TASTE
Taylor Zapata , left , owns Wheatland Natural Beef with her husband Zach . She says they have raised their ground beef prices by $ 1 and $ 2 for prime cuts .
Nai Saechao is another market vendor who came to the field by way of his parents . He and his four siblings sell raspberries , blackberries and blueberries that they grow on Yoon Chao ’ s Farm , a 7-acre Marysville farm that his parents launched in 1996 after coming to California as refugees .
Like Zapata , Saechao and his siblings have primary jobs in addition to running the markets from Chico to Sacramento and helping with the labor on the farm , where their parents work . He says their rising operating costs have included packaging costs and gas — the top driver of inflation — but since it ’ s a family-run farm , they save on labor .
“ When we ’ re not at the market , we ’ re at the farm ,” he says . “ Because we ’ re doing the work ourselves , we tend to keep the prices kind of lower .”
Not like the grocery store
As Chuck Wiegman describes his homegrown organic garlic varieties from around the world , a woman drops by to find out if he has any black garlic left . It ’ s the last hour of the market , so he doesn ’ t , and she says she ’ ll try to get there earlier next week . “ I grow a lot of varieties , I don ’ t grow a ton of volume ,” says Wiegman . “ I grow
anywhere from 15 to 18 varieties of garlic every year .”
He says seed prices have shot up , especially those that needed to be imported . Due to the rising costs he raised his price to $ 3 per head this year — his first price bump in almost a decade .
But he adds that he gives customers a deal on higher-producing crops , like tomatoes and zucchini .
Farmers market shoppers who qualify for the CalFresh food assistance program can stretch their dollar further through Market Match , a state program that encourages healthy eating by matching CalFresh dollars spent at farmers markets . Many of the farmers markets in Sacramento partner with Market Match .
Most anyone on the shopping or selling side of a farmers market will tell you that the quality of the products there can ’ t be beat by a grocery store . In-season , local produce like summer strawberries and tomatoes are typically more flavorful than grocery store produce , and there ’ s the benefit of meeting those running the farm or ranch .
According to Ron Antone , lavender vendor and site coordinator at the Sutter Creek farmers market , many of the vendors in the network of Amador County markets are small-scale farms that use organic practices . “ Growing vegetables this way costs a little bit more ,” he says . “ But there ’ s nowhere near the quality ( at the supermarket ), and people recognize that .”
Vincent Garcia runs a popular fruit and nut stand at the Sunday market , where they raised prices from $ 2.50 per pound to $ 3 this season on their peaches , nectarines and other fruits . In a year of rising costs , quality “ is our only weapon ,” he says . “ Keeping our great quality so people are willing to pay for it . We ’ re not giving up , not yet .”
Kate Gonzales is a Sacramento-based journalist who writes about class , culture and gender . She has worked in Northern California media for 15 years and earned her sociology degree from Sacramento State University .
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34 comstocksmag . com | September 2022