Wednesday, October 30, 1996
Farmer’s Market offers fresh air and fresh produce, along with
crafts and live music, all in the heart of downtown Westwood.By
Stephanie Sheh
Daily Bruin Contributor
mack between the tables in front of the fashionable Coffee Bean
and the smooth, beige walls of the Gap peep the little white tents
of the farmers.
They smile from behind boxes of produce piled on top of folding
tables and offer free samples to people strolling by. Someone
shouts, "Sweet peaches, sweet peaches, ugly but sweet!"
Farmer’s Market, located in Westwood on Weyburn and Glendon
every Thursday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., hosts many vendors who travel
from market to market. Weyburn is blocked off for various vendors
who sell everything from produce and bagels to flowers and fish.
The Glendon aisle contains arts and crafts such as incense, jewelry
and even massages. At the intersection of the two aisles a live
band broadcasts jazzy rhythms and old-style blues.
Most of the farms participating in Farmer’s Market are small,
family-owned operations. The setting is the ideal place for them to
sell their products. Date farmer Everett Daval explains that his
farm is too small to sell to distributors.
"It’s nice with the farmer’s markets, because the smaller far
can come here and sell to the city people. The bigger companies
want much more production than we can give," Davall says.
Bagel vendor Tim Hirsh adds, "For most of the vendors it’s very
profitable, because most of the vendors have their own farms."
Hirsh, however, works for a family-owned business that sells bagels
for a larger company. "We are the middle man. In other words, we
have to pay a company to sell their product, so it’s not as
profitable as someone who owns their own farm and they just pull up
out of the ground and sell it," Hirsh says.
The market is not only profitable to the farmers, but it’s
beneficial to the shoppers as well. They are able to find a fresh
and wide variety of produce. Second-year UCLA undergraduate Emily
Klein says that she comes because the produce is healthy. "My
physiological science teacher says to do anything we can to stay
away from pesticides, because it’ll give us cancer. So I’m doing my
part. Sometimes I think these products are more expensive, because
they’re more organic, but if you look hard enough you can find
bargains."
The prices for Farmer’s Market are typically slightly higher
than those found in a local supermarket. For example, apples range
from $1.25 to $1.50 a pound compared to around $1 per pound at
Lucky. However, most shoppers are willing to look past the higher
prices, in order to get the fresh produce.
Young Lee, a UCSD graduate, shops at Farmer’s Markets for
similar reasons. "(I come because) it’s fresh fruits. It’s fresh
vegetables. The music is cool, a lot of good smells and free
samples too. It’s like Price Club, only outdoors.
"I’ll usually have a craving for fruit so I’ll just go out and
buy it. It seems like it’s more fresh, because it’s direct from the
farmers. The organic stuff is smaller. These grapefruits are a lot
smaller than the ones you buy at the store but they just look
pinker. They have dirt on them still. You know they’re fresh when
they still have dirt on them."
Vendors also frequently do their shopping at these markets.
Mapuana Mergel, who works at the M & M Mini Vacations booth as
a licensed massage therapist, says, "I do a lot of shopping here,
because the fruit and vegetables here are better than the kind you
get in the supermarket. Because they don’t use any chemicals or
pesticides, because they’re all organic. Other than that I just
trust these people more than I do the supermarket."
Actually, it’s a common misconception that all the food is
organically grown. Like Mergel, many shoppers frequent Farmer’s
Market in search of organic foods, but not all of the food sold at
Farmer’s Market fits this definition. A careful buyer must pay
attention to signs and ask vendors.
Tamar Boujikian of MB Farms admits that they are not organic
growers. She says that in order to be certified organic, sellers
must meet specific requirements. "You can’t use commercial
fertilizer. You have to clean the soil for seven years or something
before you start planting in order to be organic," Boujikian
explains.
Although a lot of people come to Farmer’s Markets for the
shopping, many more come to enjoy the ambience of it all. UCLA
business professor Bhagwan Chowdary says, "It’s a great place to
be. I bring my daughter here so she can listen to the music, dance
a little bit, eat fresh strawberries. It’s great."
Fourth-year linguistics and Spanish student Angelica Ching says
she loves the Farmer’s Market because it reminds her of her home
country. "I love to come here in the summer because it’s the
perfect time to go outdoors, open market. It reminds me of my
country, Panama. I miss my country. They sell Caribbean food, like
Jamaican stuff. It’s kind of close to my home country’s food. I
like to get it once and awhile," Ching says.
Shoppers are not the only ones drawn to the atmosphere. It’s the
reason that many vendors love to work at the Farmer’s Markets.
Apple grower and member of the Kosmo ranch family Anthony Otani
explains, "I love dealing with people. I love giving out samples. I
love dealing with the hustle and bustle and I enjoy it. There are a
lot of good people out here. We have a good following."
Otani adds that he knows many of his customers on a first-name
basis. "I know people who write songs for ‘Baywatch.’ You see
actors coming through. (Other customers) bake us goods and bring
them to us later on," Otani says.
Kim Nguyen, a third-year psychology student, adds, "I like the
atmosphere. There’s just something about it. You can come here
alone and feel so comfortable."
FOOD: Farmer’s Market is located at Weyburn and Glendon every
Thursday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
SHAWN LAKSMI
Shoppers can buy flowers to complement their peaches and bagels
at the Westwood Farmers Market.KRIS FALLON
Farm stands sell their goods to the UCLA community on Weyburn
every Thursday afternoon.