TRUCKEE, Calif. – Once the long-awaited season of sunshine, fresh fruits and vegetables arrives, regional farmers and vendors can sell their products directly to the community. Since the 1990s, the Truckee Certified Farmers Market has brought business to local farmers every summer.

Typically held from May through October, the market is an essential source of income for many local vendors. According to Guy Baldwin, manager of the Truckee Certified Farmers Market, these markets account for a significant portion of vendors’ annual revenue.

“For most of the vendors here, markets represent 50% to 90% of their income,” Baldwin said.

Unlike larger agricultural operations, most of these small-scale vendors don’t sell to wholesalers — they rely heavily on local markets to make a living.

Baldwin and his wife, Sharon Casey, have been farming for more than 40 years.

“We started on a very small scale,” Baldwin said. “We rented community garden plots.”

By the time they reached eight garden plots, they realized it was time to invest in a full farm. Years later, in 2016, they were offered the opportunity to manage the Truckee Certified Farmers Market when the previous operator, the Foothill Farmers Market Association, stepped away.

“The best quality, the best variety, the fresh produce is all here,” Baldwin said. “It’s all picked the day before.”

Every Tuesday this summer, more than 16 vendors gather to share their fresh produce, handmade goods and products with the Truckee community.

However, not everyone at the farmers market is a traditional farmer. Benjamin West, owner of Wild Feather Medicines, sells ancient and natural food remedies. For West, farmers markets are a full-time job. Although they sell products online, in-person markets remain their primary source of income.

“I’ve always believed the most important thing is understanding where your food comes from,” West said. “Know your food, know your farmer, and cut out the store middleman — that’s what’s best for small communities.”

For Chris West, co-owner of Our Rustic Heart Candle Co., farmers markets are more than just a place to sell goods — they’re spaces for connection, education and well-being.

“Each one of us educates someone in one way or another,” West said.

Whether it’s learning how to grow fresh produce, build healthy soil or care for bees while harvesting their honey, West believes it’s this spirit of shared knowledge and community that makes local markets so special. She sees them as opportunities to make more intentional choices — for both health and happiness.

“Find things that make your body feel good,” she said. “Find the little things that feel like sunshine.”