Fresh fruits and vegetables are essential to a healthy diet; and buying locally and in season can give you higher vitamin content, a smaller footprint and often times lower prices. You can also grow your own at home. For people with limited space or sunshine, community gardens throughout Los Angeles offer free planting plots for local residents.
Local Farmer’s Markets
Shopping locally supports your neighborhood farmers, cuts out the middleman, and reduces packaging and transportation that can be harmful to the environment. Depending on your neighborhood and schedule, there are over a dozen local farmer’s markets open year round on the Westside.
Seasonal Produce
Before you go to the market, know what’s in season. Crops grown in season will be the highest in nutrients, last longer at home and just taste better. June and July are big harvest months in California and just a few of the local fruits and vegetables now in season are: Tangerines, strawberries, asparagus, artichokes, cherries, blueberries, leeks, garlic, avocados and radishes.
Grow Your Own
Southern Californians have it easy when it comes to growing their own produce. The combination of sunshine, soil and seawater can turn any novice into a successful vegetable gardener. Consider the benefits: Reduced grocery bills, produce as local as you can get, a constant flow of fresh food, and chance to dig in the dirt and teach your children about healthy eating. Early summer is ideal for planting beans, corn, cucumbers, okra, summer squash, pumpkin, cantaloupe and peppers. If you don’t have space where you live, sign up for a plot in one of your city’s many community gardens.
Local Resources:
Farmers Markets (farmnet.com, localharvest.org)
Seasonal Crop Charts (seasonalchef.com)
Planting Schedules/Tips (edibleestates.org, digitalseed.com)
Community Gardens (lagardencouncil.org, communitygarden.org)
Local Farmers Markets
- Beverly Hills: Sunday 9a.m.-1p.m.
- Brentwood: Sunday 9a.m.-1p.m.
- Century City: Thursday 11:30a.m.-3p.m.
- Culver City: Tuesday 3p.m.-7p.m.
- Pacific Palisades: Sunday 8a.m.-1:30p.m.
- Santa Monica Pico: Saturday: 8a.m.-1p.m.
- Santa Monica Organic: Saturday 8:30a.m.-1p.m.
- Santa Monica Sunday: Sunday 9:30a.m.-1p.m.
- Santa Monica Wednesday: Wed 9a.m.-2p.m.
- West L.A.: Sunday 9a.m.-2p.m.
- Westwood: Thursday 1p.m.-7p.m.
- Westwood Village: Sunday 10a.m.-3p.m.
