Farmers Market Update – September 2022

Congratulations to Anne’s Toum for their feature in the SF Chronicle: This sauce debuted at Bay Area farmers markets. Now it’s in Williams Sonoma.

Congratulations to the following founders for joining The Lab + The Accelerator at ICA:

Pound Bizness – Reggie Borders and Nicole Felix-Borders
Rize Up – Azikiwee Anderson
Tha MF’n Vegan – Bria Hutson
Volcano Kimchi – Aruna Lee

Market Participant Spotlight:

kubé –

kubé is a Black woman-owned, vegan, artisanal, full-fat coconut ice cream womanfacturer and social enterprise in Oakland, California. We produce our own “nice cream” by cold-pressing organic mature coconuts to make the BEST TASTING and most luxurious, creamy, and vibrant creamy vegan ice cream. We only use real mama earth seeds, fruit, roots, espresso, and citrus oils to make the most clean and vibrant flavors. No synthetic chemicals (no Sodium Metabisulfite), no artificial flavors or colors, no soy, and no gluten.

Petit Teton –

We are a small old-fashioned family farm canning everything we grow. Our motto is: “We grow it. We can it,” and the commercial kitchen we built is the heart of the farm. Our animals have large areas in which to roam. Since the climate is Mediterranean nearly everything grows. Our son put in an aquaponic system that grows tropical varietals such as turmeric. The farm is open daily to drop-ins!

Encina Farms –

Encina Farms is dedicated to growing Iberico hogs with the utmost attention paid to quality standards and leveraging new practices with no hormones or antibiotics. We incorporate traditional Spanish practices and methods, such as finishing our hogs on a diet of acorns to improve their flavor and nutritional profile. The richer, more complex and interesting flavor truly differentiates our product from what else you find on the market.

September Entertainment Schedule:

9/3/22 – Ashley Jemison – Saxophonist performing Soul/R&B/Pop music

9/10/22 – The Season of Us – The Season of Us (Troubadours for The Great Awakening) Is a heartfelt instrumental family-orientated husband and wife musical duo. The music incorporates a myriad of musical styles such as: Light Latin Spices, Boss Nova Blends, Jazz Colorings, and relaxing yet engaging rhythms. Our infectious grooves can’t help but stimulate your spirit and touch you at a deep level. If you allow yourself to be taken, these gentle harmonies and flowing rhythms will open your heart to experience yourself and your life in a new and different way.

9/17/22 – Suzanne Holland – Guitar and vocals covering traditional folk songs

9/24/22 – Rico Sisney – Rico Sisney is a recording artist and performer artist based on the West Coast. He is the emcee for Chicago-based hip hop, soul, jazz band Sidewalk Chalk and the vocalist/keyboardist for House of Whales, an alternative hiphop group based in Oakland. His solo live beat-making shows are built around connecting with the audience through improvisation, crowd participation, and socially conscious lyricism. He was the founder and creative director of The Gala Chicago (an artist collective) and acted as music director for HipHop Chicago’s productions in China and the U.S. Outside of his music, he is an NVDA trainer and an educator.

New Market Participant Pipeline (these folks are confirmed to join but do not have a firm start date yet):

Mill Valley Pasta Co. – makes small batch artisan bronze- and brass-cut pastas and various products meant to adorn or accompany pasta. Our pastas are made with organic semolina (gluten-free pasta is also available) and are slowly dried in open air for superior bite and texture. Our provisions are made with local ingredients, often sourced from the local farms that also vend at the markets we attend. Our fresh pastas are made only hours before they make their way to market and feature unique flavors highlighting both the chef’s inspiration, seasonality, and locally available products.

Rize Up Bakery – a fledgling San Francisco-based Black-owned bakery focused on reinventing and rethinking traditional sourdough. Rize Up started as a quarantine project in Spring 2020, born in response to the social unrest caused by the murder of George Floyd and the disparate impact of the pandemic on the Black community. Founder Azikiwee Anderson was overcome with a need to make a difference and hopefully inspire young Black and Brown bakers to think outside the traditional box as representation matters. Rize Up wants to change the world one loaf of beautiful and thoughtful bread at a time, and share our love of delicious, thoughtfully baked breads made with natural, organic , sustainable, high quality ingredients! Honored to feed your soul.

Dooryard Provisions – a small batch, locally packaged food business focusing on seasonal and hand-foraged foods. Choose between local seaweeds, herbal tisanes, healing spice blends, and provisions for your journey or every day. Dooryard Provisions are made from all organic ingredients and focus on using seasonal, foraged and gleaned foods as well as using local farmers from throughout Sonoma and Marin counties.

Brundo Spice Company – an Ethiopian Women-Owned Company that prioritizes sustainable and equitable business practices, from our farm to your kitchen. From Modjo, to North Oakland, to you — we are committed to bringing the highest quality goods from Ethiopia and show the world the beauty of East African cuisine through heirloom spices and herbs. All of our products are imported directly from our processing facility in Modjo, Ethiopia, where they are locally grown, harvested, sun-dried, and blended.

Aztecali Original Mexican Seasonings – Original Mexican seasonings and spices.

Full Belly Bakery – Founded by Oakland native, Eva Allen. Full Belly is a made-from-scratch bakery that specializes in flavor over sweetness. We believe dessert doesn’t have to be something that is tolerated and kills your sweet tooth. We are confident you’ll find our cakes bursting with flavor and the perfect centerpiece for your next celebration.

Out for Season:

Tomato Man

Rainbow Ranch

Gotelli Cherries

Triple Delight Blueberries

Quit Market:

Nicasio Valley Cheese

Squabish Pretzels

Stone Root
Pang Yang

Early Bird Farm & Mill
Capay

Chaga Mushroom Co.

Dan Foster has been a market manager with AIM since 2017 and is currently managing the Grand Lake Oakland Farmers Markets. Prior to his time with AIM, Dan spent eleven years in produce/retail management at Whole Foods Market. Dan lives in Novato with his wife and three daughters. He studied Music Business/Management at Berklee College of Music in Boston. In his free time, he makes music, plays games, or hoops it up in a local basketball rec league.
Contact: dan@agriculturalinstitute.org

Splashpad News

Farmers Market Update – September 2022

Splashpad News