Fresh and Local in Berkeley, California

(Guest blogpost by Marla Felcher)

The hurdle is high for any market that is down the street from Chez Panisse – the birthplace of California cuisine made famous by chef-owner Alice Waters’ dedication to organic, locally-grown ingredients. The Downtown Berkeley market doesn’t disappoint.

Fresh and hyper-local greens galore

Seeing so much fresh, green food in an outdoor market in early spring was a sight for sore eyes for this East coast resident.

Fresh & Local is the market’s mantra. You won’t find any past-their-prime greens here. Just-picked baby broccoli, asparagus, fennel, artichokes and greens were in abundance during my late March visit. A month later the mix can and will change.

Asian greens and baby broccoli

My favorite part of any California market? The pre-sorted avocados, demonstrating just how seriously Californians take my favorite fruit. No thumbs needed to figure out when these will be ready to eat.

Ready to eat artichokes

The ripe ones go first!

Californians take their artichokes pretty seriously, too.

There is a wide range of prepared foods at the market – all as local as the produce. At Gattonelli Farm, dad Charles sells sauces made from tomatoes and garlic grown by his son Jordan on the Mendocino-based family farm.

Tomatoes from family-owned and operated Gattonelli Farms

As is often the case, the market vendors are as compelling as the produce. Strike up a conversation and you’re bound to learn something new.

Spiral Gardens Community Food Security Project is a non-profit dedicated to urban greening, organic farming, and food security. The organization sells food plants and herbs at its nursery, has turned two vacant city lots into a thriving community garden, and hires local students to staff its produce stand. Profits go towards subsidizing prices to keep the cost of their fresh produce low.

Spiral Gardens co-founder Daniel Miller signing up volunteers

Did you know about the healing power of bone broth? I didn’t, until I stopped at the Abrothacary stand. There, the company’s nutritionist-founder Lauren described the healing power of slow-cooked animal bones, medicinal mushrooms, roots, and barks. I left a believer.

Founder Lauren educates about the healing powers of her broths

Berkeley has three year-round farmers’ markets, so if you aren’t around on a Saturday, you have two more opportunities to experience “fresh & local” at its best:

Downtown Berkeley: Saturday, 10 am – 3 pm. Located at 1947 Center Street.
North Berkeley: Thursday, 3 pm – 7 pm. Located at Shattuck Avenue and Rose Street.
South Berkeley: Tuesday, 2 pm – 6 pm. Located at Adeline and 63rd Streets.

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Text and photos by Marla Felcher

Marla Felcher writes the blog Good News from the Resistance. She has worked as a marketing professor, investigative journalist, and consumer advocate. She is a co-founder of The Philanthropy Connection, a women’s grant-making organization. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Community Foundation and Road Scholar, a non-profit educational travel organization, which gives her plenty of opportunities to travel and learn. Sign up for the Good News via her blog and follow Marla on Facebook and Twitter.