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Health & Fitness

San Ramon Farmer's Market Move Bittersweet

Nostalgic for the former location of San Ramon's Farmers Market

As you probably know by now, San Ramon's Farmers Market opens this Saturday. And as you also probably know, it's in a new location - Bishop Ranch.

I feel positive about the future success of the farmers market in its new home. The more central location will provide improved exposure, and with that will come better attendance and increased sales.

The new market will be year round on Saturdays, with an added Thursday market from June through September. I read recently that the market will feature organic growers and artisan food producers. We will still see familiar vendors like local honey producer, Steve's Bees, and one of my favorites, Brittany's Crepes. Live music and chef demos will make for a fun and lively experience.

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While I understand the reasons behind the decision to relocate the market, I was disappointed when I heard it would no longer be held at Forest Home Farms.

For one thing, the farm is within walking distance of my house. Not that I ever actually walked there, but it was a comfort just knowing that on any summer Saturday morning, I could slip into my Skechers, make the one mile trek down San Ramon Valley Boulevard, and be transported back to a simpler time in the valley's history.

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Farmers markets are one of the few remaining bastions of a bygone era that have endured, even as our country has become more and more urbanized. Long before we filled our carts at superstores and big box mega warehouses, our ancestors surveyed, sniffed and squeezed the produce offerings of local growers at the farmer's market.

And undoubtedly, while they filled their baskets with the makings for the evening meal, market patrons back then shared the latest gossip with family and friends they met across the lettuce and artichoke bins.

And that's what I'll miss most about the former venue of San Ramon's farmers market. Not the gossip, but the friends. As a former volunteer at the farm, I made many lasting friendships with my fellow volunteers. So whenever I attended the farmer's market, it was a chance to reconnect, while taking in the home town atmosphere of the surroundings. Okay, I'll miss the gossip, too.

To be honest, my primary reason for attending every Saturday was for the conversation. I'm not much of a cook, so I didn't make many purchases, except for a morning cup of coffee, fresh fruit in season, and of course, a bag of deliciously addictive kettle corn. Growing up in the Oakland hills, I never experienced the sense of belonging that I imagine one gets upon encountering familiar faces while walking along main street in some small Midwestern town.

I got that feeling at the former farmers market. I knew I could stop in at the Gift Shoppe and chat with whoever was behind the counter that day. I could count on running into a couple of city employees whom I had gotten to know during my volunteer days. I could stroll to the upper field, and chat with the tractor guys who were conducting the rides that day.

For me, the farmer's market at Forest Home Farms was a slice of small town America in the suburbs. I'll miss that.

But on the upside, with the new location, I won't have to keep coming up with excuses for not walking there. 

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