Bay Area Farmers Markets Push for Locally-Sourced Thanksgiving Meals

Dave Hale shows off a pink lady apple grown at his Sebastopol orchard. Hale suggests to use a variety of apples in Thanksgiving pies and tarts. (Tiffany Camhi/KQED)

With Thanksgiving just days away, many people are planning just what exactly will be on the dinner table this Thursday. But vendors at Bay Area farmers markets have been getting ready for this week for months.

Now all that preparation is paying off.

This Sunday, the San Rafael Civic Center Market saw thousands of shoppers looking for Thanksgiving staples such as beans, potatoes and carrots.

Julie Rosotti of Rosotti Ranch sells several turkey alternatives including goat, veal and chicken. Rosotti recommends roasting a heritage chicken for those hosting a small Thanksgiving. (Tiffany Camhi/KQED)

Agricultural Institute of Marin puts on this market, which regularly sees more than 10,000 people every Sunday. It's the organizations largest market with more than 200 local vendors, according to CEO Bridgitte Moran.

“We’re trying to get the word out to make this a locally-sourced holiday,” Moran said. “Our vendors are small family farmers, and we need to support them.”

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One of those farmers is Ken Orchard, of Orchard Farms in Sebastopol. Orchard says he’s been planning for Thanksgiving week since March. Now he’s offering parsnips, rutabagas, celery, sage, shallots and several other vegetables at his stall.

Ken Orchard sells Thanksgiving staples including sage and root vegetables. (Tiffany Camhi/KQED)

“I’m selling everything I could think of that’s required in a Thanksgiving recipe,” Orchard said.

Another Thanksgiving staple for many Bay Area families is dungeness crab thanks to a fishing season that coincides with the holiday.

Gary Root from Sausalito’s Same Day Seafood has been taking crab pre-orders since August.

“We have been fishing like crazy this week, and we’re already sold out of dungeness crab this morning,” Root said.

Gary Root filets coho salmon at his market stand. He had sold out of dungeness crab by 10 a.m. (Tiffany Camhi/KQED)

Thanksgiving is one of Root's favorite weeks to work at the San Rafael market because he says the holiday is really all about the food.

“It’s so much fun to see so many people excited about locally produced food,” he said. “That’s the great part of Thanksgiving, that we can feed ourselves here.”

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Bay Area Farmers Markets Push for Locally-Sourced Thanksgiving Meals

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