Mountain View Farmers Market
Mountain View Farmers Markets is one of the top 5 in the nation. Did you know that lots of people, who live in San Francisco, hop on the train on Sunday morning just to come shop at our market? It’s true. It’s incredibly convenient, since the market is set up in the parking lot of our train station. And our prices are much better than those of the farmers market in the San Francisco Ferry Building. That’s the scoop.
Mountain View Farmers Market has been going strong, year round, for almost 25 years. Not all local markets are open year round. Some of the smaller ones are closed for the winter, but not ours.
Right now, in February, we have about 75 vendors, but in the middle of summer, when California is exploding with fruits and veggies, our farmers market will have around 110 vendors. It’s unbelievably exciting and the people who shop at it are just as interesting and colorful as the produce that they buy.
I was shopping for artichokes and another customer asked me all kinds of questions about how I prepare and serve them. I finally convinced her to give them a try, and she started to buy one, that’s right, only one. I told her that everyone needs their own and to add 4 or 5 more to her bag.
That’s one thing that’s so incredible about our market, the diversity of the customers. I always stop other customers and ask how they cook particular vegetables. In my opinion, okra is a mystery to lots of people, and you’ll often overhear people sharing cooking advice while picking through the giant piles of it. It’s my favorite part about shopping at the farmers market. It’s truly an adventure.
There are some vendors who have been coming to Mountain View for over 15 years. They drive in from all over the state, and since our city is so centrally located, it’s pretty easy to get here on a Sunday morning. All roads lead to Mountain View, right?
We actually have strawberries all year long. If you’re interested in knowing what you can expect to see, by season, at our market, here’s a page that shows that information. Sometimes, it’s nice to know in advance what you will see so you can plan your meals around it, or do the research so you know how to prepare everything.
Be sure to stop by the Information booth at our market and enter your name and address in their weekly drawing. Why would you want to do that? Believe me, it’s very helpful when they send out a postcard reminding everyone of Forty Nine games. Our city is the last stop before Levi Stadium, so lots of people drive to Mountain View, and hop on the train to the stadium. On those days, the Farmers Market is located someplace else (California and Bryant Streets). It’s only 6 or 7 times a year. And I keep that little postcard on my fridge.
The Central Valley in California produces 25% of the produce for the entire country. Our Farmers Market is a serious destination and you should definitely plan on taking any visitors to it. It is every Sunday, rain or shine, year round. It opens at 8:30 am. They blow a conch shell to announce to the crowd that the market is open and it runs until 1:00 pm, in the train station parking lot, on Evelyn street.
