After a successful run last year, the Saturday farmers market is returning to Tracy starting this weekend.

Market manager Malliaque Satterfield of the Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association said that his group tried to get more organic farmers into the mix this time around.

Of the 35 to 40 vendors Satterfield said the market should have each week, about three or four will offer organic food. Vendors will sell their goods downtown on 10th Street between Central Avenue and B Street. This is the association’s only farmers market in San Joaquin County, though several others take place in the county.

“You can look at the prices and compare them to Safeway or Whole Foods, and you can’t beat it, and it’s fresher,” Satterfield said. “A lot of stuff gets picked the day before the market.”

This year’s market will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from May 2 to Nov. 21.

Most of the sellers and farmers will be local, such as Tracy’s Durham Ferry Orchard, Oakdale Cheese and Stockton’s Eat the Best Kettle Corn. Other vendors have also made their way from the Central Coast and the Bay Area.

Last year, Satterfield estimated that about 1,500 to 2,000 people made their way to the market each week. He said that number should go up this year.

“It has a lot to do with the recession,” Satterfield said. “That’s the time when farmers markets do the best, is when there’s economic trouble. People are looking for a fresher, more inexpensive way to get their food and great quality at less of a price.”

Satterfield said that there also will be music from local musicians and other performances at the markets to create a more festive atmosphere, and he expects there will be an opening ceremony Saturday.

“We love doing the farmers market in Tracy, and we hope that it’s going to be successful for many years to come,”

he said.

For information: Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association, 800-949-3276