By Emily Wishingrad
Every Sunday morning between 9 am and 2:30 pm, the Brentwood Farmers Market can be counted on to feature fresh fruits and vegetables that burst out of their crates. Vendors shout their prices to mothers with babies in strollers, couples fresh off a mid-morning jog and families on weekly shopping trips.
One of more than 20 California Certified Farmers Markets, the Brentwood Market sells the typical assortment: seasonal fruits and vegetables, fungi and eggs. But like other markets, vendors have expanded past the typical produce to sell everything from waffles to sorbet to clothing.
The Brentwood Market has also expanded to even host amusements for children that include a bounce house, a petting zoo, pony rides and face painting.
The Brentwood Market, founded in 2003, had a slow start according to Jennifer McColm, the president of California Certified Farmers’ Markets.
Yet, today, McColm said it is thriving with more than 100 vendors at any given time.
She also emphasized the importance of the most veteran vendors who have stayed with the market through its bumpy beginning.
“We want to highlight the vendors that have been there from the beginning who have helped build the Farmers Market,” McColm said. “In large part, it is because of these vendors who believed in the Farmers Market and stuck it out when times were tougher and developed the amazing relationships they now have with the customers who travel from all over to attend each Sunday.”
McColm named Arnett Farms, Underwood Farms, Scarbourough Farms, The Grove, Skyline Flowers, Mom’s Products and Tropical Seafood as some of these most veteran vendors.
Although Brentwood Market is pretty compact, compared to other markets, it spans only one block at 741 S. Gretna Green Way – one block west of Bundy, between San Vicente and Montana Avenue. In terms of business, the size seems to be a plus for some of the vendors. For others, it is a negative.
A seller for Scarborough Farms, a farm located in Oxnard that sells greens at the market, said the size helps sales. He noted that, since the market is located on a single block with streets on both ends for parking, it is much more accessible and thus better for business.
However, a representative for Skyline Farmers, a vendor strictly in the business of selling flowers, mentioned that sales are better at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market – a market that spans numerous blocks.
When asked about trending products at the market, McColm said that she sees more gluten-free and vegan products being sold as of late.
Livia’s, a family named and owned company, sells both gluten-free and vegan baked goods, appealing to this trend on both fronts. Only family members and close friends are involved in the business. The company sells to nine markets including the Brentwood market and business constitutes all of the family’s revenue.
In fact quite a few of the vendors, especially vendors of prepared foods, represented small family businesses. A woman at Suri’s, a vendor for street-style Indian foods, said her business is also a small, family enterprise. They also cater and sell at other markets in the area, but ultimately, the family is very happy with the business in Brentwood.
New names for the Market include R & D Produce (a seller of Stone Fruits) Twisted Brittle, Popsicle Culture and Coco Bakes.
When asked about her hopes for the future of the market, McColm centered much of her answer not on the physical market, but rather, on the social initiatives connected to it.
In particular, she mentioned her hope to expand Raw Inspiration’s Gardens Into School program, connected with the California Certified Farmers’ Markets’ focus on education about healthy eating.
The Gardens Into School program aims to share the importance of locally grown, healthy eating with schools and has so far given grants to 15 schools in the Los Angeles area. McColm noted that recently, the program funded a grant for the Brentwood Magnet School, a school that is located adjacent to the Brentwood Market.
The program is an “investment in the future we are proud to make and be a part of for the Brentwood community,” McColm said.
Since its slow start in 2003, the Brentwood Farmers’ Market has grown enormously, continually changing and broadening its products.
Today it is a thriving market, bringing members of the Brentwood community together every Sunday.
For more information, visit ccfm.com/ccfm/brentwood-farmers-market.
