NEWS
By Dave Schwab SDUN Reporter
What makes the four farmers markets—Mission Hills, Hillcrest, Adams Avenue and North Park— in the Uptown District so special is they’re homespun in every way, featuring local growers catering to local neighborhoods. It’s that down-home quality that
gets—and keeps—vendors and customers coming back every week, said Catt White, who manag- es Adams Avenue and North Park farmers markets, both of which have found success partnering with a business improvement district. “Seems like many markets are
doubling as community meeting places, where neighbors meet one another in a relaxed setting, doing something we all need to do—hunt and gather,” White said. “There’s a heightened level of awareness now about the importance of knowing where your food comes from and developing relationships with the people who grow or raise it.” Large or small, new or old, Up-
town farmers markets, like the four-month-old Mission Hills farm- ers market sponsored by the Mis- sion Hills Business Improvement District, all have something in com- mon: They’re all community-based.
MISSION HILLS FARMERS MARKET “I use the term neighborhood
market for Mission Hills,” said manager Ron La Chance. “It truly is a social hub, especially in a tight- knit community like Mission Hills.” La Chance noted bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to quality. “We are a smaller market but still have a great selection of produce and flowers, including some Certi- fied Organic growers too,” he said, offering this caveat: “You won’t find any crafts booths or ready-to-eat food booths like crepes or tacos here.” What you will find at Mission
Hills farmers market, said La Chance, is “all your produce needs along with some great specialty foods like hummus, local honey, baked goods, olive oils, eggs, pas- tas and more.” La Chance said Mission Hills
has 13 growers, five of whom are certified organic. What’s special about Mission
Hills’ farmers market? “It’s tucked right into the neigh-
borhood, offering lots of pedestrian traffic,” noted La Chance, pointing out the fledgling market has a “re- ally good selection for our size.” For entertainment, Mission
Hills offers up live music and clown face-painting every week. La Chance has noticed shoppers
are looking for “anything differ- ent,” and are turning more toward organic. But they are especially con-
cerned about freshness. “People are just more aware of the good- ness of fresh local produce,” La Chance said. “Farmers market pro- duce was picked that day or the day prior. It ripened on the vine or tree longer than supermarket produce.” There’s one other advantage
farmers-market produce has over store-bought. “Usually prices are better too,” La Chance said. With the advent of fall, La
Chance said customers can look forward to a bumper crop of squash, zucchini, apples and grapes. La Chance is also bullish on the future of the industry. “Farmers mar-
San Diego Uptown News | October 15-28, 2010 Farmers markets get fresh: offerings reflect season
market, which opened in May 2010. Discussing the uniqueness of
the market, White noted, “This is the only one of our markets located on school grounds, and we consid- er education one of our missions.” Also special—and telling—
about Adams Avenue market, noted White, is that it’s patronized by local chefs. “Regular demos let shoppers see how food profession- als choose foods and how they prepare them,” she said. “Chefs from Kensington Grill, Blind Lady Alehouse and Cafe 21 have done recent demos and more are sched- uled. We are developing workshops that will allow parents, children and neighbors from two very different communities to learn about healthy eating and local producers.”
NORTH PARK FARMERS MARKET The North Park farmers market
kets are more popular than ever,” he said. “I see no slowing in their popu- larity. It is more than just shopping: It is the whole experience.”
HILLCREST FARMERS MARKET On the opposite end of the spec-
trum from Mission Hills’ small and new farmers market is Hillcrest’s large and time-tested one. The market, which originally opened with only 35 vendors in April 1997, currently consists of a total of 140 vendors—125 on any given Sun- day—offering a wide variety of locally grown in-season fruit, pro- duce, gifts, arts, crafts and flowers. Many of the local California
farmers participating in the market grow their produce organically or with no pesticides. The market also hosts a large
variety of prepared food and hot food items, with an emphasis on international cuisine, as well as weekly entertainment performed by a local band. Strolling through Hillcrest Farm-
ers Market on a typical Sunday, one gets a sense of community and a “family feel” from market manager David Larson, who’s been running the show there for 13½ years, along with his son and brother. “Everything here related to
agriculture is locally grown,” said Larson adding, “We do have more unique and specialty vendors than the other markets and we have the attendance to justify all that.” Larson isn’t exaggerating. In
almost every direction he points, there’s a vendor with a one-of-a- kind product or service. New ven- dor Aqua Farms offers mussels, oysters and some abalone. Another has naturally raised whole chickens selling for $20. Banners on vendor booths proclaim “gluten-free, veg- an-friendly,” something for every- one. One booth sells salmon from Alaska. Another offers eight differ- ent varieties of figs from France. And the food court section is
equally as diverse and multicultur- al. One merchant sells chili pepper jelly. “There’s not one other person in San Diego that does this,” noted Keith Willis, owner of Bubbles’ Brit- ish Café offering culinary delights such as breakfast bangers. There is a wealth of African and Middle Eastern cuisine available. A food both serving crepes al- ways has long lines. “It’s very much a family place,”
concluded Larson, about why the farmers market has grown and
has operated off and on, in various locations and under various man- agers, in North Park. For the past three years, it has occupied a space in the CVS Drugstore parking lot at North Park Way and Herman Street with hours that vary seasonally. Invited to assume management
Live entertainment is provided weekly with a local band at the Hillcrest farmers market (top). Market manager David Larson and son Ryan team up weekly to put on the Hillcrest farmers market (above).
prospered and continues to do so. Catt White and her team at SD
Weekly Markets, which manage Ad- ams Avenue and North Park farmers markets, are proud of their long his- tory of involvement with local restau- rant organizations, Slow Food Urban San Diego, chef-based charities and the farm-to- table movement.
ADAMS AVENUE FARMERS MARKET Located at John Adams Elemen-
tary School on 35th Street just off Adams Avenue serving Normal Heights, Kensington ands Univer- sity Heights, the farmers market is run by The Adams Avenue Busi- ness Association. Nearby business- es sponsored start-up costs for the
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of the under-producing market in late April 2010 by the North Park Main Street Association, White and her crew in just a few months have almost doubled the size of the mar- ket, increasing the ratio of farmers to artisan food purveyors and dra- matically reducing the number of non-food vendors. White said North Park is in the
forefront of the local farm-to-table trend. “We see chefs from Urban Sol- ace, Ritual Tavern, Spread, the Link- ery and others shopping at the mar- ket each week, and their menus often refer to the farms that produce the ingredients,” she said. White feels
see Market, page 22
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