Previously on Witian House.

This executive order emboldens the states and cities to follow the lead right of what this executive order is saying.

So what will be the impact?

Just like undoubtedly worse without question, if more and more people are being brought to psychiatric hospitals and being committed against their well, this doesn't get at the root issue.

These are ineffective measures and then they are deeply harmful.

So we are going to have more trauma, more harm, wasted resources and not actually solving the problem.

If all of that really is where we land when we're having this conversation, it really can only further show that this isn't about helping people.

Welcome to Wityan House.

I'm your host, Leo Henderson.

This week we're going to tackle two competing movements.

First the violence of language and his weaponization against the unhoused, and on the other end, the hopeful light of food justice organizers fighting against this hate as the glue of the community keeping everyone fed and connected.

But first on House.

News, getting one's message out to be understood is key in any successful communication.

Language matters, words matter, and one's message matters.

A vivid example is the death of the most reviled rabbit and racist podcaster Charlie Kirk.

Kirk was an unrepentant white supremacist and Christian nationalists that inspired and fomented a violent ideology which ultimately led to his death.

His hateful language was used to demonize people of color, the ULGBQTIA community, women, and the list goes on.

The frightening part of this detestable man's message is it is becoming normalized.

Recently, an aspect the violent language was used by Fox News anchors about the unhoused community.

They have given billions of dollars to mental health and the homeless population.

A lot of them don't want to take the programs.

A lot of them don't want to get the health that is necessary.

You can't give them a choice.

Either you take the resources that we're going to give you and or you decide that you're going to be locked up in jail.

That's the way it has to be.

Now, or involuntary lethal injective or something just.

Kill on the kill.

Previously, the Mayor of Lancaster, Raymond Paris, said this about unhoused people and the use of fitanol.

I could give them the fentanyl, I would I absolutely would make no mistake about it.

Did you have something you wanted to share with us other than your anger and your rage?

Well, what kind of a major talks about giving the homeless fentanyl and you.

Guys don't say anything about it.

That's a metaphor no metaphor what do you saying that for.

I'm saying, if you want, I do not want the homeless criminal population who are drug addicted, who are robbing, raping and murdering our citizens to Maggie in Lancaster and yes, if I could give this that particular population fentanyl, I would give them fentanyl.

An man.

I'm an equal man man, because I don't want drug addicts and murdering our citizens.

That's evil.

Well, then I am in.

With so much happening with the unhoused community today, it is easy to adopt this viewpoint, this ideology, because it starts from the top, from President Trump's executive order all the way down to Fox News media pundits.

It is an opportune time to remember, if you can demonize a group of people, then you can criminalize them.

Now is the time in our communities to speak out, not power or be bullied from doing what's right.

We can't let fascist win, and that's on House News.

When we come back, we'll chat with organizers at the Krenshaw Farmers' Market.

Welcome back to Weedian House.

I'm Theo Henderson.

Recently we've been talking to about food justice a lot on the show.

Last month I went to Thermo, California and Coachella Valley to speak to organizers and participants of a long running mutual a pop up to provide fresh food and supplies to their communities.

Here is organizer and frequent guests Melissa Ossadero.

I am organizing with the people who literally are the backbone of our food system.

Without them, we literally cannot survive.

And yet they are the last to be thought of in just the whole construct of this system.

What I see in the fields and the injustice to farm workers, what I see in our cities, and the injustice with the unhoused books, it's exactly the same.

That violence is the same, the system is the same, the other is the same.

Allowing that level of understanding of all the oppression that's happening in the food system allows us, hopefully, for me, my hope is to dream better on what we can do.

This week we're taking a look at a food justice organization closer to home in the Crenshaw area of Los Angeles.

I spoke to organizers with the Crenshaw Farmers' Market ahead of their twentieth anniversary community Badge this upcoming Saturday, September twenty seven.

For the last two decades, the Crenshaw Farmers Market has been a place for people to access.

Healthy food and build community.

And for their big celebration, they're going all out with performances, family friendly activities, and community leaders speaking.

