Sierra foothills’ farmers markets getting underway

OUR AREA OFFERS AN ABUNDANCE of fresh, local produce from dozens of small farms around Nevada City, Grass Valley, Auburn, Loomis and Newcastle. Truckee is served by some in Plumas County, such as Sierra Valley Farms, as well as ones in the foothills.

The fresh, local fruits and vegetables, meats, poultry and eggs are sold at farmers markets: Foothill Farmers Market, Jardin del Rio in South Nevada County, the Nevada County Certified Grower’s Market, Grass Valley Thursday Night Market and the Nevada City Farmers Market, among others.

Most of the markets open in Spring (April for the Nevada County Certified Grower’s Market and June for the Nevada City Farmers Market and Grass Valley Thursdays Night Market, for example).

Some are year-round, such as the Foothill Farmers Market in Auburn.

We also have farm stands such as Bierwagen’s Donner Trail Fruit in Chicago Park, and Ikedas and Machado Orchards in Auburn.

BriarPatch Co-op in Grass Valley, California Organics in Nevada City, Mother Truckers north of Nevada City, Newcastle Produce, New Earth Market in Yuba City and Tahoe Central Market in Kings Beach all specialize in fresh, local produce and meats.

Some farms, such as Mountain Bounty Farms, Sweet Roots Farm and others, also offer weekly CSA’s (or “veggies in a box”). The Sierra Meat Buyer’s Club also is popular.

Our area has its own cookbooks with seasonal recipes from the local farmers markets: The Art of Real Food: Seasonal Recipes for Every Week of the Year and Placer County Real Food, by authors Joanne Neft and Laura Kenny. Their theme: scratch cooking with local food 52 weeks a year.

Local Farmers Markets

FOOTHILL FARMERS MARKET has a dozen markets including:
Saturday Auburn (Courthouse) and Rocklin
Sunday Granite Bay
Tuesday Roseville, Truckee Regional Park and Kings Beach
Wednesday Auburn (DeWitt Center) and Foresthill
Thursday Folsom, Tahoe City, Downtown Truckee FoothillFarmersMarket.com

GRASS VALLEY THURSDAY NIGHT MARKET
Thursdays in historic downtown Grass Valley. HistoricGrassValley.com

NEVADA CITY FARMERS MARKET
Saturdays 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Union St. in historic downtown. NCFarmersMarket.org

NEVADA COUNTY CERTIFIED GROWERS MARKET
Saturdays 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. North Star House, Grass Valley TheGrowersMarket.com

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