Bay Area Farmers Markets Push for Locally-Sourced Thanksgiving Meals

With Thanksgiving just days away, many people are planning just what exactly will be on the dinner table this Thursday. But vendors at Bay Area farmers markets have been getting ready for this week for months.

Now all that preparation is paying off.

This Sunday, the San Rafael Civic Center Market saw thousands of shoppers looking for Thanksgiving staples such as beans, potatoes and carrots.

Agricultural Institute of Marin puts on this market, which regularly sees more than 10,000 people every Sunday. It’s the organizations largest market with more than 200 local vendors, according to CEO Bridgitte Moran.

“We’re trying to get the word out to make this a locally-sourced holiday,” Moran said. “Our vendors are small family farmers, and we need to support them.”

One of those farmers is Ken Orchard, of Orchard Farms in Sebastopol. Orchard says he’s been planning for Thanksgiving week since March. Now he’s offering parsnips, rutabagas, celery, sage, shallots and several other vegetables at his stall.

“I’m selling everything I could think of that’s required in a Thanksgiving recipe,” Orchard said.

Another Thanksgiving staple for many Bay Area families is dungeness crab thanks to a fishing season that coincides with the holiday.

Gary Root from Sausalito’s Same Day Seafood has been taking crab pre-orders since August.

“We have been fishing like crazy this week, and we’re already sold out of dungeness crab this morning,” Root said.

Thanksgiving is one of Root’s favorite weeks to work at the San Rafael market because he says the holiday is really all about the food.

“It’s so much fun to see so many people excited about locally produced food,” he said. “That’s the great part of Thanksgiving, that we can feed ourselves here.”

Several Bay Area farmers markets organizations including CUESA, Agricultural Institute of Marin and California Farmers’ Market Association will be holding a special Wednesday markets this week for folks looking to make last minute purchases for Thursday’s meal.