Laura, Ashley, Summer and Jennifer came into the studio to share more about the event and the market's ongoing efforts.

Here's our chat.

We have some very special guests in the studios today.

We have an exciting event that's happening on the twenty seventh of September.

And before I get into it or reveal too much of the details, I want to introduce our guests, and they're going to introduce themselves and tell us a little bit about the history of the communities that they service and what the events is about.

So before I start off and let me introduce our guests.

Today, we have Summer, Jennifer and we have Ashley also behind the scenes.

If you don't see her, we have Laura so Ba.

Shout out to all of them.

So welcome to Willian House and I thank you all for taking the time of your busy schedules to educate us and to keep us involved and connected into the community.

Thank you for having us.

I'm Jennifer Grissom, the executive director of Food Access.

La Crenshaw farmers Market is one of our nine farmers' markets.

That we operate.

We also do a lot of programming around nutrition security and making sure that people have access to fresh fruits and vegetables perfect.

How long have you been working with Food Access.

I have been here for just a little over two years, so sometimes it feels like ten, but it's just been two.

What motivated you to be working into this exciting field?

So I am very passionate about making sure that everybody has the access and the knowledge to feed their bodies in a healthy way.

But also understand how much that impacts our communities and our local food economies and the wellness of a community.

And I know how important those things are and how overlooked they are many many times.

As you know, times it's changing in so many ways consistently with the events earlier.

Before we got on studio, I was mentioning how REDI and House was impacted and the un the House community was impacted by the pandemic and the differences how people were facing the pandemic and the young house community.

We're facing food and security and food hunger, and I wanted to ask from the un house perspective, how do you feel that it aligns with the food access community.

Oh, I think it's very closely aligned.

That's a community that we want to serve if we want to be able to have relationships with them and foster the relationships between unhoused and our farmers and vendors that are at all of our markets.

We want them to be able to take advantage of the programs and the benefits that are available, and we do.

We see that changing a lot, and it's hard to keep up with what's changing, and how do we negotiate what we have to offer and make sure that it's going to the right places and to the people who need that, and can further support those farmers and their work so that we can continue this cycle of creating these stable food economies.

Most recently I did an episode about von house farm workers that are responsible for all of our produce and vegetables from house or on house.

If you go to a restaurant, you're getting produced from this community.

If you're going to the grocery stores and getting the produce from there, it's from largely directed and from the farms.

And here in California, how can we help make sure that they be able to sustain themselves Because with the ice impacted communities.

When I interviewed a lot of the residents there, there's a lot of shifting priorities.

For example, one of the unhoused families that was talking about their husband and wife were working, and they had chosen that one person works and the other person doesn't because in case they get snatched, their children will not be an orphaned or without a parent to be able to support them.

These new realities, which also impacts housing, rent and other things down the road, are very real considerations.

The second thing, particularly out there in the valley, there are a lot of schools there, but the schools when as an educator you have to have someone that's on the list to be able to pick up your child.

Now they're targeting them and if you're taking the parents that are coming to pick up their child that's on the list, the kid cannot be released where they're going into the system.

And that's another consideration that I don't think a lot of the community members understand, and so I'm just giving these things out just at the top of the head, but I think it's important to give bear witness to these things that many of the unhoused farmers are talking about.

So absolutely we've been having a lot of those conversations too, and trying to figure out how we as an organization keep our farm workers safe but also help support them and continuing to make a living.

So we've done some things like food distributions where we have done it real low key.

We've taken one of our most susceptible markets and you know, tried to make it a very safe space for not only you know, the people who are visiting the market, but specifically for our farm workers and people who are our vendors at the market.

So there's a lot of adjusting that's being done and a lot of listening because there's things that we, you know, we haven't had to necessarily face head on until recently.

So it's a big, big obstacle to face and try to make sure that we're supporting them and keeping them safe and how do we do that correctly?

And so you know our team has been great about helping addrest that.

Well, we'll get back with you and I will give the introduce the rest of the team.

Ashley in Summer welcome and please tell us a little bit about you guys.

Yeah, thank you so much for having us today.

