Sacramento ‘under the freeway’ farmers market has new management. What to expect
One of Sacramento’s most iconic and long-running farmers market will soon have new management.
The Sacramento Sunday Central Certified Farmers’ Market, which runs on Sundays under the W-X Freeway on the edge of Southside Park will be run by Alchemist Community Development Corp. starting Feb. 1.
The market was started by Dan and Renae Best in 1980. Now, 46 years later, they are retiring. Their daughter, Danielle Best, will manage the market. She has been on the team of Alchemist since it took over the Florin market from the Bests in 2024.
“She has been helping us transition into not only taking over the markets, but has also been a wonderful mentor on our team as we’ve started some other community based markets, like the Meadowview farmers market,” said Shannin Stein, Alchemist’s director of advancement.
Alchemist’s involvement with the Bests’ market runs much deeper. It has been collaborating with them since 2011, when farmers markets were first allowed to process CalFresh and EBT benefits.
“The Bests approached us in 2023 and asked us if we would like to take over the Florin market, which at the time was already one of the highest grossing EBT markets in the nation. That was the first of a slow transition of taking over other markets that have been operated by the family,” Stein said.
This transition marks the last of the Bests’ Certified Farmers’ Markets of Sacramento County to be taken over by Alchemist. Florin was the first, followed by Rancho Cordova, Arden Arcade and Elk Grove. The central market has always been the flagship.
For the foreseeable future, nothing will change.
“This is such a beloved market and has such a loyal and wide following, not just here in the Sacramento region, but it is a globally recognized market,” Stein said. “It’s really important to us that continuity of the market remain, making sure the farmers feel supported and just continuing to invest in the safety and the continued momentum of the market for many years to come.”
Alchemist is a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization that manages six farmers markets and directly provides CalFresh and EBT access and the Market Match nutrition incentive to three more.
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 10:37 AM.
