At Mariposa’s Farmer’s Market, Fresh Food Finds a Foothold

By Dan Tucker

On a sunlit stretch at the bottom of Sixth Street, where the surrounding landscape settles into a modest county parking lot, the Mariposa Certified Farmers’ Market has become a small but vivid answer to a broad national appetite for fresher, healthier food.

Across the country, more Americans have been turning, incrementally but unmistakably, toward fresh fruit and vegetables. Under U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, that slow-moving trend has moved into sharper public view.

In Mariposa, the movement has a distinctly local face: a compact, resilient market filled with leafy greens, fragrant breads, colorful fruit, earthy mushrooms, pasture-raised meats, bright flowers and carefully made artisan goods.

The market, now a stand-alone nonprofit, is managed by Lauren Gilken, a key figure at Raw Roots Farm in Cathey’s Valley. Gilken is an unelected volunteer manager and is now in her fifth year guiding the operation.

According to Gilken, the Mariposa Kiwanis Club once operated the farmers’ market but ended its sponsorship about five years ago. “Basically, no one else wanted to step up, but I wanted to make sure it didn’t go away so I volunteered,” Gilken said. “I needed to find another fiscal sponsor, but that didn’t happen, so I started a non-profit about two years ago.”

Gilken said she does not make the market’s decisions alone. An advisory committee, made up of vendors who have been part of the market for at least two years, helps steer the organization. “I’m also a vendor, so that would be awkward if I was on that committee,” she said.

The market now stands on its own feet and receives no financial support from Mariposa County. Still, its work remains connected to local government. Its certified status depends on a relationship with the county Department of Agriculture, and because the market operates year-round on county property at 5029 Stroming Road, it requires an encroachment permit from Public Works.

“At least twice a year the ag department comes and inspects our vendors to make sure they are certificated,” Gilken said. The inspections are intended to verify that vendors are selling products they have grown, raised, baked or made themselves.

To be a certified farmers’ market in California, agricultural products sold as certified must be grown or produced by the vendor. For shoppers, Gilken said, that designation carries a clear promise. “We’re proudly a certified market, that gives a lot of assurance to the buying public,” she said. “This means customers are buying a product that was either grown, raised, or baked by the person selling it.”

The certification also opens the door to food-access programs, including SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and EBT, Electronic Benefits Transfer.

As part of the Market Match program, shoppers who use an EBT/SNAP card at the farmers’ market and spend $15 or more can receive $15 in Market Match tokens. Those tokens can be used only for fresh fruits, vegetables and mushrooms purchased at the market.

“We have a card reader at a specific table for processing SNAP and EBT payments,” Gilken said. “They swipe their card and get ‘wooden’ nickels, which they can use to pay the vendors. The vendors don’t have to do any processing; we make sure they get paid the same day.”

The market also offers a Kids Market in coordination with the Mariposa County Department of Health and Human Services and the county Health Department. The program, which has been running for about four years, gives young shoppers a direct way to bring fresh produce home.

On specific dates listed on the market’s website, children ages six months to 18 years old are eligible to receive $5 in “market bucks” to spend on fruits and vegetables. The child must be present to receive the money, and the offer is good while supplies last.

At a time when grocery-store produce can be costly, perishable and sometimes limited, the programs offer practical relief to families who need it most.

The Mariposa market currently has 14 vendors, creating a varied, homespun mix of produce, prepared foods, specialty goods and handmade creations.

The vendor list includes Shasky Farms, Raw Roots Farm, Serrano Farms, Olds Family Farm, Country Nerd Farm, FAT Cattle, WildFlour, Shelly’s Jellies and Sweet Stuff, L&J Mexican Food, Sierra Soap Company, Fantasy Oaks, Kitchen Farms, Beck’s Bakehouse and Bartolome Blooms. Together, they bring a lively spread of seasonal produce, organic offerings, mushrooms, beef, baked goods, Mexican food, soaps, flowers and other market staples. Descriptions of each vendor’s offerings are available at mariposafarmersmarket.com.

Gilken said she has received a new vendor application. Vendors pay $50 per year and an additional $10 for each market. “We try to keep our fees low, so the vendors have a good chance of recouping their costs,” she said.

The summer market runs every Wednesday from May through October, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at 5029 Stroming Road, at the bottom of Sixth Street. Gilken said the market probably averages about 100 customers each Wednesday.

Last season, the market also stretched into the quieter winter months, operating from November through April on the first and third Wednesdays from 3 to 5 p.m. “That was the first time we had run the market in the winter, and it turned out really well, and the community was very thankful,” Gilken said.

Up-to-date information is available on the organization’s Facebook page: Mariposa Certified Farmers’ Market.