From Farm To You
Left to right: Poli Yerena of Yerena Farms, Bill Crepps of Everything Under The Sun, and Rudy Jimenez of Green Thumb Farms.
Farmers are the beating heart of the Bay Area’s food scene, supplying the best quality produce for our chefs, food makers, and everyday eaters. For Earth Month, we’re highlighting a few of our favorite farmers—and the fruits of their labor—so you can get to know the people behind your food.
Read on to learn who makes the sweetest strawberries, the most flavorful spinach, the juiciest citrus, and the crunchiest carrots!
Yerena Farms: The Berry Bosses of the Bay Area
Yerena Farms famous strawberries!
Husband and wife duo Poli and Silvia Yerena are the berry masterminds behind some of the most sought after berries in the Bay Area. Currently, their Ferry Plaza stand draws crowds to buy their famous certified organic strawberries (with several different varieties!) that are 100% free of pesticides and 100% full of love.
Silvia and Poli Yerena working together at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
Yerena Farms “Mara des Bois” strawberry variety.
Yerena Farms “Seascape” strawberry variety.
When asked how Poli feels about his family’s strawberries being so popular, he simply replied: “I’m satisfied because that means I’m doing a great job.”
Everything Under The Sun: The Spinach Aficionado
Bill Crepps of Everything Under The Sun talking veggies with our founder, Lisa Rogovin.
Everything from Everything Under The Sun beats what you’ll find in the grocery store, but if we had to choose just one thing to get from its lead owner and grower, Bill, it would be their Bloomsdale and Bordeaux spinach.
Bill explained to us that Bloomsdale spinach has more body, which means it won’t disappear like other spinach does when cooked (no more gross, mushy spinach!).
Everything Under The Sun’s Bloomsdale spinach, which sold out before the market was over.
The Bordeaux variety is particularly special for its earthy sweetness, which comes from its low oxalic acid content. It’s so good, even salad haters will enjoy this leafy green on its own!
Everything Under The Sun’s sweet, earthy Bordeaux spinach.
A salad one of our team members made using Everything Under The Sun’s Bordeaux spinach! Also included: blood oranges from Twin Girls Farm + golden beets from Green Thumb Farms.
Twin Girls Farm: The Citrus Star
Dubbed the “citrus star” by our guide, Paul, Ignacio (Nacho) Sanchez and his family produce some of the best citrus you can find with a cult-like following for their “golden nugget” mandarins.
Our tour guide Paul pointing out “the citrus star” himself!
Other crowd favorites include their pomelos, navel oranges, and blood oranges. Want to know how to pick the best citrus? It’s not necessarily size that matters but weight—the heavier the fruit, the better the quality.
Twin Girls Farm pomelos.
Stop by Nacho’s stand and you might catch him blasting some blues, rock, jazz, or even Beyonce’s latest country project.
Green Thumb Farms: Preserving Farming’s Roots
Last but not least, Rudy Jimenez of Green Thumb Farms focuses on upholding his late father’s family farming legacy and the Indigenous roots of farming and agriculture. Rudy is passionate about minimizing harm to the environment so we can continue to receive its abundance.
In his own words: “Always appreciate the Earth knowing it gives you abundance if you take the time to plant.”
The very sweet Rudy Jimenez of Green Thumb Farms proudly showing off his bounty of vegetables.
Green Thumb’s carrots are known to be very sweet and crunchy. Rudy also recommends their new purple broccolini, which he describes as being more sweet and tender than your standard broccolini.
Visit Rudy’s stand at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market to taste all the colors of the veggie rainbow!
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Discover more local food makers every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at the Ferry Building Ferry Plaza Market or through our Ferry Building Farmers Market tour! And a big shout out to Foodwise for running the market and helping connect the Bay Area community with fresh, local food and sustainable family farms.
See you at the next market!