Farmers Markets

A bell clanging at 8 a.m. marked the official opening Sunday of the ONE Farmers' Market in Van Nuys, where farmers offered up a cornucopia of fresh produce in a sale that also benefited a local senior citizens' group. San Fernando Valley residents lined up at the gate to be among the first of a crowd of thousands to browse over strawberries, peaches, sunflowers, honey and quilts hand-stitched by seniors at the Organization for the Needs of the Elderly.

A vast majority of Americans say they eat more whole grains and fresh produce than they did five years ago, but many believe the federal government needs to do more to ensure greater access to locally produced fresh food, according to a new survey.   Eighty-four percent of adults surveyed said federal food programs should focus more on supporting smaller, local fruit and vegetable farmers and should provide incentives for development of new businesses that offer "locally produced healthy food," according to the poll, which was commissioned by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The City Council voted Wednesday to ban smoking in farmers markets, saying such behavior is inappropriate in places where customers buy fresh produce. The measure was written by Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who argued that city officials have been promoting the health benefits of farmers markets and that smoking in such locations undermines that message. Greuel said most farmers markets are small enough that smokers can walk away if they need to light up. Councilman Bill Rosendahl voiced doubts about the measure, saying it potentially "infringes on people's rights," but he voted for it. Los Angeles has already banned smoking on beaches and in parks.

- Early cherries are reason enough to head to the farmers market, but be careful. Erratic winter chill, freezes during bloom, hail and late rains have made for a short crop of early cherries from the southern San Joaquin Valley. But there's still plenty of great fruit available at farmers markets for those who take care to select fresh, ripe cherries of the best varieties. In the last decade, the task has become trickier, but potentially more rewarding, with the arrival of new and unfamiliar varieties.

Farm-fresh vegetables and fruits as well as arts and crafts products made by senior citizens will be available at a new farmers' market, scheduled to begin June 26 in Van Nuys. Audrey Phillips, director of community relations and volunteerism at the Organization for the Needs of the Elderly (ONE), is the mastermind behind the farmers' market, which is intended to raise funds for the organization.

Ah, the bounties of nature to be found at the local farmers market: decorative items made of handblown glass, pony rides and, of course, an espresso bar (I mean, this is L.A. after all). At the Northridge Fashion Center's Farmers' Market & Family Festival, the newest addition to a centuries-old tradition of outdoor produce markets, the offerings go beyond berries and bok choy.

The kid in the huge booth at the Torrance Farmers Market, with his spiky bleached hair, baggy shorts and an Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirt, hardly looks the part of a new wave of agricultural entrepreneurs. But Shaun Rosendahl, whose sunburned face belies his 21 years, will sell more than $10,000 worth of apples, strawberries, cherries and other fruit on this day in Torrance, at just one of the 44 booths at farmers markets he manages this time of year from his Hermosa Beach apartment.

A family of four shopping at inner-city stores spends nearly $300 more each year to buy food than a family of four shopping in suburban areas, according to price comparisons made in a recent UCLA study. Farmers' markets sell food in 25 neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles at prices often as much as 20% to 30% cheaper than local supermarkets; several of these markets serve low-income areas and accept food stamps.

This time of year, supermarkets overflow with colorful peppers and squashes, piles of cabbages and tomatoes, and bins of potatoes and onions. But these cornucopian displays do not tell the whole story, for there is a hidden feast few supermarket shoppers ever experience--a feast of fruits and vegetables available only to privileged heirloom gardeners, shoppers at farmers markets and a handful of savvy cooks.

As certified farmers markets have proliferated in recent years, it may appear as if everyone and his uncle is getting into the game. Some vendors indeed are flourishing, but others have been stretched thin by the expansion and resulting dilution of farmers markets. Selling at farmers markets has always involved manifold risks, inefficiencies and frustrations, but in the last year, likely because of the weak economy, quite a few longtime or prominent vendors have withdrawn from the markets or are considering doing so. Each has his own reasons, but together they tell a story: Surviving at farmers markets is increasingly tough for many growers.

Travelers may think of Hawaii as the land of surfboards, sunsets and mai tais, but there's a lava flow of reasons to go beyond the beaches and discover why residents say they are lucky to live in Hawaii. And, yes, some of the state's best beaches are found on the Big Island. But don't get stuck there. Do what the locals do: Swim with the honu. There are five snorkeling areas along the Big Island's Kohala Coast: Puako Bay, Waialea Beach (Beach 69), Hapuna Beach, Mauna Kea and Mauume.

