FARMERS: Dominga Nunez & Ruben Avila

LOCATION: Hollister, Ca

CONTACT: avilafarms.hollister@gmail.com

GROW: Artichokes, beets, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, potatoes & more vegetables

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

FARMERS: Oulay & Bounthone Lokham

LOCATION: Fresno, Ca

CONTACT:

GROW: Bittermelon, Bok choy, Collard greens, Cucumber, Daikon, Eggplant, Gallon, Garlic, Ginger, Herbs, Lemongrass, Okra, Peppers, Sweet Potato, Sunchokes, Sugarcane, Taro & more

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

The Lokham family moved to California in the early 1990s to start a farm and about 20 years ago began selling their fresh vegetables directly to their customers at farmers markets. Oulay, the mother of the Lokham family, makes efforts to provide a wide selection of produce that appeals to every customer and loves to call B & L Produce a "One Stop Shop."

When the Lokham family misses a market day, they always miss seeing and talking with their customers... their favorite part of selling at Heart of the City Farmers Market.

FARMERS: Rudy & Alelie Bungcayao

LOCATION: Stockton, Ca

CONTACT:

GROW:

WHEN: Wednesday, year-round

Rudy Bungcayao came to America from the Philippines in the 70s. His wife is from Hawaii and he lived there with her until they decided to move to California to start a farm with the help of Rudy’s uncle, who immigrated to California in 1927 and started a 5-acre onion farm. Rudy wanted to be a farmer too because he wanted to work for himself. When Rudy’s uncle retired, he gave his farm equipment to Rudy so he could carry on the tradition. Rudy learned a lot about farming not only from him, but also another uncle living here who grew Asian vegetables like long beans. With so much experience in the family, Rudy learned how to be successful as a farmer. He now owns his own land and rents additional farmland to help him provide a diverse selection of produce for his customers. Rudy sells at Heart of the City Farmers Market with his sister Alelie, sister in-law Sally, and brother Richard. They all work together to keep this family farm thriving.

FARMER: Gregory Busalacchi

LOCATION: Stockton, Ca

CONTACT: onionking@sbcglobal.net

GROW: Asparagus, Beans (dry), Beets, Broccoli, Chard, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Garlic, Herbs, Kale, Onion, Peppers, Squash, Tomatoes & more

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

The Busalacchi family started their farm in 1901. Brothers Greg and Mario are the fourth generation of Busalacchi family farmers and have brought the family farm to what it is today. They have been farming on their own for over twenty years in Stockton and grow onions, beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, assorted hot chilies, corn, and other delicious varieties of vegetables to sell at local farmers markets. They have been selling at Heart of the City Farmers’ Market since the early 90s.

VENDOR: Ricquel Thomas

LOCATION: Oakland, Ca

CONTACT:

Email: ricquelthomas@gmail.com

Website: calisweetcakes.com

SELLS: Cakes, Cookies & other Baked Goods

WHEN: Wednesday; year-round

FARMER: Jesus Castellanos

LOCATION: Kingsburg, Ca

CONTACT:

GROW: Apples, Apricots, Cherries, Nectarines, Peaches, Persimmons, Plums, Grapes, Oranges, Guava & more

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

FARMER: Sue Vue

LOCATION: Sacramento, Ca

CONTACT: colus@gmail.com

GROW: Bitter Melon, Broccoli, Cilantro, Garlic, Mustard Greens, Tomatoes & more

WHEN: Wednesdays; July- Nov/Dec

Sue Vue’s family has been farming for many generations. He grew up helping on his family’s farm and you can see the decades of experience reflected in the quality Asian produce he grows on his farm in Galt. All seven of his kids grew up helping out on the family farm, just as he did. They still help out when school or their other jobs make it possible but now his wife Mai, daughter Patty, and sons Fern and Muamon are the family members you’re most likely to find selling here at Chao Produce. You can be confident that you’ll find quality produce here because Sue Vue’s family are his “taste testers.” His family has grown up eating their fresh vegetables straight from the field and they know better than anyone what their customers want. Sue Vue makes it a priority to sell only the same freshness and quality he would give to his family to eat, and that’s what keeps his many loyal customers coming back for more.

