Santa Barbara La Cumbre Farmers Market

Santa Barbara’s farmers market story starts in 1979, when the first market opened on the Old Santa Barbara Mission Lawn and joined the early wave of certified markets in California. The Santa Barbara Certified Farmers’ Market Association was established in 1983 as a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, and some of the original participants included Randy Wade, Tom Shepherd, and Robert “BD” Dautch. Santa Barbara La Cumbre sits within that larger six-market network, with its own stop at 110 South Hope Avenue and a schedule that adds another shopping option beyond the downtown and State Street markets. That mix of long institutional history and multiple weekly market sites gives this market a distinctly rooted place in Santa Barbara’s food system.

Why it matters locally

The Santa Barbara Certified Farmers’ Market Association was formed to give California farmers direct access to market their products to the local community, and La Cumbre operates inside that mission rather than as a stand-alone pop-up. The association traces its origins to the first Santa Barbara market at the Mission in 1979 and formalized as a nonprofit in 1983, tying today’s market to decades of farmer-run infrastructure in the county. Original participants such as Randy Wade, Tom Shepherd, and Robert “BD” Dautch are named in that founding story, which keeps the emphasis on working farmers rather than a promotional brand. The organization also connects market activity to food access and redistribution through CalFresh use at the markets and excess produce pickups by Unity Shoppe for local distribution.

Know before you go

No dogs is the clearest policy to plan around at Santa Barbara La Cumbre Farmers Market. The market is located at 110 South Hope Avenue, which distinguishes it from the association’s other weekly sites in Old Town Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpinteria, Solvang, and Goleta. Shopping logistics are built around the information booth: credit cards can be swiped there for market tokens, and those tokens are accepted by all Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market vendors across the association’s six weekly markets. The tokens never expire and are issued in $1, $5, and $10 increments, which is useful if you want to make a smaller purchase without carrying cash. The association lists Sam Edelman as general manager and Alfredo Puente and Victoria Sarquilla in market management roles, showing a staffed operation rather than an unmanned pickup line. Restrooms are not listed among visitor amenities.

Payments & SNAP

SNAP is accepted here through CalFresh EBT, and the markets also handle WIC and FMNP transactions. At the information booth, shoppers can exchange ATM or debit cards plus Visa, MasterCard, and American Express for market tokens that work at all six weekly markets and never expire. Farmers cannot legally give cash change back for CalFresh EBT, WIC, Senior WIC, and FMNP transactions.