Morning at the Beverly Hills Farmers Maarket

The day starts with getting up at 5:00am, making a dirty cup of coffee via the Moka pot, taking a cold shower, and figuring out what to wear for the day. It’s cold out but not too cold. I decided to wear a Canadian tuxedo — all denim — jacket to pant. Black City of Beverly Hills cap, clogs and thick wool scarf. That’s the look for the day.

I get to the market by 6:00am. The market is clear sans for the Weiser Farms advance team setting up for the day. It is cold. I’m glad I wore my scarf. I go to the Department of Public Works building to get the pickup we use to block the exit of the parking structure that dumps out onto the market street. Walking east I notice the gold of the morning sun shine on the palm trees that line Santa Monica Blvd. and crisp mountains and clear skies in the direction of the San Gabriel’s. I think to myself, “This is one of the few L.A. markets that has a horizon”

I’ve worked several markets in Los Angeles off and on since 2005. I love this environment. In a way, it’s my church as it has the best of everything a church has to offer. Community, good vibes, music, humor, healing, a way to break bread and feel grateful. It builds diversity and breaks color lines and ignorance through the time tested grace of small and direct commerce. Tell me you don’t feel good when you read the name of a farm you buy from owned by a farmer you know on the menu of a local restaurant. When you see kids and teenagers working a stand and making change. It feels good knowing that you are keeping your money close to the dirt. That knowing the farmers and the vendors is also an emotional and, yes, a spiritual investment.

It’s a very cool environment.

And yes, I know many of the items are expensive. If you scratch the surface a little bit, it’s easy to see why that’s the case. Gas, tables, harvesting crops in inclement weather, drives from as far as Fresno, Hmong farmers establishing themselves. Few have a safety net to fall back on.

Therein lies the rub. The larger farms and CAFO’s do via farm subsidies. Cheap food is not cheap. Taxpayers pay for it through the backend.

So think twice…