For many students living on or near campus, the lack of accessible grocery stores can be a struggle if you’re trying to cook at home and eat healthy. If you’re looking for a new place to get fresh produce outside of Stater Brothers or Ralphs, consider our downtown farmers’ market as an alternative where you can also talk to locals and check out new shops.
Located on Main Street between 5th and 6th of Downtown Riverside, the Riverside Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., allowing farmers to sell their seasonal produce directly to the public. There are also other farmers’ market locations on different days scattered around Riverside county: one at Galleria at Tyler outside Barnes and Nobles on Sundays and one at the Riverside Kaiser between La Sierra and Magnolia Ave on Fridays. To get to the Downtown location from UCR, take bus one from Bannockburn Village and get off at the University North Street Market stop.
When I arrived at 10:00 a.m., the place was cheerful, with live music and plenty of vendors and families selling and buying. Since it was my first time, I decided to look around, going from the front row to the back to survey what they had to offer. In total, there were about two dozen stalls, all of which were selling different items, from fresh fruits like organic apples, berries, and persimmons to a variety of vegetables, dairy, bread, and even flowers. At the end of the produce section, there were vendors selling food and drinks, along with other non-produce items like honey, tea, and homemade yogurt.
I was quite overwhelmed and amazed by the many stalls, many of which were selling the same thing; I tried to compare prices and quality, figuring out which items to buy. Often, sellers let you pick the produce, then they will weigh it to determine the final amount from the prices they set. For some produce like strawberries, they’ll sell in bulk. Since the produce was organic from mostly local farms, the prices were a bit higher compared to store-bought. There was a stall selling a variety of apples and the seller was kind enough to give out samples for me to taste before I decided to buy their assortment of sweet Fuji apples, my personal favorite! I also looked around for other fruits, and ended up buying a small basket of strawberries and some persimmons. Lastly, I bought some sweet corn and potatoes for dinner.
I had a small breakfast that morning, so I was excited to check out the extra food vendors to get myself something else to eat. There were two stalls selling tamales, so of course, I had to buy one. The pork tamale I ordered was tasty and light. I was intrigued to see a stall selling fresh popcorn and different flavors of agua fresca, and I made a mental note to come back for them next time.
The atmosphere of the whole area was lively and family-friendly. I appreciated how there were community members tasked with patrolling the place to keep the place safe instead of having a police presence. People were out in their usual routine, buying all the different kinds of products and getting to try out the food vendors. After I was done shopping, I was able to check out some of the shops downtown before heading back home with my goods. In general, my first trip to the market was a success, as it was really fun checking out all the goods being sold and talking to the sellers. If you ever want to explore somewhere new around Riverside, our local farmers market makes a fun excursion with family and friends. It’s a great place to stroll around, purchase fresh produce and yummy food and listen to live music in the heart of downtown Riverside.