My name is Ashley Clayton.

I am the Crenshaw Farmers Market Manager and so I am there every Saturday rain er shine in clement weather to support the local community and make sure that food is accessible to them.

Hi THEO, thank you so much for having us.

My name is Summer Vernon and I am the senior Manager of Farmer's Market Operations for Food Access LA and I oversee all of our South LA farmers markets.

We have four South LA farmers markets which includes Central Avenue Farmers Market, Crenshaw Farmer's Market, Watswillowbrook Farmers Market and Compton College Farmer's Market.

What days are the Farmer's markets, So the audience if they would like to drop into sure I can.

Start with our South LA ones.

So our South La Ones will start on Wednesday, so we run all nine of our farmers' markets run Wednesdays through Sundays, and so we have Wednesdays, we have WATS Willowbrog Farmers' Markets which runs from nine am to two pm.

That's at the MLK Outpatient Center and Willowbrook.

After that we have the Compton College Farmers Market which runs from three to seven thirty on the Compton College campus.

On Thursday, we have two farmers' markets.

We have our Central Avenue Farmers Market which runs from nine am to two pm and that actually runs out of the Council District nine Constituent Center off Central Avenue and forty third.

And then we have our La River Farmers Market, which is on the edge of Chinatown and that runs from three to seven thirty at the LA State Historic Park.

And then on Fridays we have our Echo Park Farmers Market which runs from three to seven thirty and that is in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

And then on Saturdays we have two farmers' markets.

That is our Cringeon Farmer's Market which runs from ten to three pm and that's off of Cringe and s Lawson and then our brand new farmer's market, which is our Little Tokyo Farmer's Market which just opened Labor Day weekend, and that runs from nine to two pm.

And Little Tokyo off I don't know the adjust for that one yet.

It's brand new.

And then on Sunday we have two farmers' markets.

We have Hollywood Farmer's Market, which is our biggest market and actually the biggest farmer's market in Los Angeles, and that runs from eight to one pm off of Selma and IVR in Hearta, Hollywood.

And then we have our Atwater Village Farmers Market, which is in the Atwater neighborhood of LA and that runs at the same time from I believe it's ninety oh an hour later than Hollywood, which.

Is ninety two.

Okay, what's going to ask you a quick question and follow the question about the Chinatown one.

How long have you guys have been doing the Chinatown Farmer's Market.

Yeah, so that one actually opened literally I think the month I started with Food Access LA.

So that opened I think the first I think the end of April or the beginning of May twenty twenty two.

And so we're coming up I guess three and a half years of that market coming up on four because that's not going to be my anniversary, and so yeah, we're coming up kind of like on the critical time.

I think for farmers markets, like that's kind of like after the two three year mark is like when they kind of start get going, and they you know, in the industry, they say it takes like up to five years for like a farmer's market to kind of finally kind of catch its footing in a community, and so I think we are just now probably starting to see the kind of fruits of the labor that we put into that market.

Why is this so important to have farmers markets in these communities that you have highlighted.

Yeah, it's important to have farmer's markets because we had to have access to fresh foods and veggies.

And I think when people look at grocery stores, they don't really understand or some people don't understand like the impacts that sustainability at the grocery stores I guess have on our economy, on our sustainability environment because the fruit and the produce and the veggies and all those things are coming from so many different places, and the real benefit of farmer's markets is community and locality regionality and being able to kind of serve the people who are in that direct community.

And so the food of the farmer's markets are coming from the people who the people in that community.

It's being grown locally regionally, and that is a benefit to the community at large.

There is such an importance to having strong, stable local food economies.

A lot of the reasons why you spoke about earlier that those farmers need that support to keep growing the food, and if we do not have those farmers growing food, then we will all be hungry, regardless of your status in life.

So, you know, stabilizing those communities and then add on to that the health and wellness that comes from eating nutrient rich foods that haven't been traveling for miles or been sitting in a plastic bag for days and days on end.

And we know there are tons of data points and tons of studies done that when there are healthy communities, they are going to do better in all areas of life.

