Brandy Estrada
Staff Writer
Claremont Farmers and Artisans Market was filled with shoppers that gathered at the Claremont Village, Sunday morning on Harvard Avenue between First Street and Bonita Avenue.
Vendors filled two blocks worth of organic produce, art, boutique clothing and fresh produce for local shoppers to stop by and see what the small businesses were offering.
Local shopper Nahir Rojas, a graduate student at Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, comes every Sunday to the market to grab fresh produce.
“I always look for fresh veggies just because I feel like getting the veggies from the farmers market is more fresh compared to the supermarket,” Rojas said. “I usually get onions and leafy greens and use the veggies for breakfast and make a lot of pasta.”
Many of the vendors with fresh produce traveled miles to arrive and sell their products at the market. Coel Rodriguez, employee of Spring Hill Jersey Cheese, traveled from Los Angeles to participate in his first farmers market.
Spring Hill Jersey Cheese is located in Sonoma County. The company produces cheese from grass-fed cows with non-genetically modified organisms and hormones.
Customers were lining up to try samples of the smoked gouda cheese and other varieties such as yellow cheddar, colby jack, smoked monterey jack, white cheddar and much more.
“(We are) a small dairy up in Petaluma and we partnered with a creamery and the cows are grass-fed, free (of) roam and the cows get to grow up with their families,” Rodriguez said.
The company won second place for Two-Year Aged White Cheddar Cheese from the American Cheese Society.
Spring Hill Jersey Cheese can be purchased at the weekly Sunday farmers market or purchased at springhillcheese.com.
The Almond Guy is a small company that is part of the market and sells organically grown almonds on a farm located in Kern County. Natalia Huizar, a sophomore biology major at Scripps College, was working at the almond stand handing out free samples. Some of the different flavors were rosemary parmesan, churro, maple orange, Mexican chocolate, chili and lemon.
The Almond Guy also sells almond butter and almond flour. The almonds are offered in two different sizes, eight and 16 ounces.
Huizar became interested in working for the almond company after running into their booth at another farmers market located in Tustin and since then became part of the Claremont Farmers and Artisans Market.
“The most popular are the churro and rosemary parmesan between savory and sweet,” Huizar said.
The Almond Guy can be found every Sunday in Claremont and sold online at thealmondguy.net.
The farmers market has more to offer than just food. Rooted In Love is a plant business that grows plants in Riverside.
Magdalena Cervantes, co-owner and founder of Rooted In Love, started the business with her mother and works for the plant business full-time.
Cervantes started the shop two years ago and works at seven different farmers markets a week. Cervantes and her mother switch off days so one of them can sell while the other takes care of the plants.
“We converted our house into a greenhouse and grow the plants there, but we mostly do the propagation,” Cervantes said. “When my mom started the plant business, I was helping her because she needed help, so then suddenly I was surrounded by plants 24/7 and just fell in love.”
Cervantes sells many different indoor and outdoor plants such as ZZ plants, money trees, snake plants, succulents, alocasias and many more tropical plants.
“Plants are good for your mental health and good to have around you at all times, so that is (the) reason why we started the business so we can spread and share the plant love,” Cervantes said.
For more information about Rooted in Love, they are at the market every Sunday and also on Instagram @rootedinlove.4.
The market is held every Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, visit, claremontforum.org.
Brandy Estrada can be reached at brandy.estrada@laverne.edu.
Brandy Estrada is a staff writer for the Campus Times.
Abelina J. Nuñez, a junior journalism major, is arts editor for the Campus Times and a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She has previous served as LV Life editor, social media editor and staff writer.
