Fruit and Veggie Delight as SVMC Hosts a Sunny Farmer's Market

SVMC hosts a sunny Farmers Market

The start of the Farmers Market season at Sierra View Medical Center (SVMC) got off to a wet beginning last Thursday, as the debut of the 2019 market was met with a downpour of rain. However, on Thursday, May 30, the market was welcomed with clear skies and persistent sun as locals gathered in the SVMC parking lot to visit vendors who brought fresh fruits and vegetables to sell.

Vine Ripe Beefsteak Tomatoes traveled from Hanford to be at this week’s Farmers Market. Their colorful display included fresh tomatoes, carrots and bell peppers. As the morning warmed up, the tomato display became popular.

Another popular item among the many were apricots. Zulim Produce of Visalia had a mountain of apricots on their table for sale. Several of the market attendees rifled through the fruit to find the ripest and juiciest ones to purchase.

Cottage Grove out of Ivanhoe had a special kind of apricot up for grabs. The aprium, a hybrid fruit that is two-thirds apricot and one-third plum, gleamed golden in the sunlight. Sitting next to the apriums were another hybrid fruit called pluots. The deep purple pluots are the exact opposite of apriums, and are one-third apricot and two-thirds plum. These special fruits were displayed next to mounds of other fresh fruits including oranges, grapefruits, cherries and peaches.

Traveling from Hanford, farm fresh berries from Rancho Notso Grande brought dark, rich berries for the community to buy. Sweet yet tart blueberries could be sampled, as well as the lesser known Olallie berry. Boysenberries and blackberries were readily available, as well as bagged pecans and walnuts.

If shoppers weren’t interested in fruits, the vegetable selection was just as abundant.

B Vang Farms from Fresno had a large display of greens. From kale to herbs, B Vang Farms had the veggie selection covered. Plenty of cucumbers, squash and onions were also available through the family farm.

Safe Haven Heirloom Farms out of Dinuba also had a fresh selection of greens. Green beans, squash, micro-greens, lettuce and arugula sat in vibrant shades of green. Freshly packaged chicken was sitting in an ice cooler at the right end of the display, and homemade natural soap bars sat on the left end.

Those with a hankering for something sweet could visit True Gold Honey. The mom and son team of Sarah and Tyler Sample promoted their fourth generation honey company and hosted a table filled with different flavored honeys. The Lindsay based honey farm proudly displayed their award-winning Wild Buckwheat honey, and offered eager buyers samples of their honey flavors. They also informed their customers that they are in several Save Mart stores, and offer custom orders of honey with the combs included.

SVMC had several informative booths stationed around the market. Pamphlets regarding nutritional education, the Roger S. Good Cancer Treatment Center, palliative care services, and care transition services, among others were handed out. Small first aid kits were also available for the community to grab.

SVMC encourages the community to take advantage of the Farmer’s Market that is hosted every Thursday in their parking lot. The community is welcomed in beginning at 8 a.m. and the market stays open until around 11:30 a.m.