If you love Farmers Markets, the South Bay is a great place to be. Every day of the week — and twice on some days — a farmers market takes place in one of our neighborhoods. From San Pedro’s market on Fridays, all the way back up the coast to El Segundo on Thursdays, fresh fruits and other market goodies are never too far away!
As a participant in the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program, I partnered with Frigidaire to explore one of our local markets. My trip was part of Frigidaire’s Favorite Farmers Market Program. Through this program, Frigidaire is donating $1 to Save the Children for every Gowalla check-in at a local farmers market. You may already know that Save the Children is one of the charities that I support so I was excited to help out with this fund-raising effort.
Of all the markets to choose from, which one did I pick? Oh, just one of the largest, busiest, most well organized markets in all of Southern California — which also happens to be minutes from my house — The Torrance Certified Farmers Market. Let’s take a look!
For my family, visiting the Torrance Farmers Market is a tradition. Every Saturday morning, we get up bright and early for a walk or bike ride around Wilson Park, right next to the market. After we get a bit of exercise, we stroll over to the market for lunch and shopping.
We start our visit on the east end of the market at the food court. Yes, the market has a food court! All kinds of hot, prepared foods can be found there including tacos and burritos, barbecue, Hawaiian food, and more. We also quench our thirsts with aguas frescas — sweet, icy cold beverages made from watermelon, strawberries, and fresh squeezed lemons.
Two of our favorite spots for food are Big Mista’s Barbecue and Frontier Kettle Korn. The barbecue is finger licking good (“Real. Good. Meat.” as Big Mista would say) and the kettle korn is down-right addictive. But not only is the food good, the people behind the food are good too. Neil aka “Big Mista” and Eric, the Kettle Korn guy, are folks we look forward to seeing and chatting with when we shop the market.
After getting our fill in the food court, we leisurely stroll the aisles of the market. Sometimes its hard to make our way through because its such a popular place. Families from all over Torrance and the South Bay come to the market to take home fresh fruits and veggies or to just enjoy the ambiance of the hustle and bustle.
As you would expect, the selection of fruits and vegetables changes with the season. We were shopping for berries on this visit and were in luck. All of the berries were at the peak of plump, sweet, juicy ripeness. We were also looking for tomatoes; summer tomatoes are the best.
Each week we also shop for fresh flowers to decorate our home. With most bouquets selling for $5 to $6 dollars, we can get enough flowers to fill our house with bright, professional looking flower displays without breaking the bank.
But fruits, veggies, and flowers aren’t the only things Torrance Farmers Market as to offer. There’s so much more!
Vendors also come to sell meats, seafood, honey, cheeses, and other artisan foods. The freshly baked breads are pretty good too!
The market organizers also make sure there is plenty of entertainment including musicians and performance artists. I was happy to come across this lady’s booth where she was making Thai fruit and vegetable carvings. Everything on her table was delicately carved…and also edible!
Along with the entertainers, you can also find politicians and activists. They exercise their right to free speech and share their platforms with the market shoppers passing by. On this particular day, a group of women was on hand airing out their um, laundry, to raise awareness for breast cancer research.
Did I mention the people? Visiting the market week after week, we get to know the vendors and have fun with them. They really are a great group of folks. Interacting with them really makes me feel like I’m building our community and helping out the local economy.
I have to give credit to Nicole, the voice behind What Skinny People Do, for dragging me and the kids out of bed every Saturday morning to walk around the park and shop the Torrance Farmers Market. We get a nice helping of exercise; a fresh, filling lunch; flowers to decorate our home; and plenty of ripe fruits and vegetables to cook later on. Sounds like a great recipe for tradition to me!
Start building your own tradition by visiting your local farmers market! Check out this list of local markets to find one near you. Don’t forget to support Frigidaire’s drive for Save the Children; once you get to your local market, check in with Gowalla. And if you visit any of the Torrance Farmers Market Vendors I mentioned here, tell them Michael from South Bay Foodies sent you!
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