FARMERS: Cipponeri Family

LOCATION: Turlock, Ca

CONTACT: cipponeri@gmail.com

GROW: Stone Fruit, Cherries, Figs, Persimmons & more

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

FARMERS: Allan Quijano Quiton

LOCATION: San Francisco, Ca

CONTACT: alnkeytone@gmail.com

SELLS: Wild-caught Seafood: Black Cod & Sablefish- yr/round; Rock Cod, Halibut & Salmon-Spring/Summer; Live Dungeness Crab- Fall/Winter

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

FARMERS: Payia Yang

LOCATION: Fresno, Ca

CONTACT:

GROW: Amaranth, Beans, Bittermelon, Bok Choy, Chayote, Cucumber, Daikon, Eggplant, Garlic, Ginger, Jujube, Lemongrass, Melons, Pea, Peanuts, Peppers, Squash, Sweet Potato, Saluyot, Taro & more

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

VENDOR: Maria Gonzalez

LOCATION: San Juan Bautista, Ca

CONTACT:

Email: cultiva.farmtotable@gmail.com

Website: greenthumbgardenfarms.com

SELLS: Packaged: Salads, Salad Dressing, Pressed Juices & more

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

VENDOR: Estrellita’s Snacks

LOCATION: San Francisco, Ca

CONTACT: https://www.estrellitassf.com

SELLS: Salvadoran Pupusas, Tamales, Agua Frescas & more

WHEN: Wednesday; year-round

Far West Fungi farm is located in a 60,000 square foot growing facility strategically located in Moss Landing in the heart of Monterey Bay. Moss Landing is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve to the north and east, and farmlands of artichokes and strawberries throughout. The farm is 1/4 mile from the Pacific Ocean, where a steady ocean breeze and northern coastal fog make it ideal for a consistent outside temperature throughout the year and a perfect location to grow mushrooms.

Far West Fungi started in 1982 as a mail order supply company and today provides a year round supply of exotic, certified organic specialty mushrooms at local markets, including Shiitake, Tree Oyster, Lions Mane, Maitake, and King Oysters. The farm uses a balance of modern and traditional growing techniques to produce high quality mushrooms while ensuring minimal impact on the environment.

FARMERS:

LOCATION: , Ca

CONTACT: https://www.hiddenstarorchards.com

GROW/SELL: Apples, Cider, Juice, Hard Cider & more

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

Ken Phan’s family has been in the farming business for over 20 years. Ken specializes in Vietnamese herbs but as his quality is becoming more recognized, he’s branching out to provide American herbs as well. He grows more than 50 varieties of herbs on his farm and he and his family work nearly around the clock the two days before market day picking and bundling, so you can be sure you’re getting the freshest herbs possible. He farms naturally without chemicals and says he can’t afford to use chemical sprays and fertilizers even if he wanted to use them.

Ken works seven days a week, but he says the hard work pays off in the security his farm brings for his family. He came to America from Vietnam in 1989 in search of a better life, but it is hard to find reliable work here.  Farming means he can be in control of his own business. He and his family members work hard to keep this small family business thriving.

FARMERS: Kiem Nguyễn & Family

LOCATION: San Francisco, Ca

CONTACT:

SELL: Wide variety of fresh-caught, wild & farm raised seafood dependent on weather and season

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

Kiem Nguyen and his family are from Vietnam, where they worked as fishermen. They immigrated to California to make a better life for their children and in the first few years supported themselves by selling garlic on the streets of Chinatown and fishing to supplement the family’s food budget. Kiem noticed something about Linda, his sister, during this time... she was a great saleswoman. This sparked an idea and a business was born.

For years the family had been fishing for their own food, so they decided to sell the fish they caught door-to door. Once they saved enough money, they bought a car so they could drive to Monterey to fish on a wider scale. They eventually transitioned from selling door-to-door to selling their catch in farmers markets. At first, their warehouse was located under their house in their garage. But as they continued to save money generated from their growing family business, they eventually made enough to purchase a warehouse in San Francisco in the mid 1980s.

