-cup with radical flavor infusions.
*Koda Farms is California’s oldest family-owned rice farm and mill, working the soil since the 1910s. Koda Farms is the exclusive breeder and grower of heirloom Kokuho Rose® rice varietal. Mark Bittman of the New York Times has called their brown rice “probably the best produced in the United States.” All rice is certified organic, certified kosher, and Non-GMO Project verified.
Lagier Ranches, a long-time Ferry Plaza farmer, will be bringing certified organic dried Bing cherries, Bronx grape raisins, and cherry wood chips (for the BBQ). They will also have Loulou’s Garden jams, jellies, marmalades, and fresh bread and butter pickles, as well as freshly harvested in-shell almonds, almond meats, almond butter, and almond milk.
*Root Down Farm is a perennial and pasture-based operation located in beautiful Pescadero. Dede Boies focuses on raising heritage breed chickens, pigs, and turkeys with the most humane standards. Root Down Farm will be offering Animal Welfare Approved whole chickens as well as livers, gizzards, heads, and feet. Chickens are fed organically and are never given hormones or antibiotics.
*Oasis Date Gardens grows 13 varieties of organic dates on a 175-acre farm established in 1912 in Thermal. All dates are certified organic, and no chemicals or pesticides are used in the gardens.
Tierra Vegetables is a family-owned and -operated farm located in the heart of Sonoma County since 1980. The Jameses grow, process, and preserve a variety of vegetables, fruits, and legumes, but at this market they’ll be featuring their heirloom corn products (freshly milled masa, handmade tortillas, corn meals, grits, and hominy), as well as unique varieties of sweet and hot chiles, which they also preserve into hot sauces, jams, powders, and salsa mixes.
Tory Farms will have flavorful grapes, plums, and pluots grown at Tory and Rebecca Torosian’s Dinuba farm (another Ferry Plaza staple).
*Wild West Ferments, founded by Maggie Levinger and Luke Regalbuto in Point Reyes Station, creates a variety of vegetable ferments such as sauerkraut and kimchi, as well as probiotic tonics and wild-fermented fruit sodas. They use organic ingredients sourced from farmers in the West Marin community.
RESTAURANTS AND READY-TO-EAT FOODS (*=New vendor)
Batter Bakery is a boutique bakery specializing in unique, handcrafted baked goods using premium ingredients and fresh, seasonal flavors. Baker Jen Musty will be bringing her signature cookies, breakfast items, and market cakes featuring end of summer and beginning of fall fruits and veggies.
*Belcampo Meat Co. is a vertically integrated meat company including a farm, processing plant, and three Bay Area butcher shops and restaurants. On the 25,000-acre farm in Siskiyou County, Belcampo raises 13 certified organic species. All of the animals are pasture raised, and the ruminants are 100% grass-fed. Belcampo will be offering all-beef hot dogs with tons of fixings, and a variety of housemade sausages made from Ossabaw-Berkshire-cross hogs.
*Bini’s Kitchen offers home-cooked Nepalese soul food. A participant in La Cocina’s incubator program, Binita Pradhan was inspired and trained by her mother in Kathmandu. She’ll be offering turkey and vegetarian momo (dumplings) cooked with special spices and served with spicy tomato-cilantro sauce, plus mango lassis.
Four Barrel Coffee offers coffee and espresso drinks using only directly sourced beans and local organic milk, almond milk, and unrefined sugar. It is a locally owned and independently operated coffee importer, roaster, and café space with three locations throughout the city. The Four Barrel crew believes in fostering ongoing relationships and direct trade with their farmers to benefit the impoverished communities of Africa, Latin America, and Indonesia.
*Girl Friday Zeppole, a pop-up co-founded by DanVy Vu and Emily Nathon, serves sweet and savory Italian doughnuts (zeppole) made with flour, polenta, and ricotta cheese, freshly fried, and topped with powdered sugar and lemon zest. They also offer dipping sauces such as vanilla bean crème fraiche, Earl Grey chocolate ganache, and a rotating seasonal sauce, plus a refreshing lavender lemonade.
Marla Bakery sells naturally fermented and organic breads, pastries, cookies, bagels, and tarts. Everything is made from scratch at Amy Brown and Joe Wolf’s restaurant/bakery in the outer Richmond. Marla Bakery strives to uses organic dairy, eggs, butter and flour along with Northern California organic produce whenever possible.
*Nopalito celebrates the traditional cookery of Mexico utilizing local, organic, and sustainable ingredients at their neighborhood restaurants in the lower Haight and the Sunset. They’ll be dishing up spicy totopos con chile, pork tacos on flour tortillas, tortas on housemade bread, and seasonal agua frescas.
Shorty Goldstein’s is a San Francisco Jewish delicatessen making everything in house from scratch using sustainable and local ingredients. They’ll be offering pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, gravlax bagels, potato latkes, cole slaw, and potato salad.
*Zeal Kombucha makes botanically brewed kombucha (a bubbly, naturally fermented tea drink) using unique herbs and botanicals. Currently Zeal offers two flavors: Vanilla Pine (pine, ginger, and vanilla) and Red Heather (rooibos, heather flowers, and grains of paradise).
CUESA Sunday farmers’ market popups at the Yard will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27, Oct. 25, Nov. 22 and Dec. 20, with seasonal activities. The Yard at Mission Rock is located at the corner of 3rd Street and Terry Francois Boulevard, across from AT&T Park. cuesa.org