And so you know, we are here to support those farmers and make sure that they get support, but also support our communities making sure that they can be part of that.

And to some degree it's a real active resistance, you know, to show up and support people who are growing food with their hands, with their labors, wet and tears.

It's not some machine that's making it.

It's not a chemical that's being pushed out in the shape of a chicken nugget, you know, not that you know, if people want to eat that, that's fine too, But there's just so much to support and so much goodness that comes from this cycle of growing food within a community.

We also kind of skipped over, but also the price to we need to have that conversation, and I was hoping around it and so I had extrapolated further on it also because of the food deserts.

This is conversation that being Melissa noticed, particularly when I did briefly stay around in the South kritch Shall area.

They used to have on Critshawn's Sloughson they used to have with said croakers.

But what was this.

Rouse and the rouse was considerably different than the rauhs on Seventh and Flower.

And what it did was it was at one point I was trying to tailor to use the community, but also because it was struggling because of gentrification and because of the economic instability, that was going on in the area, they were not able to sustain itself.

And so when me and Melissa were.

Talking about what like with the un house community and things like that here in Like the second example was in Chinatown, there was a grocery store at Walmart that had root there and that closed out.

And as more and more of versus going on, and like a little Tokyo, there's not necessarily strong stores that will be able to meet the need of fresh produce as it is.

They have small stores, but it's not that strong level like a food swap or a food place food market to be able to pick up the slack.

So that was what I was trying to make sure that that interconnected point was to be brought out to.

Yeah, So to that point, like one of the biggest reasons why we relocated Crenshaw Farmer's Market to I don't know if to gets to the listeners out there and twenty twenty three.

I believe it was.

We were at the bottom holes Crinchhaw Plaza for I think close to a decade and then just due to uncertainty of that space, we decided to relocate.

And one of the prime places that were presented to us was Crinshaw and Slows and because of the closing of that routs at that point, I think it had been closed for I think a year or two because I didn't think I can clothes before the before the pandemic.

Yeah, so it was closed by the time we got there, and so we chose that space to fill that gap because there was there was no grocery store for so long once that closed, which is wild the fact that they would even make that decision in that community with so many people to serve.

And so that was one of the biggest reasons why we even chose because to relocate a market is a really really big decision because even we only moved two miles up the street and it's still affecting us through almost three years later, because that little distance like effects thousands.

And thousands of people.

Like some people won't go that far because it's not within either their means or it's just like out of their their little bubble that they want to travel to.

So we have to consider a lot.

We really redokate to market.

But for us, like there were so many things to think about and that was like one of the core the core decisions and making us move to that space.

Also point in point out two, just to give a visual about Crimshawn Slawson and the area of there.

Those sidewalks, those blocks are like what we used to call when I lived in Texas, those Texas miles, because they are not small manageable blocks like let's say in Little Tokyo.

The blocks a little bit more manageable.

For the population in Little Tokyo is like it's a heavier elderly community, and so you know, to imagine them to walk this from one point and end of creation to the end of revelation would be it's more of a notion.

And more importantly too, it deals with the conversation of convenience.

You know, when I was growing up many years ago, great now, but I remember there were convenience stores or places that were easier to get you, that were economical, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and things of that nature.

They were able to do.

But because of the greed and gentrification and all of the ills of society in many respects, it has been like a bygone era.

Actually, can you give us a little bit of a primer or refresher on how do you interconnect with the pieces here?

Yeah?

So, actually, I want to talk about a couple of different things.

You were talking about convenience and being able to get to the market, and so the great thing about the Crenshaw Farmers Market is we are right off the metro line, so you can literally get off the Metro on crenshawn Slawson and then walk across the street.

And which is recently, yeah, which is recent.

When I was down, it took a very long time to get that up, but that's.

Yeah, it's very recent, but it does help bring people to the market.

There's also a bus stop directly in front of the market and so I believe it's the dash that takes you straight there and it comes every I believe hour, and so it does add a level of convenience in terms of being able to add that accessibility component.

Also, I wanted to note a but you mentioned earlier about pricing in comparison to grocery stores.

