Local Farmers Markets, Shops & Stands I Love!

I love sourcing locally grown products and am so thankful to live in area that's so diverse in its offerings, here are my favorites!

1. Modesto Farmers Market - My Saturday morning go-to market when we need some extra fruit/veg in the house! Often offering live music and lately hosting a local chef to demonstrate fresh cooking ideas and offer samples. We normally come home with organic milk and cheese, hummus and pita chips, duck eggs, strawberry's, apple juice, carrots, flowers, garlic, ect ect! Not the biggest market but compared to Turlock and Oakdale's' markets, it certainly is heavier in food items, which is what we enjoy most in a farmers market.

2. SON's Farm Fresh in Oakdale - This little farm stand is run by a group of young sibling entrepreneurs! the shelves are well stocked with locally grown produce, eggs, honey, sauces, nuts and other food products at decent prices. They also often host farm theme events, their most notable being their Halloween setup complete with hundreds of pumpkins for sale, a haunted house and great photography setups! Year-round they have a petting zoo with farm animals and even a reptile room! Great place to pickup fresh ingredients when you can't make it to a farmers market.

3. Ripon Farmers Market - A decent drive away from home for me but I recently visited this market for the first time. On Thursday nights 50+ vendors join for a really lively market! Food trucks, entertainment, lots of produce and other food items available, plus a beautiful community garden out back where you can picnic with your fresh goods! The best part of it all is that a portion of the markets proceeds go to Garden Joy, a nonprofit that runs the community garden there to offer free kids education classes, the produce that comes from this community garden is then donated to local food pantries. Isn't that just the most perfect thing?

4. Oakdale Cheese - This little cheese shop in Oakdale is the place to go for putting together the ultimate gift basket, and they have the baskets too! Cheeses made on site, fresh baked raisin loaves, cookies, brownies, local spices and sauces and jams, decorative cheese cutting sets. Big windows at the back of the store allow view into the cheese making process, machinery in full swing, along with historical memento's from the family that started the business. The stars of the show? The double koi pond out front and goats in the back. In fact for $1 you can buy a baggie of goat feed to hand feed them! They also offer $5 grill cheeses so you can taste the product right away! For $6 you can make it a ham & cheese! A super peaceful weekend stop just at the edge of town! In the same parking lot a seasonal flower stand can also be found.

5. Mazzeltov Farm Soap Co. in Waterford - If you were to ask me where I get my face lotion, body soap, locally grown flour and health tinctures, this is the spot! Mazzeltov produces luxurious goat milk based body soap bars, liquid hand and body soaps, lotion, bath mixes, and more! They also carry lots of unique local products, like flour, teas, coffee, books, spice mixes, sauces and more! The world needs more stores like this!

6. Waterford Farmers Market - Hosted right in the Mazzeltov parking lot, every Friday afternoon from May-June. This small market is packed and well planned, with live music, food trucks and a great collection of vendors, from local bakers, butchers, florists, cheesemakers and more!

7. Natures Whole Food Depot in Sonora - I've been following their Instagram account for a while and hadn't visited before until earlier this year, on the way back from a day trip to Pinecrest my husband and I stopped at a restaurant that happened to be on the same street, where I spotted the stores sign! It was a dream! Imagine 'Sprouts' grocery store but smaller and with far more locally grown items, diy kits, books on natural cooking and homesteading, natural medicinals and so so many bulk herbs, teas and spices. They even have a juice bar and a garden center in the back! It could spend hours in there. For the non-toxic minded shopper - this place has every option for just about any household item AND including organic foods. They even carried Raw Farms dairy products in the freezer! I wish there were more stores around like this!

8. Columbia Mercantile - Another little gem of a grocery store, this one located inside Columbia Historical park and the shop owner and employees dress the part in button down long sleeve dresses! In talking with the shop owner she explained to me that her goal with the shop was to not only keep the history alive but to also adapt the store for the modern consumer, she aims to source products she knows can be hard to find. along the wall behind the register is canned foods, jars of sauces and spices, at the counter fresh sourdough and locally grown flower arrangements. the shelves are filled with local produce and a wide range of dry goods. The right walls fridges and freezers are filled with local beer, organic dairy, hummus, local meats including turkey, venison, bison, duck, beef, lamb and pork! A must-stop if you visit the park!

I hope you visit some of these wonderful spots and please comment below YOUR favorite local market or shop! I love finding more!