What sustains a community? Local involvement and institutions that bring the community together.
One familiar institution is the weekly farmer's market in your neighborhood. You can count on seeing the familiar faces of the vendors and of your neighbors; with the friendly "hello, how are you?" you begin the transaction process of buying produce from someone you trust to sustaining your neighborhood by keeping the vendors in business and by walking out your door to participate in your local community. A recent study by the MarketUmbrella.org of local farmer's markets found that neighborhoods that do support local markets, felt that the markets improved the health of the community, that they use the market to interact with their neighbors and that the markets improved perceptions of the neighborhood. The study also found that each market served the local ethnic groups and that Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA) of which the Atwater Village Farmers' Market (AVFM) is a part of, serves a high percentage of the low-income, ethnic or minority residents and communities in transition.
One of the smaller Farmers' Markets is in Atwater Village, a small slice of Los Angeles between Los Feliz and Glendale, with a population of over 16,000 people. It was once part of Rancho San Rafael in the early 1800's, it was later named after Harriet Atwater Paramore in 1912 after the Atwater family purchased it from W.C.B.Richardson.
I met with Joyce Chan the manager of the AVFM last Sunday, and after buying my weekly produce, Joyce brought me to four vendors to talk about their involvement with the market and community. First a bit about Joyce; Joyce was a bookkeeper for SEE-LA and jumped at the chance to run the Atwater Village Farmers' Market, it was the neighborhood next to Silverlake, where she grew up in, and still participates in by way of her daughter's schooling. She hired local talent to entertain the kids, which helped the community spirit by involving the children in the process of shopping for local produce and by bringing them out into the neighborhood.
I interviewed four vendors at the market about their involvement with the Atwater Village Farmers' Market to get their stories and views about community farmers' markets:
Jim Van Foeken
Jim, a California native has been selling citrus produce from his Ivanhoe farm at AVFM for two years, and sells in eight other farmer's markets across Los Angeles and the South Bay. Jim has been selling fruit for over 25 years, before that he was a dairy farmer. Jim has seen the traffic in the markets increase, yet his costs are escalating faster than his prices; it's a serious consideration for him because he keeps his prices stable despite his costs. Jim has to compete with Grocery stores that sell produce at cost to bring in customers who will then buy the higher margin products, he is hoping that his clients see the benefits in fresh local produce rather than the produce that is from out of state. I bought a 6 lb. bag of oranges that still had the scent of the tree it came from, and for less than I would've paid at the local grocery store.
David Rojas Isaias of Simply Natural by Abode
David has been selling hand crafted candles and soap at the Atwater Farmer's market for over a year. David learned how to make candles from his mother, it was a family tradition to use the wax from their bee farm in Mexico City, following in his father's footsteps his nine year old son helps him at the stall and he is also responsible for cleaning out the candle molds. . Since beeswax is more expensive he now uses soy to make his candles. David is trying to keep his prices stable because of the economy, people are buying less of his products because their money goes to food first, crafts second. His selection of reasonably priced soaps ranged from chocolate to peach, the candles would make wonderful gifts for that bridal shower, or for a friend in need of a bit of pampering.
Gustavo Jimenez of Jimenez Farms
Gustavo has been selling at the AVFM for over a year, and also sells at four other Sunday markets, including the Hollywood Farmers' Market. His farm is just over 2 hours away from Los Angeles. His wife sells pies next to the seasonal produce; one year they had an over abundance of pumpkins and she decided to make pumpkin pies to sell, now she sells pies and jams from other fruit from their farm; today it was apple and rhubarb pies. Each one of them had a beautiful criss cross pastry, and the apples popped through the delicate lattice. I bought an organic pumpkin for a nice soup later in the week.
Ruth Sandoval of Delmy's Pupusas & Lemonade
Ruth's mother started selling Pupusas at the Hollywood Farmer's Market nine years ago, and now Ruth has branched out to the AVFM. Pupusas are from El Salvador, they are a thick hand made tortilla made from maize and stuffed with cheese. Ruth and her mother had to give out free samples at the beginning in Hollywood and Atwater Village to educate the locals as to what a Pupusa was; after that they then created Pupusas for the people who requested vegetarian versions, they changed their menu to suit the community. Ruth also serves a Strawberry drink made from the strawberries she buys from the other vendors, her specialty Ensalada De Fruta is a mix of fresh fruit and juices, which cools down the homemade hot salsa she serves with the Pupusas. Her handmade Pupusas are a hit at home and at the market where I had to dodge a line to interview her. Ruth works the stand on weekends, during the week she manages Section 8 housing (a Federal housing program which provides housing assistance to low income renters and homeowners), and also runs community outreach groups. Ruth is an amazing whirlwind of energy and her commitment to the neighborhood shows in so many ways, its hard to list them all here.
