Download our Forty Years Fresh 2026 Impact Report
Dear friends,
This year we’re celebrating “Forty Years Fresh” of the Napa Farmers Market, but the reality is people have been gathering around local food for thousands of years.
The seed of the Napa Farmers Market was actually planted in 1983 when then City Council-member Brad Wagenknecht posted in the Napa Valley Register: “Group meeting to form Napa’s Farmers Market at the home of Ruth von Uhlit. Interested persons invited.” Growth takes longer in the City of Napa, and the first official California Certified Farmers Market started at the Napa Valley Expo on Tuesday, August 16, 1988.
For forty years, through many changes in location and management, the Napa Farmers Market sprouted as a shared vision and blossomed into a place for our neighbors to gather around the joy of local food. Our small farmers grow plants that nourish us, our small business entrepreneurs innovate and create, while our small nonprofit organization cultivates the space to grow authentic relationships and community connection.
Since the pandemic, we have expanded our mission to increase equitable food access to all our neighbors through diverse and robust food assistance programs. This is important now more than ever: in Napa County 57.5% of adults with low-income report not being able to afford enough food.
You can help us continue to grow and nourish our neighbors by donating to support this unique space in Napa rooted in real farmers, real food, and real friendship.
See you at the market,
Cara Mae Wooledge, MPH (she/her/ella)
Executive Director, Napa Farmers Market
