RICHMOND — Stands full of seasonal fruits and vegetables, locally sourced honey, bottles of freshly pressed juices, eggs by the dozen and an assortment of other goods and food booths are erected weekly in Richmond, thanks in large part to Tom Cloman.
Cloman is widely credited as the founder of the Richmond Certified Farmer’s Market, having organized the first market on the corner of Broadway and MacDonald Avenue in 1983. The Richmond Farmer’s Market first opened on a dirt lot near a Catholic church before moving in front of the Richmond Library where it still operates today from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday.
Related Articles
Cupertino Whole Foods remains closed amid continued repairs
A grocery store staple is getting a makeover
One of the Bay Area’s best Italian restaurants triples down on Oakland
Grandma was wrong: 11 food myths debunked
New East Bay brewery will be named after John Steinbeck’s boat
At its peak, thousands would visit the Richmond Farmer’s Market weekly, many traveling from around the Bay Area, Cloman said. As more farmer’s markets were established, fewer customers flock to Richmond to purchase their produce directly from farmers, Cloman said.
But that’s OK, because each market is meant to reflect the heart of the community, he added.
While the farmer’s market has changed and expanded over the 42 years since its inception, Cloman has remained a constant.
We recently spoke with Cloman about the ins and outs of establishing a farmer’s market and keeping its essence true to that of the community that relies on it.
This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity and length.
Q. What was your path into farmer’s market management?
A. I started with the consumers cooperative of Berkeley called the Berkeley co-op in 1971 as a grocery clerk, and I worked through the management ranks and in 1979 I was recruited by the then Governor Jerry Brown to be a principal in the effort to develop a cooperative development program.
That initiative was thought to be perhaps the better approach in that day and time to helping develop and deliver adequate food, fresh food to what we call at the time at-risk cities. In that process, the legislative sausage making if you will, I was driving my van up and down I-80 from Sacramento to track bills.
I had a five year contract and in that process we were back and forth to Washing, D.C., primarily or other states would meet us and we were promoting that model. … It wasn’t unbearable, rather it showed itself to me personally that I was not willing nor interested in going forward with that program and shortly thereafter it was disbanded. The recipe was there.
Q. How did the Richmond Farmer’s Market come to be?
A. Many of the people who were a part of the Richmond Buying Club, folks who would go buy in bulk from wholesalers and distribute the purchases, were asking me when I was going to get their store started. The feasibility of a co-op store did work in my city so I told them let’s start a certified farmer’s market.
A man by the name of Papadopoulos donated the land. The city embraced the farmer’s market initiative with the Mayor as the swing vote. It was not something that was not in vogue those days.
Q. Why do you think there was so much resistance among the Richmond council at the time?
A. Big Ag, their lobby was very strong.
A farmer’s market was considered by many to be more or less a nuisance. It was not spit shine. It was not a place where you could go as if you were in your local supermarket picking up an apple and you can see your own reflection in it but the nutritional value, of course, the freshness was unmatched. But as a consumer most were conditioned already that it had to be cosmetically pure and beautiful. You had that kind of narrative in the marketplace that said no it wouldn’t be good. Council members, many were beholden to the voice of constituents as well as the voice of those business owners who would help them by funding their political campaign, and needless to say, that drove I think the results of their vote in many cases.
Q. Ok, so you win council support. What was the initial reaction from the community? From the farmers?
A. Between noon and 5 p.m. on a Friday, we averaged about 3,000 people in that street per market day. That gives you a visual I hope of how receptive the city was to that market being open. Our market reach was, gosh, as far Northwest as Marine county, Vallejo. We even had folks come from Hayward, Milpitas, those areas as well as Oakland and over the hill, Livermore, who would come to that market because of the principles that they supported and more importantly, because they knew the quality of which they would be purchasing.
As for the farmers, let me answer that in the reverse. One farmer, Busalacchi Farm, has been with us 41 years. Others have been with us for 35, 30 years. We are still looking to help create and sustain a healthier Richmond, but we also are promoting and encouraging generational community, generation Connection.
Q. The single-day market has since expanded to four days — Fridays near the library, Sundays in the Marina and now Thursdays and Saturdays are The Lot, a food court on the corner of Macdonald Avenue and Marina Way. How does it feel to see the market grow so much during a period when many businesses were divesting from Richmond.
A. It has to be the community’s market. In short, the community’s identity is what I sought from the beginning, and still maintain.
My elders would be ecstatic about the progress on the vision that they had to deliver on their promise, to bring fruits and vegetables to this at risk community at the time. It was a food desert before until the Richmond Certified Market moved in.
Q. What’s a misconception the public often has about farmer’s markets, a challenge to organizing one people might not recognize?
A. The area that doesn’t get much thought is the health and safety, how literally scrutinized we are from first the County Health Department who inspect us on a routine basis as well as the state of California Inspectors.
Needless to say, it’s gratifying to know that years or decades of dedication to your craft is appreciated. I’m feeling personally great. Our board of directors and farmers feel really good about it.
Q. Did you ever expect that this would be the line of work you’d get into when you were young? Where did all this passion for this line of work come from?
A. I grew up in rural Louisiana, the northern part of the state. My father was not only a farmer for himself and our family but he also was a share cropper. I’m one of 13 and my parents adopted my two cousins so we were from a clan of 15 who grew up in that environment. Most of our neighbors were farmers or gardens. Our garden was two acres that we dug up by hand in most cases. My passion comes from that.
But to answer your first question, no, I never expected to do this as a living. For 40 years, this was a volunteer labor of love for me. I still don’t take a salary. I’ve been in the life insurance industry for 41 years as well and I’ve had a very successful practice and agency. Just four weeks ago I closed my office down because at 72 years of age I’ve chosen to dial it way, way, way back.
Q. What is it about the Richmond Farmer’s Market that keeps you coming back and devoting decades of your life to it?
A. I appreciate the two fold mission and purpose. One was to sustain California’s small farmers and two, to help make our community healthier. That still drives me, that the effectiveness of the farmer’s market presents and from community to community how we’re maintaining that value.
Tom Cloman
Title: Richmond Certified Farmer’s Market Founder and President
Professional occupation: Life insurance agency manager
Residence: Richmond
Hometown: Monroe, Louisiana
Tom Cloman 5 things
1. Cloman’s favorite fruit is a white nectarine from Ponce Farms and yams from New American Farms are his favorite vegetables. Both merchants can be found at the Farmer’s Market.
2. An avid traveler, Cloman said New Orleans, Louisiana, is his favorite place to visit.
3. Locally, Point Richmond, Larkspur and Oakland’s Montclair neighborhood are all hidden gems Clomen enjoys frequenting.
4. Cloman is a man of faith and chairman at his church.
5. When not working, Cloman can be found on his boat, fishing. “I’ve been a boater and avid fisherman my entire life from a kid with a cane pole in Louisiana,” Cloman said. “My mental is absolutely enhanced sitting near water.”
