The weekly State Street Farmers’ Market brings together locals and tourists alike every Wednesday to experience the unique tastes of Carlsbad.
In the 26 years since its founding, the State Street Farmers’ market has contributed creativity and togetherness to Carlsbad Village every Wednesday. But what makes this farmers’ market different? Unlike other markets that only offer crafts and produce, the State Street Farmers’ Market provides a wide variety of creative and unique food products.
This means that they sell many varieties of produce, foods of different cultures and concoctions born from the creative minds of vendors. The market is well-decorated by its participants as an amazing community that forms lasting relationships between vendors and consumers. The businesses rely on each other for ideas, collaborations and help around the market, and consumers visit their favorite shops weekly.
One standout entrepreneur is the owner of the Carlsbad Cookie Company, Hollie Chamberlain. She is a passionate baker and local small business owner, known throughout Carlsbad for making beautifully decorated and addictive stuffed shortbread cookies. She makes them in both savory and sweet flavors.
Chamberlain also makes dog treats, modeled by her dog Heathie. As a firm believer in buying local, she describes the significance of supporting local small businesses.
“We love to support local as well,” Chamberlain said. “I find myself going into the village more often, supporting local boutiques and the local businesses in the area. That’s really what has kept us small businesses alive.”
Chamberlain, as a member of the farmers’ market, is an active member of the local community. She believes that the market is heavily community-driven.
“We’ve got good stories between us vendors, everyone supports each other, we discover each others’ products and learn about
how each of us got started.”
The Carlsbad Cookie Company is not the only company that believes in the community aspects of the farmers’ market. Michael Jackel, a local and the owner of Juice Jerky, agrees. Juice Jerky is a local business that sells out of the farmers’ market. They sell dehydrated fruit strips in a variety of flavors.
Jackel makes all of the chewy snacks from scratch with a fruit dehydrator. They don’t use any added sugars, colors, preservatives or flavors, just delicious fruit. His most popular flavor is the mango pineapple jerky, but he also sells strawberry, raspberry, jalepeño strawberry and many other flavors.
Jackel created the brand within the last 2 years and is already an innovative member of the farmers’ market. When asked if the farmers’ market feels like a community, he responds fervently.
“100 percent. I love the farmers’ market. It absolutely is a community.” Jackel explains. “I love the people that are vendors at the farmers’ market, and I love the people who go to the farmers’ market. It’s a really, really cool group.”
The owner of True Pet Kitchens, a business with a heartwarming story, agrees.
“We’ve got a lot of loyal customers, and dog customers,” Melanie Dunwell said.“The dogs get so excited to see us because we love to feed them samples and [they] get to know us. When they come around the corner, they b-line it for our table because they know that there are treats waiting.”
Dunwell and her dog Sophie are the backbones of the business. When Dunwell adopted Sophie, she decided to make sure that her dog ate the healthiest and best-tasting food she could. She found that many dog foods were not up to her standards, so Dunwell made it herself.
She now sells treats that come in an assortment of flavors and a variety of doggie accessories.
Evidently, the State Street Farmers Market is the perfect place for food fanatics or curious individuals alike. They have a bounty of cultural foods and ingenious creations.
Some vendors sell one category exclusively, such as Max’s Honey Farms. Max’s Honey Farms sells different flavors of honey and honeycomb. Mountain Meadow Mushrooms has been a family-owned business since 1952 and specializes in mushrooms. They sell many types of mushrooms and kits to grow your own.
Another vendor that carries unique products is Hopkins AG, whose trade is almonds. They have over 3,00 acres of land dedicated solely to growing almonds. They sell almonds raw and still shelled, flavored almonds and almond butters. A few notable flavors would be their Mexican chocolate almonds, chipotle almonds and lime sea salt flavors.
Perennial Pastures, a better alternative to big-store beef, is a cattle-raising pasture that believes in regenerative ranching. Regenerative ranching is a system of grazing that ensures the health of pastures and ensures that the soil used is capable of holding water. On their website, they claim that “Every 1% increase in soil organic matter stores an additional 23,000 gallons of water per acre.”
According to Perennial Pastures, if farms were to follow this standard, California soils would become much more healthy, and cities could provide more water without relying on snow packs in the Sierra Mountains.
The State Street Farmers’ Market also provides the perfect lunch or dinner spot on Wednesdays, great for anyone as there are so many different types of foods to try. Places like Masala Cottage which serve Indian food, Rafikiz which makes Kenyan dishes and The Drippin’ Kitchen which sells its gourmet grilled cheese.
The State Street Farmers’ Market is still following summer hours, running from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. until November 8, allowing all who want to stop by for a chance to experience the local market.