Gail and Doug Hayden oversee 14 certified farmers’ markets across the Bay Area. Over the span of her 48-year career, they have developed over 40 markets throughout Northern California. Most recently Gail and Doug opened a new market in downtown Antioch. If you’ve visited our Shadelands Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings, you know how popular it has become. It’s more than a place to get locally grown fresh produce. It’s a family-friendly community destination with crafts for the kids, live music, and producers of many local products beyond fruits and vegetables.
Gail is a Walnut Creek native, attending Ygnacio Valley High School before Northgate opened. She met Doug, a Fresno native, at UC Davis while they both worked in the dining commons on campus. She majored in Agricultural Economics and Business Management, and he majored in Economics. They were married on campus while Gail was a senior and Doug had begun his career at PG&E.
While Gail attended graduate school in Sacramento to earn her MBA, Doug worked as a docent for PG&E’s first solar-powered home, giving thousands of tours through the cutting-edge demonstration site. During those years, they would enjoy date nights driving their convertible toward Mt. Diablo. One night they turned down Comistas Drive and explored the neighborhood, discovering “the most beautiful home.”
Gail says, “we admired that home from afar for over a decade. Then in April 2008 it was for sale. We fell in love with the wrap around porch, backyard, and the huge workshop where Doug would one day build the Farmers’ Market Zucchini Car Race track and outfit 11 market vans.” If you have not attended the Zucchini Car Races each July, it is an unforgettable, family-friendly event not to be missed. [See our article in our Aug. 2024 issue by visiting www.northgatelivingca.com.]
Gail’s entire career has involved bringing fresh produce to communities. She began at the California Department of Agriculture developing the Certified Farmers’ Market system. During her 8-year tenure (1979-1987) the number of certified markets grew from 12 to 170. She was tasked by the Secretary of Agriculture to review the first proposed legislation calling for a definition of “organic.” She was also the first state employee to order a personal computer; it was a $20,000 machine that took up an entire airplane seat.
When Doug’s job relocated them to Concord in 1988, Gail joined the non-profit sector. “We were in Concord just two weeks when a call came to help open a farmers’ market in Mountain View, then San Jose, Moraga, etc.” When she was expecting her 3rd child, Doug began helping with the markets on the weekends. He grew to love the work and eventually left his career at PG&E to join Gail full-time. Together they founded the California Farmers’ Markets Association (CFMA). Doug developed a food donation program in the South Bay to bring fresh produce to those in need, which earned him a Congressional Honor for his efforts. The association grew to 10 markets, and in 2009 the Diablo Valley Farmers’ Market opened in the Shadelands.
Today, CFMA manages 14 markets grossing over $36 million annually for family farms with 2 locations in Walnut Creek (Shadelands and Rossmoor), Moraga, San Leandro, Morgan Hill, SF @ Ft. Mason, San Jose, Daly City, Los Gatos, Mountain View, and Saratoga. In 2005, Gail was named North American Farmers’ Market Manager of the Year, and she is often affectionately referred to as the Godmother of Farmers’ Markets.
Their family is also deeply involved in the mission. Daughter Tara, 45, who majored in marketing at Chico State is often at the Moraga market. Son Sean, 44, a UC Santa Cruz graduate, who works for a farm in Brentwood, is famous for saying the corn is “sweeter than my mother-in-law” (though he’s not married). Youngest daughter Kayla, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate in Agricultural Business, works as a manager for CFMA.
The Haydens also have a beloved rescue pup from a farm in Hollister named Bella. You can often spot Gail and Bella walking in the park next to Northgate High School.
“What we love about our neighborhood,” says Doug, “is that we meet many neighbors at the market. We enjoy sharing recipes, cooking techniques, and seeing them at our annual Halloween costume parade, the watermelon eating contest, and the Kids’ Day event. We’re so happy to live in a community that embraces good food, good health, and an appreciation for getting the know the people who grow our food.”
By Kara Navolio, Resident since 1991; Photos provided by the Hayden family