Vegetables and Fruit

Farm-fresh, locally grown food

• Environmental and Human Health Benefits
• Performance
• Cost
• Vendors and Availability
• Resources and Websites

IF YOU LIVE OR WORK IN SANTA MONICA, YOU ARE DEFINITELY IN LUCK HERE!

Santa Monica has one of the most popular and delicious Farmers Markets in the greater Los Angeles area, where you can find tasty, pesticide-free, locally grown and/or organic fruits, vegetables and more.  Every Wednesday and Saturday foodies and chefs browse through the vast selection of produce at downtown Santa Monica's famed farmers' market. Friendly and knowledgeable vendors are happy to explain to cooks--novice or pro--why their Chinese eggplant is better than any found at a supermarket.

Market stands brim with top-grade goods; exotic greens, brightly colored veggies, gigantic fruits and fresh-cut flowers. Small-scale, quality-obsessed family farmers working the market go to great lengths to produce the purest heirloom tomatoes and the tastiest Asian pears, among numerous other specialties.

Environmental and Human Health Benefits

Transportation:  When you buy locally farmed produce, you are buying food that hasn’t had to travel great distances in cargo ships, trains, and trucks to reach you.  This means precious fuel and energy resources are saved and air pollution is reduced.  Buying local is simply more efficient and more sustainable.

Health:  Many vendors at the market use little or no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers on their crops.  And many carry California state certified organic produce.  Chemical pesticides can contribute to poor air quality and can impair water quality in streams, lakes and the ocean.  Depending on your interest or sensitivity to chemical pesticides used in farming or chemical residues on produce, you’ll want to ask vendors questions to make a determination on who you want to buy from.

Performance

Local, farm fresh produce is picked ripe and does not have to be transported great distances to reach you.  This means it’s fresher and tastier.  A market is held in Santa Monica every 2 to 3 days, so keeping a fresh stock of farm fresh and organic produce is easy.  Many vendors set out samples so that you can taste the produce before you buy it, but if you don't see any, request a taste.

Cost

Buying relatively tasteless produce in bulk that has been transported from around the country and the world is cheaper…but now that’s not really the issue is it.  The fact is tasty and healthy produce bought at the farmers’ market is competitively priced.

Vendors and Availability

Can't make it to the Promenade? Try the Pico and Cloverfield Market (8am-1pm) on Saturdays and the Main Street and Ocean Park Market, 9:30am-1pm, on Sundays.

Four Farmers Markets are held each week:

Wednesday

8:30am to 1:30pm

Arizona Ave. and 2^nd St.

Saturday – downtown

8:30am – 1pm

Arizona Ave. and 3^rd St.

Saturday Pico

8am to 1pm

Airport Ave. and Donald Douglas Loop (at the Santa Monica Airport)

Sunday

9:30am to 1pm

Main St. and Ocean Park Blvd.

Local and organic produce can also be found at Wild Oats, the Co-op and is served at many local restaurants. 

Resources and Websites 

http://pen.ci.santa-monica.ca.us/farmers_market/