Farmers and shoppers gather at the weekly Irvine Farmers’ Market in the parking lot of Mariners Church from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays. Located at 5001 Newport Coast Drive, the Irvine Farmers’ Market is a year-round, free-entry event with EBT-eligible goods available for purchase.
Shoppers at the market can browse and buy items from an assortment of goods local to Southern California. The market is divided into two segments perpendicular to one another.
The Irvine Farmers’ Market, approaching its 30th year of operation, is one of eight California-certified farmers’ markets under the Orange County Farm Bureau. The OC Farm Bureau states that “every farmer who sells at a certified market is inspected by the county agricultural commissioner to make sure that he/she actually grows the commodity being sold.”
To register to sell at the Irvine Farmers’ Market, vendors fill out an online application based on the type of goods being sold. Vendors can apply as agricultural, food or craft. The requirements for each vendor varies in accordance with the product being sold.
Before settling at the Mariners Church parking lot, the Irvine Farmers’ Market used to be located at the University Town Center (UTC) by UCI. The relocation became necessary after the market demand grew past the capacity allotted in the UTC parking lot.
Though the market is no longer at the UTC, it remains close to UCI. From the Middle Earth and Mesa Court housing communities on campus, the distance to the market is approximately 1.5 miles and 2.2 miles away, respectively.
Shoppers with EBT are also able to browse the market. Eligible shoppers may visit the information booth at the intersection of the market’s two sections to purchase scrip, “a type of currency, in the form of paper or tokens,” according to the California EBT Project Office. Scrip can be used to make EBT-eligible purchases from vendors. The farmers’ market will pay vendors equivalent to the scrip they receive at each weekly market.
Photo by Alyse Billiard / Staff
At a booth for the restaurant Italia’s Pizza Kitchen in Costa Mesa, John and Barbra O’Brien sold pizza kits and individual balls of pizza dough developed by their youngest child, Michael O’Brien.
Each pizza kit included dough, sauce and mozzarella cheese. The dough and sauce are their son’s original recipe and have been sold at the market for approximately five years. She told New University that the market allowed the couple to connect with new people and make friends.
Photo by Alyse Billiard / Staff
A little ways down, Kimo Vellocido and Madelline Gastelo manage the booth for Chafinity, a small business with the mission to “create exceptional experiences through the healing power of organic matcha,” according to their website. The market booth sold organic matcha powder, matcha tea kits and other tea accessories.
In an interview with New University, Gastelo said that Chafinity has sold at the Irvine Farmers’ Market since October 2020. For local vendors and shoppers, the market is a year-round mainstay.
“We sell rain or shine or fire,” Gastelo said.
Alyse Billiard is a News Intern for the summer 2024 quarter. She can be reached at abilliar@uci.edu.
Edited by Kaelyn Kwon.
