The Ladera Farmers Market started back in May when it was becoming evident that a normal trip to the supermarket wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. What happened next was a beautiful alignment of supply and demand between local makers and our community. Each week, new vendors were added bringing fresh produce and treats like avocados, citrus, fresh pasta, sourdough bread, homemade chocolate chip cookies, raw Ladera honey, and fresh banana pudding.
After fifteen weeks operating from my driveway, we got the call by the Parent School PTA to operate the market from their high-visibility, parking lot. However, after just one week, the Operations Manager at Inglewood Unified School District decided we were no longer welcome and abruptly asked us to leave in the middle of the market. That rattled our cage and we found ourselves back in my driveway in Upper Ladera.
As the number of vendors and orders grew over nineteen weeks, this operation became overwhelming for our small team of volunteers. It was a difficult, but necessary decision to put the market on hold until we can find a location that meets all of the following criteria:
Must be centrally located
Must be visible to traffic (car/foot)
Must come with volunteers willing to help take ownership of the operation
Must have access to indoor or shaded storage space for online orders
If your organization would be interested in reviving our market, we'd love to hear from you. It's been an awesome experience to get to know so many of our neighbors and bring smiles to their faces when we connect them with our talented local makers. Our hope is to dust this back off in November. In the meantime, our weekly farm box program is still operating. If you would like a fresh box of local produce each week, consider signing up for our CSA program.
If you would like to discuss helping us operate the market as a fundraiser for your organization, please contact market@laderaheights.org.
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