And so one of my fas favorite things that I always like to highlight about working at the Farmer's Market is we do we have what's called market match, and so we do a dollar for dollar match on EBT up to a certain point at each one of our farmers markets.

And so at Crenshaw specifically, currently we're matching up to forty dollars.

So if you came to us and you were like, hey, I want to take forty dollars off of my ABT card, then we would give you forty dollars off of your EBT card, plus an additional forty and twenty of those dollars are strictly for fruits and vegetables and the other twenty is for anything EBT eligible at the market.

And so we do try and provide some additional support for people who are unable to, say, like go to the grocery store or are unable to go through other means in order to be able to get food.

Which is an excellent and brought out too.

EBT is what we call here in Los Angeles.

Is in other places they have it's like the food stamp card or card that they use that instead of back in the day where my mom's time, where we used to have those old fashioned foodstamp books and my mother used to.

Pull out and on the store.

So we don't they don't do that anymore.

We can put on the account computerized gr for the cash is the general relief portion of it.

On that note too, because like for many unhoused community members, they don't have a stove, they don't have For me, it was difficult, and especially you have health considerations.

One of maybe a benefit with dealing with farmers' markets is maybe having to a sense of portion control.

And this is what I mean as a diverted person, I have to eat at a certain point in time, I have to eat a certain make sure my blood sheckle is stable where the third of stores, or if I would go into a place like let's say Rous, I would have to probably have over an over abundance of food, but I can't store it, which helps blo en up the sugar balloons up the weight.

And so whereas if you could be able to portion control what you have and a certain way that you can be able to stay healthy and not have over overextend yourself financially, that's one of the things I think is a benefit to think on as well.

You don't have to deploy all of your funds to a place or you have to price match it.

Costs could be a lot considerably more cheaper, and your gr money at EBT money can go a lot farther than it could go into somewhere like places that I consider that exploits the un housed, like seven elevens, because those proliferation of those seven elevens are occupied by people that make it very difficult for you to be able to sustain.

Yourself health wise.

But also there's limitations on what you can You can't use gr.

Funds for hot food.

That's another point of contention with me.

So when we come back more with the organizers of the print Shop Farmers.

Mark, welcome back.

This is the o Hindus.

Let's jump back into my discussion with the folks at the Crenshaw Farmers Market.

We can continue talking about SNAP and EBT benefits too, and I think there's such a personal, you know, perspective of that and that's where we come from.

I think a lot in our organization of you know, making sure we're helping individuals and those dollars go back into the market and are going to those farmers, so you know, goes back to that point you were talking about where we really want to support those farmers and so it's really a win win and like it supports this whole group and this you know again local ecosystem which're going to hear me say that word a lot, the local food economy, but also when you take a step back from that, and even if you just you know, I don't know why you would want to, but if you want to take the personal out of it, when you're talking about those snap eb T dollars, and then when you add market match into that, those dollars are actually multiplied, so when they go back into the local food economy, one dollar actually becomes you know, up to a dollar fifty, sometimes up to a dollar and eighty cents.

So you are, you're recycling that and strengthening what people can do and they can go further and you know, make the choices.

And that's something that I love about market match too, is that it allows people to make some autonomous choices and what's best for them.

And then on top of that, you're at the farmer's market, you're making relationships with those vendors, whether it be you know, the Tai curry or it's the person who's providing you apples.

You're making those relationships.

They're gonna know what you need specifically, so when you show up the next week, they've got it ready for you.

And that then just goes back into that community wellness that's there.

As someone that's us watching their pennies.

If you can be able to have that relationship with the community and the farmer's market to be able I won't say haggled, but be able to they understand your circumstances.

And I know this is from my own personal experience.

They work with you and you can have your to go far.

That's that's why I've been kind of in that you have to understand there's a difference where I couldn't do that and no routes they don't do.

They wouldn't give a flying fig.

I need to hold on to the fifteenth that gr but if it's that you know, to re evact activated, this is what the price is is set in stone.

Either you can afford it or you cannot, or keep it pushing.

