The first San Francisco farmers’ market was established in 1943, and locals have been obsessed with getting their produce straight from the source ever since. These days almost every neighborhood has its own market, bursting with organic fruits and vegetables, gourmet goods and free-range meats that many of the finest San Francisco restaurants use to create their dishes. Some markets even offer live music, entertainment and educational events. For the most variety, including hard-to-find Asian greens and wild mushrooms, try the city’s three largest markets at the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, on Alemany Boulevard in Bernal Heights and in Civic Center’s United Nations Plaza.
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More than 100 fruit and veggie growers and artisan food makers fill the stalls in front and along the south side of the Ferry Building three days a week. On Saturdays, heavily trafficked food stands like Primavera’s gourmet Mexican food and free public education programs feed the bellies and minds of the market’s 30,000 visitors.
1 Ferry Building at Embarcadero
Tues, Thurs 10am-2pm, Sat 8am-2pm
Fillmore Farmers’ Market combines fresh farm produce, artisanal food producers and live music for a feel-good shopping experience in the heart of the city’s former Jazz District. Regular fixtures at this year-round market include Artesana Sausages, Coastside Farms fresh smoked wild salmon and the produce grown by family farms in Fresno and Watsonville.
1740 O'Farrell St at Fillmore St
Saturday 9am-1pm
The weekly bayside Fort Mason Farmers’ Market hosts more than three-dozen vendors each Sunday. The only farmers’ market option in the city with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Mason offers an extensive selection of seasonal, organic fruits and vegetables and artisanal prepared foods.
Fort Mason Center at Marina Ave
Sunday 9:30am-1:30pm
Though it’s only active one evening each week, the Mission Community Market is a thriving part of the neighborhood. On Thursdays, more than 80 vendors (half of which come from women-owned farms and businesses) team up with bilingual health and education prgrams and local performers to make this farmers’ market a grocery shopping experience worth putting on the calendar.
84 Bartlett St at Mission St
Thursday 4pm-8pm (April-November)
This nonprofit farmer-operated market in Civic Center’s United Nations Plaza has been bringing fresh produce to the neighborhood for 35 years. Fruits and vegetables here, along with staples such as fresh eggs and local honey, are inexpensively priced and the market gives away over a million dollars a year in food assistance. If you’re looking for Asian vegetables such as baby bok choy, lemongrass, cherry blossom branches and Thai basil, this market always has a stellar selection.
United Nations Plaza between 7th and 8th St
Wednesday 7am-5:30pm, Sunday 7am-5pm
Established in 1943, the Alemany Farmers’ Market holds the distinction of being California’s first. Among its stalls, family farmers and artisan food producers sell organic and seasonal fruits and veggies from crookneck squash and parsnips to hot chili peppers and pomegranates. The Alemany Farmers’ Market is open from dawn to dusk and is one of the few in the city with plenty of free parking.
100 Alemany Blvd at Peralta Ave
Saturday dawn-dusk
It’s not the city’s largest farmers’ market—you’ll only find a few dozen vendors here each Wednesday evening—but it’s one of its liveliest. Each week, a rotating calendar of local musicians accompany shoppers in their search for the perfect produce and artisanal delights. Wade through piles of seasonal veggies, fresh cheeses, flowers and other locally produced goodies from small-businesses like From the Sea to You and Rainbow Orchards.
288 Noe St at Market St
Wed 4–8pm (March-November)
This Inner Richmond farmers’ market run by the Agricultural Institute of Marin features more than 50 vendors each Sunday. Farm stands of locally grown, seasonal produce stand side-by-side with purveyors of local seafood, grass-fed beef and fresh-cut flowers along a two-block span of Clement Street. Open year-round, rain or shine.
Clement St at 2nd Ave
Sunday 9am-2pm
After the sudden loss of the neighborhood’s local foods store 15 years ago, Noe Valley came together to organize a weekly farmers’ market to take its place. Thanks to their efforts, every Saturday the Noe Valley Town Square has hosted family farms and independent food vendors in an intimate market. You’ll find stalls here from Garden Variety Cheese, Swanton Berry Farms and Sour Flour Bread, as well as the best fruits and veggies Northern California has to offer.
3861 24th St at Vicksburg St
Saturday 8am-1pm
With a bouncy house and other kid-friendly accomodations, it's not hard to see why the Stonestown Farmers’ Market was once named the city’s best for families by SF Weekly. For the adults, pickled and canned goods, fresh meats and seafood and seasonal vegetables are sold by a 65 vendor army that sets up each week outside Stonestown Galleria. Thanks to loads of free parking, this year-round market is a great option for both a quick shopping trip or a full-morning of fun.
3251 20th Ave at Buckingham Way
Sundays 9am–1pm
Whether you’re a seasoned vintage clothing store scout, a casual collector of antiques in San Francisco, a practiced haggler or simply an unabashed lover of cheap date ideas, these San Francisco flea markets cater to every sensibility.
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