Today, a second generation of five sons and daughters help run Kiem’s Seafood, and a third generation of little ones come to play in the warehouse like their parents before them.

Mohammed Afzal has been farming for over 30 years. In 2000 he started M. A. Farms, which grows seasonal varieties of stone fruits, pomegranates, persimmons, citrus, and limited quantities of mulberries. M. A. Farms specializes in more than six varieties of asian pears - Mohammed was one of the first farmers to start growing them in the USA 30 years ago, so the quality of his fruit reflects this experience.

Mohammed earned a degree from UC Davis in pomology (the study and cultivation of fruit) and started his own farm because he loves farming and being in nature. “He spends hours out there, even when there’s nothing to do,” jokes his son Muz, who loves selling at the market because he loves chatting with his customers.

The whole family - Mohammed’s wife and his 5 children - help to run the farm. It is called M. A. Farms because almost the whole family has the initials M. A. - Mohammed, Muz, Mahreen, Mobeen, and Moazum Afzal.

FARMERS: Home & Phet Manivong & family

LOCATION: Fresno, Ca

CONTACT:

GROW: Basil, Bittermelon, Cucumber, Eggplant, Lemongrass, Long Beans, Squash, Sugarcane, Taro, Tomato & more

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

The Manivong family has sold here for more than 20 years. Everyone in the family helps to run the farm and comes to sell at the market ... even the youngest generation comes to play under the tables. Mother Phet and father Home started the farm in 1986 after moving to the United States from Laos during the Vietnam War. Home had been shot and was sent to America so that he could have surgery. He had been a farmer in Laos.

The Manivongs are proud of their selection because they are grateful to their customers for their support and pay close attention to what they want. Many farmers let their produce ripen before picking it so that it is larger and heavier when it’s weighed for purchase, but Phet says she picks when the vegetables are still small because she sees her customers prefer tender, young produce. The best thing about being a farmer, her son Yommala explains, is that he can pick his family’s produce right off the vine and eat it. So he loves to share that fresh picked taste with his family’s loyal customers.

Pedro and Rosie Medina and their family have grown berries on 30 acres in Watsonville for more than 15 years. Pedro’s father began as a berry picker and then became a broker, eventually learning how to grow berries himself. He bought land and started Medina Berry Farms. The farm is now run by the second and third generation of Medinas, who are hoping to pass on the family legacy to the fourth generation. Though the farm grows other fruits and vegetables, the berries are the Medina’s pride and joy. They recently added greenhouse-like tunnels to cover the berries, since berries are so easily damaged by rain. With these changes and improvements, Medina Berry Farms can bring their delicious, pesticide-free berries to customers with more options and less interruption.

Tony  Mellow's family has been farming in the Silicon Valley for four  generations, since the 1800s. His grandparents started the first of the   family farms, growing apricots, prunes, and pears for the local  canneries. His father continued the tradition, adding farms spread  across the San Francisco Bay area to grow walnuts and  fruit for local canneries and prune dehydrators. Tony always knew he  wanted to be a farmer and has been farming since he was 12. In 1966, he started  growing pumpkins and miscellaneous vegetables and by 1977 he owned his  own ranch in Morgan Hill. He went to the Garden City Farmers' Market in   San Jose when it opened. "That was the first of the local farmers'  markets, before farmers markets got big" he remembers. Today, he has  built his business around farmers markets and says they are the only way   small and medium sized farms will survive in an urban area. He has been selling at Heart  of the City Farmers Market since the very first day and remembers the  huge crowd of people who were lined up before dawn on opening day.    There was nowhere else to buy produce if you lived in this neighborhood  in 1981, and today is much the same.  A painting of Tony selling his  goods is incorporated in a mural on Taylor street, which was created as a  celebration of neighborhood pride. After 30 years selling here, Tony  and his produce are an important part of this neighborhood.  It's obvious he loves what he does. Tony is  also a very important part of this market, he is a dedicated volunteer  on our Board of Directors and is currently serving as Board Treasurer.  He helped start the discussion of a Friday market day with the Board  that has grown into our August 3 Friday Market grand opening.

