All markets open rain or shine year-round

EVENT CALENDAR

August 2010
Wednesday August 4 11:30 pm - 1:30 pm 3rd @ Arizona Wednesday Farmers Market	ASK THE DIETITIAN Stop by the booth at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market to pick up healthy recipes emphasizing fruits and vegetables from the market. Theme of the Month:  Grapes
Thursday August 12 7:00 - 9:00 pm Santa Monica Public Library MLK Jr. Auditorium 601 Santa Monica Blvd.	Quarterly Library Lecture Panel CONSCIENTIOUS CARNIVORE People who like eat meats and dairy but who are opposed to commercial animal production can take heart!
Saturday August 14 9:30 - Noon Pico Farmers Market	MASTER GARDENER UC Cooperative Extension certified Master Gardeners help you grow your own food in a garden or containers.
September 2010
Wednesday Sept. 1 11:30 pm - 1:30 pm 3rd @ Arizona Wednesday Farmers Market	ASK THE DIETITIAN Stop by the booth at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market to pick up healthy recipes emphasizing fruits and vegetables from the market. Theme of the Month:  Apples
Saturday Setp 11 9:30 - Noon Pico Farmers Market	MASTER GARDENER UC Cooperative Extension certified Master Gardeners help you grow your own food in a garden or containers.

All four Santa Monica markets are Certified Farmers' Markets (CFMs).  They are organized and managed by the City of Santa Monica for the mutual benefit of all who enjoy them.  An estimated 900,000 shoppers visit the markets every year.  Collectively, they provide customers year-round with a selection of fresh, seasonal produce that is pre-eminent among market programs in the state.

Certified Farmers' Markets were established in 1978, when then-governor Jerry Brown signed legislation known as the Direct Marketing Act.  This enabled California farmers to sell their own produce directly to consumers at locations designated by the Department of Agriculture.

There are three basic criteria for CFMs: 
 

In 1979, the first Los Angeles County farmers' market opened in Gardena.  It was a Saturday morning market consisting of four stands.  Interfaith Hunger Coalition sponsored the market in the parking lot of a local church.

Today there are over 300 Certified Farmers' Markets in California.  The high quality of produce and the open-air experience top the list of patrons' reasons for shopping at their local CFM.  Those who haven't ventured outside the walls of commercial supermarkets to experience the exhilaration of shopping amid the diversity of produce and people at farmers' markets are often the same who charge them with being inconvenient.  But enter once, twice, three times the exciting culture of open-air farmers' markets, and soon you find it's terribly inconvenient not to have them around.  Here you'll find the freshest and best tasting produce money can buy; here you'll meet new and interesting people without even trying.

In addition to the many social and economic benefits that accrue to the communities in which they occur, farmers' markets give farmers a chance to experiment with new and old-fashioned varieties of fruits and vegetables not grown commercially.  Moreover, farmers can afford to wait until the produce is tree-ripened, before picking and bringing it to the market.  A ripe peach is unacceptable to commercial produce-brokers, because it won't withstand the stresses of shipping and storage, as it passes through commercial marketing channels.

A guiding principle of Santa Monica Farmers' Markets is to accommodate as many California farmers as possible.  This ensures the greatest variety of seasonal produce grown in the state.  Three of the four markets are located in bustling retail-restaurant districts, where local businesses offer an exciting mix of merchandise, services and food.  The Santa Monica markets stand out for their unmatched selection of top quality produce from season to season.

In this context, a rich diversity of cultures and crops allows for a fascinating exchange of ideas, customs and recipes each week.  Holidays are marked by extra sales of Asian pears for the Chinese New Year or specialty herbs for the week-long Iranian New Year, as well as the more familiar American holiday traditions.

The markets host a variety of special and educational events year-round. The "Lunch with a Chef Program" features weekly cooking demonstrations by chefs from some of the area's finest restaurants.  Groups of local school children visit throughout the year on field-trips.  During presentations of market produce, they have a chance to smell, touch and taste both the common and the uncommon.  Seasonal festivals include Cinco de Mayo, Melon Mania in July and the All-You-Can-Carry Pumpkin Patch in October.  Farmers' markets, of course, are requisite shopping for local chefs, not to mention the site of numerous cookbook book-signings, anniversary events, and a popular tourist destination throughout the year.

Every Saturday morning at 11 am,  KCRW-FM 89.9 broadcasts the Market Report on the Good Food Program hosted by Chef Evan Kleiman of Angeli Caffe on Melrose Avenue.  In the Market Report, Laura Avery, supervisor of Santa Monica Farmers' Markets and manager of the Wednesday Market, reviews the week's produce and provides the listener with tips and insights on the best and freshest of what's in season.  Tune in, turn on, and have a peach of a day at any one of Santa Monica's four markets!

Sorry no animals are allowed at the Farmers Markets
(CRFC 114259.5.)