So I think that's one of the things particular where it is so important to have these kinds of community resources like mutual eight kind of organizations and things like that.

So absolutely, I mean like our farmers and vendors are the most generous people that that we know, we love them.

We have a great community.

But you know you just mentioned the community resources, so I want these two to talk about.

Like, we're talking a lot about food and that is our focus in our mission, but there are so many community resources that come to the market.

So yeah, like she was saying, there's so many different community resources that come to the market.

One of the first ones that comes to mind for me specifically is our nutrition program.

So we do have a nutrition team out food Access LA that regularly makes time to come to the market and they'll host classes and show people how they can take some of the produce that we actually sell at the market and create meals off of them, and so that is really impactful to the community.

I've seen so many people come through and be like, oh my gosh, I didn't know that I could do that with like this tomato.

I didn't know that I could make this healthy version of like juice because one time they made like homemade fruit punch absolutely amazing, and so just thinking about stuff like that.

And then on top of that, we also have a lot of community partners that come into the market and we'll share resources once a month now Crunchhaw specifically, we're giving away free five gallon trees and so if someone is like wanting to bring a tree into their home.

They're able to stop at the market and like pick up a tree and they'll be able to provide like some shading in their home.

Let's shut out the organization.

It's Korea Town Youth Center, I believe the name of the organization specifically for center, Yeah, Koreatown Youth Center.

And then we also have a partnership with Metro who regularly comes out to the market now and they're providing information on how to sign up for bus passes and get people and trans and those are just three of the different ways that we're able to provide resources and programming at the market.

But we're regularly working with community partners across Los Angeles County and to make sure that we're able to bring in additional resources to the community.

And it's on top of that just part of the community well on us is like bringing in community members on top of that to bring in resources.

So Ashley is doing a really amazing job at Crenshaw just continuously bringing in those people and they're continuously reaching out to us too.

Because on top of food as a resource and something that kind of feeds you, like being able to kind of give other free things to the community that's going to kind of serve them other ways is really important.

Also LPL, the Los Angeles Public Library, has come out and done some really amazing things at the at the market, which I think is a really awesome partnership Black Women for Wellness.

We really want to start working with them again.

And so just like big and small, kind of like institutional and not, the market is like a really great place to kind of and we reserve that space for them, you know.

And so if you are a community organization in LA, especially in South LA, please reach out to us and because we have that space for you to provide resources to the community.

And then something that's really important for us because that's part of the market.

Food and farmers are what we do, but it's also creating a space for a community to gather and to kind of get resources to improve their lives.

So but also actually kind of did something kind of sparked in me too when you're talking about nutrition classes and then you were talking about how, you know, the unhoused community doesn't have some things to cook on a stove.

So I think it'll be good for us to think about how we can incorporate classes or something what type of things that the market you can prepare without a stove or with having these other resources that can make it easy kind of take from the market.

So that's kind of something I think we need to start thinking about more.

I agree, excellent, Well, I hope you mind if I take a shift in the conversation.

And I wanted to talk about what's going on Saturday?

So what can we expect going on on Saturdays?

So anyone can answer.

On Saturdays in general or on twenty Saturday seven Saturday.

Yeah.

No, So we're actually really really excited.

I'm really really excited.

We're celebrating our twentieth anniversary at the Crenshaw Farmers Market.

I have had the luxury of managing the Farmer's market for a year now and being able to see all the new vendors and like old vendors and just everyone come together to like rally around this special occation has been really excited for me.

We will be having the Crunchhaw Marching Band from Crunshaw.

I will be there performing, super excited for that.

We'll also be having some other musical acts.

We will be having a dance Artistic.

DJ Artistic will be there.

He is very famous on Twitch if anybody happens to be on that platform.

He has like thousands and thousands of followers, so he's also very excited to be there.

There's going to be a run happening as a part of this.

Was it the Crenshaw Miles having a run?

I think South Central Run Social having a community run starting at nine am or September twenty seventh.

So if you think dud, they're still sign up.

So you can visit our page at Crenshaw FM to get more information on that.

