South of the James Market is Richmond’s premiere farmers market, and one of the top markets in the region, running from May through December. Karen Atkinson (GrowRVA) gathers vendors to showcase produce and prepared foods, including bakers like Atomic Bakery and Hispania Bakery; meat purveyors like Babes in the Wood and Salt Pork; and cheesemakers like Goats R Us, Old Church Creamery and Bonnyclabber Cheese Co. The market also features coffee vendors, craftspeople, and flower fiends that happily bundle bouquets.

Two primary aisles flank the tree-lined parking lot of Forest Hill Park. The weather can be chilly on mornings at the beginning and end of the market season. That’s where hot coffee and donuts help, along with infectious live music that gets people moving.

Despite what you’ll see in the rest of this gallery. South of the James Market has plenty of tantalizing producing, including Pine Fork Farm radishes.

Victoria DeRoche of Pizza Tonight has a mobile pizza oak burning oven with assistance from New Visions, New Ventures, a nonprofit that helped women start food businesses.

Pizza Tonight produces breakfast pizzas and the Fig & Pig ($9), featuring fig preserves, prosciutto and Gorgozola, based on DeRoche’s favorite summertime snack, plus a more traditional Margherita ($8) with tomato sauce, mozzarella, sea salt, olive oil, and fresh
basil.

It wouldn’t be cool if a Yankee like me started talking about Southerners and squirrel meat, but a T-shirt vendor named Adventures in T-Shirt Land had stereotypical fun at local expense.

“The Aztecs discovered it. George Washington Carver popularized it. Reginald’s Homemade perfected it.” So goes the saying of Reginald’s Homemade, which produces peanut butter in classic creamy or chunky, plus flavors like bourbon pecan.

Alchemy Coffee has a popular trailer. People line up for fresh pulled Blanchard’s Coffee Co. espresso drinks, which may rely on alchemy, but don’t appear instantly.

Alchemy Coffee had a shorter line for iced coffee, since it was brisk out, but I’ll take what I can get, especially when it still allows you to “Get Your Buzz.”

Pickled Silly sells pickles like spicy okra with hot sauce and habanero; and carrot with tarragon.

Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen generates plenty of interest. I waited for 45 minutes to get the Yoder family’s sourdough donuts, and would have waited an hour if not for a friendly chef.

The Yoder family makes donuts to order, hanging the rings from racks in the trailer window.

Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen Sourdough Donuts earned my Food of the Week honors. Click to learn more about their Mennonite magic.

Salt Pork specializes in Virginia charcuterie like Spicy Beer Baloney made with Hardywood Singel; sage sausage;, and Asian meatloaf pate, great for banh mi