A healthy Community is built on human interaction, without that we are nothing but free floating bits of jetsam and flotsam that let us drift away aimlessly and without care. Your community is where you live, where you sleep, where you sustain yourself in this lifetime, it's time to step outside and meet your neighbor; and one of the easiest ways is to go to your weekly local farmer's market, not only will you become a part of the community you will sustain its health and longevity.
Atwater Village Farmers' Market is open every Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm and is located at 3250 Glendale Blvd. in the Wells Fargo Bank Parking Lot, Los Angeles, CA 90039
The market features about 15+ farmers selling their produce, nuts, honey, soaps, crafts, cooked foods and flowers. The market accepts both EBT and Farmers' Market Nutrition Program WIC coupons.
Photos from top:
1. A family at the Atwater Village Farmers' Market enjoying the free balloons.
2. Joyce Chan (far right), Pompea Smith(2nd to the right) and others celebrating the 2nd Annivesary of the Atwater Village Farmers' Market.
3. Jim Van Foeken at his stall.
4. David Rojas Isaias and son.
5. Gustavo Jimenez, with the latest in seasonal squashes.
6. The multi-talented Ruth Sandoval
Some of Mrs. Jimenez's homemade pies and jams.
One of the smaller Farmers' Markets is in Atwater Village, a small slice of Los Angeles between Los Feliz and Glendale, with a population of over 16,000 people. It was once part of Rancho San Rafael in the early 1800's, it was later named after Harriet Atwater Paramore in 1912 after the Atwater family purchased it from W.C.B.Richardson.
I met with Joyce Chan the manager of the AVFM last Sunday, and after buying my weekly produce, Joyce brought me to four vendors to talk about their involvement with the market and community. First a bit about Joyce; Joyce was a bookkeeper for SEE-LA and jumped at the chance to run the Atwater Village Farmers' Market, it was the neighborhood next to Silverlake, where she grew up in, and still participates in by way of her daughter's schooling. She hired local talent to entertain the kids, which helped the community spirit by involving the children in the process of shopping for local produce and by bringing them out into the neighborhood.
I interviewed four vendors at the market about their involvement with the Atwater Village Farmers' Market to get their stories and views about community farmers' markets:
Jim Van Foeken
Jim, a California native has been selling citrus produce from his Ivanhoe farm at AVFM for two years, and sells in eight other farmer's markets across Los Angeles and the South Bay. Jim has been selling fruit for over 25 years, before that he was a dairy farmer. Jim has seen the traffic in the markets increase, yet his costs are escalating faster than his prices; it's a serious consideration for him because he keeps his prices stable despite his costs. Jim has to compete with Grocery stores that sell produce at cost to bring in customers who will then buy the higher margin products, he is hoping that his clients see the benefits in fresh local produce rather than the produce that is from out of state. I bought a 6 lb. bag of oranges that still had the scent of the tree it came from, and for less than I would've paid at the local grocery store.
David Rojas Isaias of Simply Natural by Abode
David has been selling hand crafted candles and soap at the Atwater Farmer's market for over a year. David learned how to make candles from his mother, it was a family tradition to use the wax from their bee farm in Mexico City, following in his father's footsteps his nine year old son helps him at the stall and he is also responsible for cleaning out the candle molds. . Since beeswax is more expensive he now uses soy to make his candles. David is trying to keep his prices stable because of the economy, people are buying less of his products because their money goes to food first, crafts second. His selection of reasonably priced soaps ranged from chocolate to peach, the candles would make wonderful gifts for that bridal shower, or for a friend in need of a bit of pampering.
Gustavo Jimenez of Jimenez Farms
Gustavo has been selling at the AVFM for over a year, and also sells at four other Sunday markets, including the Hollywood Farmers' Market. His farm is just over 2 hours away from Los Angeles. His wife sells pies next to the seasonal produce; one year they had an over abundance of pumpkins and she decided to make pumpkin pies to sell, now she sells pies and jams from other fruit from their farm; today it was apple and rhubarb pies. Each one of them had a beautiful criss cross pastry, and the apples popped through the delicate lattice. I bought an organic pumpkin for a nice soup later in the week.
Ruth Sandoval of Delmy's Pupusas & Lemonade
Ruth's mother started selling Pupusas at the Hollywood Farmer's Market nine years ago, and now Ruth has branched out to the AVFM. Pupusas are from El Salvador, they are a thick hand made tortilla made from maize and stuffed with cheese. Ruth and her mother had to give out free samples at the beginning in Hollywood and Atwater Village to educate the locals as to what a Pupusa was; after that they then created Pupusas for the people who requested vegetarian versions, they changed their menu to suit the community. Ruth also serves a Strawberry drink made from the strawberries she buys from the other vendors, her specialty Ensalada De Fruta is a mix of fresh fruit and juices, which cools down the homemade hot salsa she serves with the Pupusas. Her handmade Pupusas are a hit at home and at the market where I had to dodge a line to interview her. Ruth works the stand on weekends, during the week she manages Section 8 housing (a Federal housing program which provides housing assistance to low income renters and homeowners), and also runs community outreach groups. Ruth is an amazing whirlwind of energy and her commitment to the neighborhood shows in so many ways, its hard to list them all here.
