Sacramento farmers market sees early shoppers beating the heat
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Shoppers and vendors at the Sacramento farmers market along X Street started their day early on Sunday, arriving before the official 8 a.m. opening to beat the heat and grab the freshest goods.
By 7 a.m., the temperature in Sacramento was already 67 degrees, a preview of the rising heat expected later in the day.
“Oh, it’s been pretty good. It’s been a little up and down with the weather,” said Brian Hooper of Patrick’s Garden.
Mike Campuzano of M&L Campuzano Farms noted the typical pattern of late-morning crowds.
“They come late here, always, like 10 o’clock, 11 o’clock—they are full here,” he said.
Michelle Robinson, an early shopper, explained her strategy.
“Wanna get here to beat the heat, number one. Number two, I want everything as fresh as I can get it,” she said.
“It’s a good time to come early morning before it gets crowded and get out of here before it starts the heat,” said Gabi Habi, another early shopper.
“When it’s hot, you get an earlier rush,” said Leeann Robinson, who also arrived early. “You get people that are aware of their surroundings and wanna get in and get out.”
Melissa, a farmer who has been running her stand at the market for seven years, shared her journey into farming.
“I was a stay-at-home mom for 13 years. I raised my children and kinda grew this stuff and raised chickens. And then it kinda naturally evolved into a farm,” she said.
She emphasized the importance of the Sunday market to her livelihood. “
It’s huge. This is a produce-driven market, so a lot of our farm income comes from here. Comes from people who care about where their food’s from, how it’s grown. And this market is just known for people that come here for that,” she said.
Hooper, meanwhile, is already thinking ahead to the next season.
“We’re going to have to start getting our winter crops in by about the end of August so that they have time to root and start getting big enough for when the weather starts changing cold,” he said.
For some shoppers, the market is also a family tradition.
“You know, these flowers are for my mom, my main thing to look for. My sister’s the cook, so she’s getting all the vegetables. She’s lucky that I woke up early to come with her,” said Leeann Robinson, laughing.
As the morning progressed and temperatures began to climb, early risers had already made the most of the cooler hours at the market.
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