The Teresi and Rasmussen families have a long history of farming in the Santa Clara valley, mostly growing prunes, apricots and cherries. Phil Teresi and Grace Rasmussen first met at Farm Bureau events for local young farmers and ranchers. They reconnected 10 years later after each had been involved with a handful of other farming and food related ventures. For the past 20 years they have been farming 12 acres in San Benito County. They are most proud of their dry farmed tomatoes and fruit, saving water and producing flavor-packed organic produce.

FARMERS: Nguyen Farm

LOCATION: Elk Grove, Ca

CONTACT: ngantnguyen79@gmail.com

GROW: Amaranth, Arugula, Bok Choy, Choy Sum, Pak Choi, Basil, Celery, Chrysanthemum, Cilantro, Dill, Fenugreek, Ginger, Kale, Lettuce, Mint, Peas, Purslane, Shiso, Sorrel, Thyme, Watercress & more

WHEN: Wednesdays; April- Dec

Frank Paredez’s grandfather and father came to the United States from Mexico in 1911. Frank’s grandfather worked on the railroad, traveling the US until he settled in Fresno in 1918 and purchased land in Tulare County to farm with his son. Frank Paredez grew up on that farm learning how to grow from his father and grandfather. In 1980, sixty-two years after the land was first purchased by his grandfather, Frank took over the operation. Today, Paredez Farms is still a predominantly family operation, in cooperation with a small team of workers. They specialize in a wide variety of super-sweet fruits including plums, peaches, apricots, grapes, and citrus. Frank met and fell in love with his wife Wei at Heart of the City Farmers Market while she was selling with her family at Bach Thi Phan farm.

VENDOR:

LOCATION: San Francisco, Ca

CONTACT:

SELLS:

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday, year-round

Winters Fruit Tree was started in 1930 by Phil Carter’s grandparents as a small farm selling mostly cherries and apricots to local food processors. The family moved to Winters in 1968 and concentrated on producing dried fruit, mostly apricots and prunes. By 1969, Phil’s father opened a year-round fruit stand on State Highway 128 where the family sold their dried and fresh fruit. Soon after, they began growing other products such as their signature almonds, pistachios, and walnuts. Today the family offers more than 40 different varieties of the best and freshest raw, roasted, and flavored nuts and are continually expanding their selection.

FARMERS: Apolinar & Silvia Yerena

LOCATION: Wastsonville, Ca

CONTACT:

GROW: Certified Organic: Beans, Blackberries, Boysenberries, Raspberries, Squash, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Tomatillos

WHEN: Sunday & Wednesday

Apolinar (Poli) Yerena was born in Jalisco, Mexico, in a family of four generations of farmers.  He has been farming for more than 40 years. He began working as a strawberry picker in 1967 and learned to farm on his own after the company provided his family 2.5 acres of land for sharecropping. After growing for this company for 12 years, Poli and his brother Gilberto decided to lease their own farm in Watsonville. They began in 1982 growing conventionally, but in response to market demand converted 5 trial acres to organic. The organic produce sold so well they eventually decided to transition the entire 22-acre farm in Royal Oaks to organic.

Today, Yerena Farms is operated with the help of Poli’s wife Silvia, his children, and a small team of full time employees. They have been selling certified organic strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, squash and squash blossoms directly to their customers at farmers markets for two decades. It’s a tough job, Poli explains, but he works the land because he loves it. “We are a different breed. Not everyone is made for this work. If it is cold, we go out to work. If it rains, we go.” But, he explains, it’s all worth it when he sees the joy on the faces of his customers as they taste his deliciously sweet, traditionally-farmed berries.

VENDOR: Jeffrey MacMullen

LOCATION: San Francisco, Ca

CONTACT: macmullenjeffrey@gmail.com

SELLS: Honey

WHEN: Sunday; year-round