Most Saturday mornings, you can find a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, honey, baked goods and more, with vendors setting up shop at 2996 McHenry in Escalon.
The Small Town Roots Farmers Market runs 9 a.m. to noon during the summer, with an occasional Saturday off. This week, the market will not be in operation due to the weekend’s Park Fete celebration, but will return on July 20. The market that day is scheduled to include some special activities for kids, hosted by PMZ.
Vendors on hand for the July 6 market generally said they are pleased with the way the second year of the market is going, but always would like to see more people make their way to the site on Saturday mornings.
Kathleen Sewell and Doug McKercher operate Cassidy Farms on Von Glahn and had various fruits and vegetables at their booth on Saturday, as well as loofah, which they grow and sell and can be used like the commercially available bath scrubbing items.
They also have beans, peaches, almonds, pecans and more.
“It takes about six months to grow the loofah,” Sewell said, noting that she has hers trellised to allow for it to spread out.
“We are all natural, no chemicals, no pesticides” she added of the produce.
Chris Stagnaro of Linden had a booth with flowers and produce and said he does ‘subscription boxes’ for his produce as well as attends different markets around the area.
The Saturday mornings often feature live music and the July 6 performers were Beverly Claussen and Mike Quinn, forming Reflection, and providing some smooth sounds for shopping.
Elsewhere, the husband and wife team of Richard and Nilah Hazzard were on hand with fresh roasted and packaged coffee, which they roast in Lodi, and also had their hand carved artwork on display.
Jennifer Frisk of Dashing Dogs out of Ripon had her portable trailer set up with plenty of stock, both for pets “and their people,” she said, with clothing, dog toys, specialty T-shirts and more.
Several booths, including those offering Chessie’s specialty baked goods and the local Delfa’s Garden, are weekly staples at the market and more vendors are still being sought as the events continue through the summer.
