Every week in Oakland, there are numbers of vendors scattered around The Town’s various farmers’ markets, selling handcrafted products directly to new and regular customers. For this piece, we’re highlighting vegan-only products that are made in Oakland and sold at Oakland farmers’ markets. Get to know (and support) these wonderful, local, all-vegan vendors. (Be sure to check their Instagram accounts to confirm their market schedules.) Looking for more vegan businesses? Don’t miss the Oakland Vegan Trail!
Annie’s T Cakes
This Asian American, woman-owned bakery from Annie Wang was inspired by the fact that she couldn’t find any plant-based versions of some of the foods she loved. Annie's T Cakes' menu of vegan treats includes Taiwanese pineapple shortbread cake (it also comes in chocolate or matcha) and chewy-crunchy almond cookies. Her absolutely beautiful mooncakes (made for the Mid-Autumn Festival) come in jasmine, matcha, red bean, and black sesame, and she also makes mooncake biscuits. You can pre-order to pick up at her stand at the Grand Lake Farmers Market (or just take your chances and see what’s left!) Follow them on Instagram: @anniestcakes.
Chestnut St. Granola
Based out of West Oakland, Chestnut St. Family is a family-owned (and Black woman-owned) business from Rachel Russell and Tim Lohrentz makes a next-level line of vegan granola with (mostly) organic ingredients in all kinds of savory combinations, like Orange You Glad with walnut and orange, the seasonal and spiced Pumpkin Harvest with pecans and pine nuts, and the original Everything is Everything, with spices, nuts, and berries. Like a little kick? Be sure to try the Dyin' for Cayenne, with almonds and cranberries and a whisper of cayenne. Don’t like nuts? Check out the All Banana No Nuts granola, with crunchy banana bits. Look for their stand at Grand Lake Farmers Market and West Oakland Farmers Market. Follow them on Instagram: @chestnutstgranola.
The Fruit Tree
A beautiful rainbow of vibrant, colorful glass bottles of freshly made juices will beckon you to The Fruit Tree table, a regular at the new West Oakland Farmers Market. Juices are made with organic, seasonal, local ingredients, and you’ll see a variety of blends, like the Power Lemonade with blue spirulina, lemonade, and agave, or the Super Immune SPY-C-CEE, with turmeric, lemon, winter oranges, mandarin, and cayenne. The Fruit Tree was started in 2017 by two friends who wanted to make healthy, green, organic smoothies to help families have a nutritious option for a healthy lifestyle. Be sure to bring back your glass bottles so they can reuse them! Follow them on Instagram: @the_fruit_tree.
Kubé Ice Cream
Get excited to taste the extraordinary, vegan, coconut ice cream from co-founders Kai Nortey and Nee-Nueh Nortey. Kubé means “coconut” in the Twi language from Ghana. Kubé Ice Cream is a Black-owned and woman-founded business and it is committed to serving the purest, artisanal, full-fat coconut ice cream, using fresh-pressed coconut cream from mature coconuts (read more about their unique process and ethical production here). The creamy mouthfeel and quality ingredients really shine in flavors like Madagascar Vanilla Bean (it’s like a vanilla custard), Bittersweet Chocolate with Cacao Nibs, Coffee Latté, and Key Lime. Visit their stand at the Grand Lake Farmers Market and you can find it at the Mandela Grocery Cooperative. Follow them on Instagram: @kubeicecream.
The Lemonade Bar
This Black-owned family business was founded in 2017 by Imani Glover, who makes (almost fully) organic, fresh-squeezed lemonades and frozen lemonades with their own hand-crafted syrups (the only ingredients they use that aren’t organic are pomegranate and pineapple). Their lavender lemonade is the most popular flavor, and their strawberry lemonade is made with organic strawberries from local farmers’ markets. Their number-one-selling frozen lemonade is Black Gurl Rock, with mango, pineapple, peach, and strawberries—it’s like a tropical sorbet. You can enjoy an individual portion or bring home larger bottles of all their lemonades, plus the frozen lemonades, too. Find The Lemonade Bar at the West Oakland Farmers Market (check their Instagram @the_lemonadebar for updates), and you can also have them cater your event.
The NO Cookie
Oakland-based and Black-owned Delightful Foods/The No Bakery have been baking since 1978, and owner Bilal Sabir started the vegan No Cookie in 1991—a true trailblazer! You’ll find their stand at the Grand Lake Market (and 14 other farmer’s markets), and The NO Cookie cookies at over 400 health and natural food stores. (In case you’re wondering who the darling girl is on the label, it’s Faruza, the daughter of Bilal and his wife, Rafia Sabir.) These vegan cookies don’t have eggs, dairy, or wheat, so eat up! Their handmade cookies are chewy and flavorful, and come in flavors like classic chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, island coconut, and ginger spice. Follow them on Instagram: @the_no_cookie.
As always, have fun exploring the Oakland Vegan Trail—there’s a unique story at every spot, and so many well-made, creative dishes worth traveling across town for.