The intersection at 22nd and Bartlett streets smelled of flowers and rotisserie chicken once again on Thursday afternoon as the Mission farmers market returned for the spring season after a three-month winter hiatus.
Some 22 farmers showed up at the first day of the farmer’s market, which Foodwise organizers said “is almost at max capacity,” with crates of radishes, baskets of strawberries and buckets filled with tulips and roses.
“Get your flowers, get your flowers,” said David Medrano, owner of Medrano’s Flowers, in a sing-song voice.
Around the corner, loaves of bread, cookies, pies, hummus and pita chips sat displayed. Around 4 p.m., an hour after the market’s opening, people roamed through the booths with tote bags, strollers and dogs.
Meserve Platt, a 33-year Mission resident who lives a few blocks away, has been “almost exclusively shopping at the farmer’s market” for decades.
“You are guaranteed what’s in season,” Platt said. “It’s just a better way to eat.”
Platt has no problem detailing what’s in season: Artichokes are at their peak; it’s almost the end for Brussels sprouts, but root veggies are still going strong.
For dinner, he will probably have some salad, and save the mushrooms for the weekend.
Rudy Jimenez and his wife, Maria, set up the Green Thumb Farms booth next to their truck, which carried them and their produce earlier Thursday from San Juan Bautista to the Mission.
On Wednesday, they spent five hours harvesting, washing and packaging their goods for the market.
“For me, spring is when the year starts,” Jimenez said. It’s a time when there’s more sunlight, the soil gets warmer and everything starts to blossom, he said.
Jimenez immigrated from Mexico at 15. His grandfather is still a farmer in Mexico; seeing his father’s work with chemicals in conventional farming prompted Jimenez to question that practice and go a different route.
Right now, Jimenez hopes to find a way of farming that also advocates for the environment. “It’s a spiritual thing for me,” he said, “to be in tune with the land and stay grounded.”
Even though the Mission market takes a break from November to March, most farmers stayed busy, working in the field or selling at other markets across the city.
“The only way you can survive is to force yourself to stay in the business,” said Phil Carter, owner of Winters Fruit Tree, which has been selling walnuts, almonds and apricots at the market for 14 years.
Having hope is almost a necessity in the business, Carter continued. For example, even though some family farms have been around for 100 years, “just two bad crops can put you out of business.”
That’s why his farm has pivoted to growing almonds, pistachios and walnuts year-round, as well as shipping products out of state. “It’s hard to grow one thing and survive off of that,” he said.
The Winters Fruit Tree sells in farmer’s markets all around the city, including Ferry Plaza, Fort Mason, Outer Sunset and Civic Center.
But the Mission market, Carter said, is more “community-based,” and “the whole family comes out.” Toward the end of the season in November, the sun is down early, and “it feels like a night market.”
Medrano, the owner of Medrano’s Flowers, agreed. “When I think about it, it’s so family [oriented],” he said. “People bring their kids and, every time when there’s no strollers for the babies, I know it’s gonna be slow!” he laughed.
As Medrano and his wife, Rosa, wrapped flowers for customers, teens working at Urban Sprouts across the street brought them some soap they’d made. In turn, the couple wrapped some red tulips for them to take home.
Over at Delightful Foods, the owner handed out samples of blueberry cream cheese and key lime pies, just in time for March 14, Pi Day.
“Tell your mom my son said hello,” a customer said to Abdullah Sabir, the 33-year-old owner at the booth. A few young customers picked out pies. “I brought two of my friends this time,” one of them said.
“We see a lot of familiar faces here,” Sabir said.
Delightful Foods is a family business for the Sabirs. Growing up with 12 siblings, he recalled, “every single one of us has either wrapped a pie, scooped a cookie, or even designed the labels.”
Two years ago, Abdullah decided to take the lead on managing the family business. His father was a good model — running the business, but also grabbing a mop and washing the dishes. For Sabir, it was time, he said. “It makes sense financially, and it makes sense with my soul.”
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