HANALEI, Hawaii - It's a warm Tuesday afternoon on Kauai and tourists are lining up - just a few at first, then a dozen or so. Finally more than 100 have gathered, waiting patiently. They're not here to swim with dolphins, snorkel in turquoise waters or even learn to hula at a luau. They're here for a farmers market. Manager Kalen Kelekoma climbs atop a wooden crate and welcomes the throng with a warm "aloha" and an explanation of the market rules. Then the horn sounds, and they rush the stalls.

After Pompea Smith, who has led the Hollywood farmers market since she founded it 21 years ago, was fired Tuesday night, many questions remained as to just what had happened, and why. Official details were scant, but it is clear that the story involved financial issues, office politics and conflicting visions for the organization. The board of Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles the nonprofit organization that runs the market, issued a statement saying that it was "time for a change of leadership," and that it was "deeply grateful to Pompea Smith for her ... inspired leadership of this organization.

Located in a narrow canyon four miles north of Santa Paula, Mud Creek Ranch combines a historic family homestead, a commercial organic citrus and avocado orchard and a mystery zone where the usual rules of farming do not apply. It is a one-family experiment station where Steven and Robin Smith grow all manner of fruits, from apples to wampees, in some 400 varieties, very likely the most of any vendor at farmers markets. It's a mixed bag, but many are delicious and exotic, like the Tahitian pummelo, now in season, one of the most underappreciated forms of citrus in California.

As certified farmers markets have proliferated in recent years, it may appear as if everyone and his uncle is getting into the game. Some vendors indeed are flourishing, but others have been stretched thin by the expansion and resulting dilution of farmers markets. Selling at farmers markets has always involved manifold risks, inefficiencies and frustrations, but in the last year, likely because of the weak economy, quite a few longtime or prominent vendors have withdrawn from the markets or are considering doing so. Each has his own reasons, but together they tell a story: Surviving at farmers markets is increasingly tough for many growers.

The sign is easily visible as you drive north on Fairfax toward 3rd Street and the original Farmers Market, the name Short Order spelled out in cheerful green neon. Great name, great concept: a burger joint with frills, including a full bar, fresh-baked cookies, a retro soundtrack and, upstairs, a sweet little outdoor terrace. Short Order has been a long time coming. Billed as a celebration of Amy Pressman and Nancy Silverton's 30-year friendship (and mutual love of burgers), after months of hurdles, the restaurant opened in November on a sad note: Pressman had died of cancer two weeks before.

To the uninitiated, the boysenberry may look like a big, blowzy, underripe blackberry, but it is in fact a noble fruit, as distinct from a common blackberry as a thoroughbred is from a mule. Large, dark purple, juicy and intense, it derives its unique flavor from its complex ancestry: sweetness and floral aroma from its raspberry grandmother, and a winy, feral tang from three native blackberry species. It's a California classic, emblematic of the joys of growing up in the Southland before it succumbed completely to sprawl.

Ten years ago, Elizabeth Schneider, the doyenne of produce writers, called for "a cucumber revolution" in her definitive book, "Vegetables From Amaranth to Zucchini" . Denouncing the standard American slicing varieties, she implored, "Refuse to buy pumped-up, tasteless, seedy blimps with greasy, thick, nasty skin masquerading as cucumbers!" Around the United States, coarse, watery commercial varieties still predominate, but they have largely been displaced at Southern California farmers markets by wondrous Persian cucumbers.

Although most of the larger farmers markets in Southern California have at least one vendor of cultivated mushrooms, the great majority of these buy from large commercial producers and so must sell in the non-certified section or under a second certificate arrangement. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that, but it takes just a glance at the pristine and tender shiitake and oyster mushrooms that Fred Ellrott grows and picks himself, to see that there is a real advantage to the consumer in buying mushrooms direct from the producer.

Jerry Dimitman, a retired professor of plant pathology at Cal Poly Pomona who regularly caused an uproar when he showed up to sell his exotic fruit at the Alhambra farmers market, died Dec. 14 of a stroke at his home overlooking the San Gabriel Valley. He was 91. Such was the mystique that he cultivated, along with some of the state's oldest, largest and rarest exotic Asian fruit trees, that he and his family always insisted that his home's location remain unspecified to deter intrusions by overzealous fruit lovers.