The Palm Springs Certified Farmers’ Market (PSCFM) is humming with people. Tasty jazz is being piped through the sound system, and folks are chatting with vendors, chatting with each other, roving the ample aisles, sampling produce and, of course, filling their reusable market bags with a cornucopia of fresh foods.
No one's in a hurry; this is just as much an experience as it is a place to buy local fresh goods. Almost all of the vendors farm within a 100 mile radius of the market. They are small businesses that farm multiple crops on their land. Every produce canopy you see belongs to a family owned and operated small farm, and there’s nary a sign of big business hanging around.
It feels warm, and not just because of the sun. It’s because the market harkens back to a kinder, gentler America, when small towns knew all of the shopkeepers, farmers, and they all knew the townspeople by name. As manager of the Coachella Valley Certified Farmers’ Markets, Megan Goehring oversees all three markets: Palm Springs (Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) , La Quinta (Sundays, 8 a.m to 12:30 p.m.) and Palm Desert (Wednesdays, 8 a.m to 12:30 p.m.), "It's like I'm the mayor of a tiny town that's only open for four hours at a time in three different places," says Goehring, only half-joking.
This is Goehring's 11th year with the Coachella Valley Food Markets. Her responsibilities have increased over the years, but it is her first role, as a consumer, that advises it all. She had been looking for a community supported agriculture (CSA) to join for 12 years and, spoiler alert, there wasn't one (a CSA is purchasing a monthly box from a specific grower). So when the Certified Farmers’ Market opened in Palm Springs in 2008, she was enthusiastic, to say the least. "I stood in line for 20 minutes to buy a head of broccoli on that first day with a big smile on my face. I didn't even care because it was so exciting to have really awesome, fresh produce, sold directly from the farmers," she recalls.
Because it’s certified, there are no interlopers or imposters here. "It's not just someone that brought a bunch of stuff up from Mexico, or went to the Los Angeles Produce Market and repurposed it in a box and said, "Yes, this is Happy Valley Farm," Goehring says. "They're real farms, in a real place. People come to inspect them to make sure they're actually growing what they say they're growing," she says. The event's main goal is to provide an economic platform for small family farms. "We serve as a business incubator for them," Goehring adds.
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If you think Certified Farmers’ Markets are for hipsters, here’s a reality check: the market was bursting with people of every ilk, every age, and every walk of life. And for those who have come on hard times, all of the markets accept EBT CalFresh cards, the government nutrition program that used to be called food stamps. "We are part of a consortium of farmers' markets throughout California that applied and got a big federal grant, so that we can match those dollars, 10-for-10," Goehring explains. "So if people who are on CalFresh come and spend $10 of their money, I can give them an additional $10 to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables."
The Certified Farmers’ Markets also support Women, Infants and Children (WIC), another nutrition program aimed at helping young families eat healthy. Goehring explains how it works: “If WIC families buy our Market Buck tokens, which is our in-house currency that anyone can purchase, they also get 10-for-10. So the markets are for everyone," Goehring says.
The Palm Springs Cultural Center is the nonprofit organization that oversees the markets, and where the PSCFM is held every Saturday — outdoors during the winter months, and inside the theater complex during the summer. But the markets are not the center’s only involvement. They also provide a nutrition education outreach program for the schools. "We go to third grade classrooms all across the Coachella Valley and we do a one-hour presentation about the benefits of eating local produce," Goehring relates. "So we teach them the nutritional benefits, the economic benefits, the ecological benefits of eating local produce. The kids totally love it."
This past summer they received a grant from the Palm Springs based Anderson Children's Foundation, a phlanthropic endeavor to assist children through grants. "They gave us $20,000 to expand that program so that not only do we go into the classrooms and talk about the benefits of eating local produce, the following week they get on a bus and come to our Palm Desert Farmers' Market,” says Goehring. “They take a tour and we give them money to buy produce, and we give them coupons, so if they come back to the market with their families then they have more money to spend."
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The Certified Farmers’ Markets aren’t just farm produce, they also support local artisans: breadmakers, teas, coffee, pet food, skin care, spices, honey, chocolate, as well as seafood and beef. If you’re looking for immediate gratification, local restaurants such as On The Mark, Chef Tanya’s Kitchen, Nancy’s Pantry and Fresh Squeeze Smoothies are on hand for a quick bite to eat. Goehring is also working with Workshop Kitchen+Bar to provide pizzas, and another vendor from Temecula that will serve empanadas.
“We give artisan food vendors a place to connect to customers, make a name for themselves,” Goehring says. “Some go on to open brick-and-mortars or to a wider distribution. For instance, Townie Bagels (in Palm Springs) started in the market, and also Raw Remedy Juice, which is downtown in La Plaza. We provided them a springboard.”
Not all of the vendors go to all of the farmers’ markets, so check the website, but also know that Goehring isn’t done adding vendors. She’s always on the lookout for local artisans, and always open to new farms that meet their requirements. She’s the confident redhead who looks like a teenager walking the market and making sure that everything is just so. After all, she’s the proud Mayor of Tiny Town, and she loves her job.
For more information, visit certifiedfarmersmarkets.org.