Parents strolled through the Prince of Peace farmers market on Oct. 27, chatting with different vendors about their products, while their children examined and sampled assortments of seasonal fruits such as peaches, plums and persimmons.
Since 2018, the Prince of Peace weekly Wednesday farmers market has been run by manager Heather Harlow, and is currently located near the Prince of Peace Church on Saratoga Avenue. Before August 2018, it was located in downtown Saratoga near Big Basin.
“We’re a year-round market and we’ve grown since we’ve moved here,” Harlow said. “I think being here at the church is a bit better because we have more parking and it’s a more visible spot for people to see.”
With the new location, Harlow helps with marketing and organizing the general display of the farmers market. In addition, she also has her own stand, where she sells fresh fish.
“I actually work two hats here: selling fish as a vendor and managing the market,” Harlow said. “It’s kind of like I have two jobs.”
The Prince of Peace farmers market is most active during the spring, summer and early fall due to the more plentiful supply of fruits and vegetables. During the summertime, Harlow likes to hire more artists such as painters, potters, or singing groups to perform for crowds.
Harlow believes that running the farmers market is great for supporting small businesses. She said each vendor is technically their own business, whether they work for themselves or someone else.
The market is known for selling fresh, homemade products with no preservatives. While they specialize in homemade snacks such as popcorn, granola, hummus and jam, they also sell ordinary fruits and vegetables. The fruits and vegetables have their own stands, and are managed by different vendors.
“Sometimes, we pick the fruit the same day we bring it to the market,” said Jorge Mendoza, who manages the fruit stands. “Meanwhile in grocery stores, the fruit has to be refrigerated at least a couple of weeks before it comes out to the community.”
Customers at the market agree that the fresh products are one of the various reasons they shop there.
“I shop at the market to support small businesses, and the food is also a bit fresher. It’s interesting to see what everybody sells each week,” one customer said.
Fruit sales at the market are a booming business, with an average of 1,000 pounds of nectarines and 300 pounds of melons sold per day, according to Mendoza. Most of the fruits sell for about $4 per pound, an increase from previous years due to inflation. Almost all of the vendors have had to increase their prices to stay in business, according to vendor Larry Cohen, who sells over 10 different kinds of hummus at his stand “Hummus Heaven.”
Despite inflation threatening many of the stands’ bottom lines, Cohen still manages to sell fresh hummus every Wednesday with a positive attitude. In fact, one of his favorite parts about selling at the market is watching customers’ reactions to the samples of hummus.
“Most people think that salespeople are just saying anything to get business,” Cohen said. “But there’s an old saying in sales or when you’re selling food: ‘It doesn’t matter what you say. Once people put the food in their mouth, they stop listening, because that tells them everything they need to know.’”
Cohen’s enjoyment of watching customers sample hummus correlates with his love for talking with his customers.
“I like dealing with people, and I find it fun to interact with them. I have a great product and it’s entertaining for me to tell somebody how good it is,” Cohen said.
Other vendors agree that interacting with customers is one of their favorite parts about selling at the market, along with spending time in the community itself.
“I call the farmers market Disneyland for adults because everyone’s usually happy,” Harlow said. “There’s fresh fruit, happy faces, and you build relationships as a vendor, market manager and customer. Everybody here is just the most giving, caring people that I’ve ever worked with.”
