You can tell a lot about a person by their hands. Randii MacNear’s hands have touched a lot of California produce since first shopping at the Davis Farmers Market in 1976.
One of the most recent projects she has touched has gained national recognition — The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook: Tasting California’s Small Farms.
It is difficult to choose a favorite recipe, MacNear says. “The concept of the cookbook is really that you don’t have to change the types of things you eat…you just have to change what you put in them,” she said.
MacNear’s favorite recipe in the cookbook is the heirloom tomato watermelon salad, though the barbeque short ribs and berry pie recipes are also very delicious.
As one of the three original vendors of the Davis Farmers Market, Annie Main from Good Humus Produce has also been influential in adding to the ambiance of the Saturday market. Main also offered the New York transplant her first farmers’ market job, canning apricot preserves.
MacNear passed on that passion of preparing locally grown produce to her children and grandchildren. Twenty five years after first doing food demonstrations, she now partners with the Davis Joint Unified School District and Sutter Davis Hospital to implement nutrition programs.
Dan Best is one of the organizers of the Sacramento-based farmers markets. While he has a different view on how farmers’ markets should be organized, he appreciates what MacNear is doing.
“I think we are both in the business of providing viable outlets for farmers," Best said. "You might say we are both farmers’ markets, but in the way that apples and oranges are fruits and they both do well, we just present a different taste.”
An induction into the Hall of Fame established by the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association is further proof of MacNear’s value to the small-scale farming community. Brent Warner recently spoke about serving with MacNear on the board of directors.
“Randii MacNear … fought for small farmers when no one was listening and she helped to create the environment that now allows farmers and farmers markets to be successful all across North America,” Warner said.
The California farmers’ market scene has indeed grown, from four in 1978, when MacNear first became the Davis Farmers Market manager, to over 850 today. Find out more about the Davis Farmers Market and other farmers markets close to you here.
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