And please also visit our page Crenshaw FM and sign up for our newsletter because we'll continuously be sending out like emails and information to people about not just this upcoming twentieth anniversary celebration, but any future activations that we have at the market.

There'll also be a Spades freeplay from Love, Peace and Spades.

What are the community partners at Dancing for the Day.

Yeah, so we're going to be hosting a dance class I mentioned earlier with Old School Skinny, which will be a lot of fun.

That's happening at twelve pm on Saturday.

We will be hearing from some hopeful leave from some elected officials that will be speaking at the market.

We will be giving away some cake, so I want to throw that in there.

We will be giving away some cake, so that should be nice because it's a celebration.

You know, we want to be able to celebrate as much as we can.

We have some merchandise that says Crenshaw on it for the Farmer's Market.

It's going to have like the twentieth anniversary logo.

So we're really really excited for this.

And this is of course all to commemorate twenty years in the Crenshaw district.

And so I don't think a lot of people don't realize that the market has been around for that long, but we have, and we're really excited to celebrate that.

We have a long history in the community.

I don't know if we want to go into the history, but I'm happy please y yeah, I mean so, I mean, I'll go as deep as I know, because you know, there are people around I can also shut out who have been part of the legacy of and Shaw.

But the market actually started in Lamur Park I think in two I mean twenty years ago.

Somebody do the math for me.

Two thousand and five, ye.

Yeah, two thousand and five.

So it actually started in Lamurt Park in front of Vision Theater.

It was there for a few years before it relocated to the Baldwin Host Cranshaw Plaza, and so that's kind of where it really got its footings as a farmer's market.

We were there for over a decade and kind of that's where the market like really grew into what it is today.

A lot of the farmers and the food vendors who are still at the market started with us.

I don't know if they started with us when we're in Lamart Park.

I'll have to check with some of the vendors there, but they have been with us pretty much since the beginning.

And for me, that really.

Shows the community aspect of it, of the farmers market and just really how important it is.

I guess too, I don't know.

I guess it's just I guess it just shows how amazing the farmer's market is in my mind, because like it really because once you're like there and you'll be come a staple, like you just become a part of the community and so people look forward to seeing you.

But also like there's so many other aspects, you know, in terms of like your business, like people get used to like seeing you every week and like actually local economy like coming back to that, and so there's just so many reasons, and I really want to kind of talk to the folks like what kept.

You here for so long?

Like obviously, like I know, like building like a vibe and a community and a gathering space, and so it's just it's amazing to have so many vendors who have been there for so long.

That's funny that you said that, because I actually did talk to one of our vendors that I was like, you've been here for a while, And what he told me specifically was he actually really just loves the community.

He we were talking.

This is around the time Little Tokyo was opening, and he was like asking me about having the company he works for like sign up for a Little Tokyo too, And I was like, oh, no, you can't leave me.

And he was like, actually, I would never leave this community like this is my home.

Like those are his exact words, where this is my home.

A lot of our vendors feel that the Crenchhaw Farmers Market is their home.

Yeah.

Yeah, I love to share that, and so I think, like most importantly, like I guess to get to the point like there are not a lot of farmers' markets in South Ula, especially in the Crenshaw area, and so to be able to serve like this space for twenty years has been is really critical and to be able to celebrate that is really amazing.

And a lot of the farmers that are with us have been with us for just as long, and so to be able to continue that legacy hopefully and to serve the community in this way is something that I'm so thankful that we're able to celebrate, and I'm looking forward to kind of seeing how else we can help the different types of communities that are out there in the different ways that they need.

And so now that we're kind of in our new space, we move from Baldwin Hills to Crenshaw and Slawson, which you know, we're still building up that space and much as smaller space, and so there are challenges in that in that space, and we hear all that hear the community out there and what those challenges are a lot of it has to do with parking, A lot of it.

I mean, there are a lot of challenges when you move, especially into a smaller space, and especially into the place that you weren't before, and so we're looking forward to, I guess, figuring that out and seeing how we can better serve the people who are in that area, especially as they continues to like rapidly change, And so that for me is going to be I guess the next episode of the Crenshaw Farmers Market.