A healthy Community is built on human interaction, without that we are nothing but free floating bits of jetsam and flotsam that let us drift away aimlessly and without care. Your community is where you live, where you sleep, where you sustain yourself in this lifetime, it's time to step outside and meet your neighbor; and one of the easiest ways is to go to your weekly local farmer's market, not only will you become a part of the community you will sustain its health and longevity.
Atwater Village Farmers' Market is open every Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm and is located at 3250 Glendale Blvd. in the Wells Fargo Bank Parking Lot, Los Angeles, CA 90039
The market features about 15+ farmers selling their produce, nuts, honey, soaps, crafts, cooked foods and flowers. The market accepts both EBT and Farmers' Market Nutrition Program WIC coupons.
Photos from top:
1. A family at the Atwater Village Farmers' Market enjoying the free balloons.
2. Joyce Chan (far right), Pompea Smith(2nd to the right) and others celebrating the 2nd Annivesary of the Atwater Village Farmers' Market.
3. Jim Van Foeken at his stall.
4. David Rojas Isaias and son.
5. Gustavo Jimenez, with the latest in seasonal squashes.
6. The multi-talented Ruth Sandoval
Some of Mrs. Jimenez's homemade pies and jams.
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This is fantastic!
There is always a story behind the people at he Farmer's Market and I am so happy that you were able to interview these people and let them share some of their stories with the rest of the online community.
Thank you Danh! When you buy an orange at your local grocery store, you are buying from the middleman, at the local farmers' markets you meet the grower, and the produce hasn't been sitting in cold storage or on a ship. :O) and you are supporting your community.
:O) Ophelia
Of the five elements I am most concerned with. Food is probably the one most exciting.
The bi-product of clean water is growing things,ie.food.
Growing things filter water. Growing things provide jobs. Growing things provide energy. Growing things provide materials. Humans are growing things.
A line that always comes to mind. "We all gotta eat."
I think of the victory gardens my Grand Parents had in the days of WW II and my Dad always had a vegetable garden in the summer. The taste of just picked corn steamed to perfection slathered in butter a little salt and pepper. You can't beat it. I've since become a fan of the Mexican corn from the street vendors.
Making soil, preparing soil, planting seeds, growing things, picking and eating has so many benefits. Too many to count.
Support your farmers market get to know the farmer and the cook. Try and grow some too. Being connected to the earth is what we are all now, here to do.
Hi Lance
I have my own "Victory Garden", I grow apples, oranges, avocados, peach, lemon, blackberries, kiwi grapes, raspberries and herbs. I share the garden with my neighbors and friends, everyone gets a bag of something every season. Up in Portland they have farmer's collectives , and you can pay $20 a month to get a basket of local produce. Its a wonderful idea, it helps families with a low income to have fresh produce. Its an idea we should share here in LA.
You should visit the Atwater market, its a small neighborhood market that should be more common throughout Los Angeles.:O) Ophelia
Thank you for helping educate the public on sustainablilty and how important it is to support the local farmers.
Not only does Jim Van Foeken has wonderful citrus fruit, he has even better stone friut crops available in the spring and summer months.
I drive from Costa Mesa to the Long Beach farmers market on Sundays,via my scooter,to purchase such jewels.Jim has a vast knowledge of fruit trees and is willing to share, just for the asking.
Keep up the good work guys!
Dear Cynthia,
Just as I was reading your comment, I was enjoying a mandarin that I had bought from Jim last Sunday at the Atwater market. :O) Community support of these farmers and markets is crucial to our economic turnaround. Building at the local level is the foundation of our economic strength. Thank you for visiting and commenting!
:O) ophelia
These farmers are the real back bone of America! Not the wall st. people who have no clue where food comes from. Whentimes are hard, like noe, these farmers will know how to survive and will help ther fellow man.
My respect to all of you,especially Jim(James}Van Foeken, he fuctions in a world with other problems of which he copes & never complains.If we had more of him.
Dear Jeanie
When I met Jim at the market, I found him to be genuine and I loved the history of his farming family. Shopping at the local farmer's markets brings you in contact with the source. At a grocery store, you see a pile of perfect fruit, and it could come from anywhere in the country or outside the US. At the farmer's market, you can ask where the fruit is grown, when it was picked and a bit of the history of the farm itself. :O)
Thanks for visiting,
:O)
ophelia