Read What's Planned for the San Ramon Farmers Market this Spring and Summer

From the San Ramon Farmers Market

The San Ramon Farmers Market is celebrating spring - and its 5th season in the community.

Five years ago, Market Director Harvindar Singh, a San Ramon resident for the past 25 years, wanted to bring in fresh local foods and provide a place for people to congregate in a city that has no downtown. 

“The idea was to develop a central gathering place, to celebrate local food, to come together,” says Singh. 

The market’s new location at Bishop Ranch 2 – across the street from  Market and  – is exactly that. Having managed his first farmers market in Port Townsend, Washington – one of the largest small-town markets in the nation – Singh knows the value of having access to local foods; he grew up on a family farm in Fiji. 

The San Ramon Farmers Market, now open year-round, is thriving in its second season at the new location. It features over 40 of the best Bay Area organic produce, hot prepared foods, and artisan made products.

By summer, that number will grow to more than 50. Favorite local organic growers are already returning as spring and summer crops arrive: Dirty Girl Produce of Santa Cruz will bring the dry-farmed Early Girl tomatoes they’re famous for; Hamada Farms of Kingsburg is coming with stone fruits like cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums and longtime vendor Roy Smit of Smit Orchards in Linden – who has been at the market since it started – offers his signature Fuji apples and fresh-pressed juices, and will soon be bringing table grapes, blueberries and an assortment of stone fruits.

"At the peak of this season, we’ll have a ton of local produce coming fresh and direct from the growers,” Singh siad. 

The market also features some fantastic new growers, like Calvillo Brothers Organics of Watsonville, Mellow’s Nursery and Farms of Morgan Hill and Rio De Parras Organics from Salinas.

Exciting new artisan food vendors this season include Crepe and Brioche Bakery from North Beach (rustic breads, signature breakfast pastries, croissants, cookies, brioches), Anna’s Choice of San Ramon (homemade whole grain pancake mixes), and Grandpa’s Delights of Turlock (raw and flavored almonds).

“A tasty new crepe vendor from Danville called Sweet'ish Pancakes debuts May 3rd,” says Singh.

Last June, a second farmers market was added on Thursday to provide the community with a weekday shopping option. Featuring over 30 vendors at the peak of the season, the Thursday market is primarily an artisan food market, with greater emphasis on prepared foods for the lunchtime crowd. However, it does provide a nice selection of produce vendors as well. 

“We’ll have a full range of growers at the Thursday market within the next month or so,” says Singh. “And it’s a nice alternative time to shop, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.”

For those who love to get fresh, prepared foods, Green Lantern Catering is cooking up a newly expanded selection of gourmet burgers and Vietnamese sandwiches; Ofa’s Island BBQ has mouth-watering marinated chicken, Kalua pork and short ribs; Panamanian Tamales offers extra moist tamales wrapped in banana leaves, Sabores del Sur makes great empanadas, pork sandwiches, and powdery-sweet alfajores and Faz catering will return with grilled kabobs and salads. 

“Our food courtyard is a very popular area for the community to congregate and enjoy live music and great food,” says Singh. “On May 10, we’re launching Sweet’ish Pancakes, a new vendor at the Thursday market serving sweet and savory crepes.”

In an effort to further connect the community with its food sources, the market will launch a new “Home Cooking at the Market” program in June. Local chefs, talented home cooks, nutrition educators, and cookbook authors will share how to prepare simple recipes using fresh ingredients from the market. 

San Ramon’s , which blends traditional Chinese cooking with organic ingredients, is the main sponsor of Home Cooking at the Market. YiPing will demonstrate how to prepare some of their main dishes. 

Faz Restaurant owner and chef, Faz Poursohi, who grew up with freshly baked breads, fruits and vegetables on his family farm in Tehran, will also share recipes that can easily be prepared at home. 

“Food is about freshness and flavor – not about ingredients buried in complex combinations," says Poursohi. "Go to a farmers market and smell the fresh herbs, grow or pick vegetables off the vine when you can. This is the inspiration behind cooking." 

Other classes will include juicing, how to make the best hummus ever (courtesy of San Francisco’s Love & Hummus Co.), canning tomatoes, and preserving foods. 

“As the weather cools and we move into fall, we’ll focus more on comfort foods like soups, stews and squashes,” Singh says.

The San Ramon Farmers Market is open Saturdays year-round from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursdays April-October from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2641 Camino Ramon.

What do you like most about the San Ramon Farmers Market? Tell us in the comments section.