All right, Well, this has been a very titillating conversation and I learned some things that hope by audience as well.

Did I miss anything that you guys going to take the moment to highlight elucidate our audience with?

Oh goodness, I do feel like we can talk about things for hours and hours.

But I think, you know something that Summer brought to my mind while she was talking.

It's just like that resiliency of the farmers that we just talked about.

The routes that close.

But our farmers have been there the whole time, and through COVID and through ups and downs, and they're still showing up.

So I think it's just like it's such a celebration of all of that.

You know, they are really the backbone of what makes our farmers market, and these two ladies also make it happen every week.

But we hope Averredady comes out comes and celebrates with us.

Again, what's happening and what time does it start?

It starts at ten am.

The market will be open ten am to three pm on Saturday, September twenty seven.

And where is this going to be?

Absolutely so address is fifty seven thirty Crenshaw Boulevard.

We are located right next to US Bank and at the firehouse fifty four parking lot.

I was just going to say parking is there are parking options?

Yeah, so parking is one of the biggest challenges.

But this is LA so we all know that.

So yeah, there is parking, just not a US Bank please.

That is reserved for Usbank customers and in the back for our vendors.

But we do have parking lot that is behind the market.

It is a free parking situation and we were working on getting some other parking secured and so please check out our instagram for updates on that because we're keeping our fingers crossed that we have secured extra lot, but that.

Is not confirmed.

But if it isn't, we do have a lot that is free and there will be street parking, So we hope that doesn't deter you from coming out because it's really going to be a really great celebration with lots of activities, music, art, and most importantly food and farmers from our vendors who have been there and they really really need your support.

That is, Like, I think one thing that we didn't really drive home is that farmers' markets, especially like right now, I think, you know, with everything that's kind of going on, if we want to call it what it is, we can't, you know, but you know, with the with the big ugly bill with you know whatever whatever his name is, you know.

FDT, all that good stuff.

Sorry, things are being you know, more affected more than ever, and we don't know how that's gonna affect our markets.

So it's gonna be it's gonna be critical more than ever for you guys to come out and support the farmers' markets because that not only that supports the farmers, the vocal vendors who are small businesses.

We talked a lot about the farmers, which obviously we're farmers market, but a critical aspect of a farmer's market is also are food vendors who are small business owners in the communities that they serve to, and those are people who are also being affected and so they also need your support, and so the biggest way to do that is to show up every week to the market.

And so that's what we're really really hoping, not just on the twenty seventh, but consistently is what we hope to do.

And we hope to do that by just continuously providing you know, quality vendors, farmers, programming and resources.

And we're always have an open ear to what you guys need and we are there every week to listen, so we hope that you guys show up.

Also, is the transportation line running as well?

Yes, the transportation line is running.

If you want to utilize the transportation instead of worried about parking, you can avail yourself to that as well.

So yes, and it's the metro k line.

Hyde Park station a slash Nipsey Hustle station is the exit and we are right across the street.

Well, this is it.

I look forward to seeing you on the twenty seventh of September, which is a Saturday at the market and to see what's really going on and how an impact of our community is so important.

What they say is, you know, there's no such thing as a good community, like a connected community.

And with that note, I thank you all for listening.

Thank you, thank you for having us.

Thank you, Thank you so much to Laura, Ashley Suburb and Jennifer for their time.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, make sure to check out the twentieth year anniversary of the Printshaw Farmers Market is coming Saturday, September twenty seventh.

The event will be at fifty seven thirty Princeshaw Boulevard.

And of course, thank you all for listening to another episode of Wiedion House.

If you have a story you'd like to share, please reach out to me at wdionhousat gmail dot com or at Whidian House on Instagram.

Until then, may we meet again in the light of understanding.

Whedian House is a production of iHeartRadio.

It is written, hosted, and created by me Theo Henderson, our producers Jamie Loftus, Hailly Fager, Katie Fischer, and Lyra Smith.

Our editor is Adam Watt, our.

Engineer is Joel Jerome, and our local art is also by Katie Fischer.

Thank you for listening.

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