Hollywood Farmers' Market needs the public's help to stay afloat

Years before Whole Foods was a household name, or Erewhon became an paragon of influencer cool, there was the Hollywood Farmers' Market on Ivar and Selma avenues. Like so many of Southern California staples, this venerable institution is struggling to stay afloat.

When the Hollywood market started in 1991, there was just a handful like it in California. The intervening three decades saw explosive growth in people's appetite for clean, healthy food — the places that cater to the new outlook. Last year, nearly 700 farmers markets were certified by the state, according to data cited by The Press Enterprise.

The vibe

The Hollywood Farmers' Market arrived in the neighborhood decidedly more rough-and-tumble than it is now — a neat decade before Kodak Theatre (now known as Dolby Theatre) and its adjacent shopping center planted a stake in the area's revitalization.

I first started going there in the 2000s — as it was one of the only places that peddled organic produce and fruits in the Eastside.

I remember a slight carnivalesque atmosphere to the Sunday affair, with vendor after vendor of farm fresh stuff, mixed in with a coffee or kettle corn stand here and there. There were musicians performing, people passing out flyers for this or that cause. I remember biting into my first heirloom tomato that reset my expectations for all tomatoes to come.

Today, this Hollywood landmark is L.A.'s largest farmers market, hosting more than 160 vendors. If Goop is anything to go by, the outdoor market is still a place for "great people-watching."

The nonprofit that's behind its operation, Food Access LA, manages seven other farmers markets, including ones in Echo Park, Compton, and Watts-Willowbrook.

A new membership drive

For the first time in its three decade-plus history, the organization is launching a membership drive to keep their farmers markets from going under.

Executive director Jennifer Grissom said grants and fees paid by vendors are the two funding sources for Food Access LA. But inflation has put financial strains on the operation.

"Costs have risen, from we have to have portable restrooms and we have security and things that make our markets a safe, enjoyable community space," she said.

The nonprofit saw a bump in funding during the pandemic, in part from government COVID relief money, but that stream has since dried up.

There's also the impact of the wild weather the region has endured, from dayslong rainstorms to the recent heatwave, that kept attendance down.

"People don't want to come out, or farmers don't have as much to offer," she said. "We're seeing that be in effect."

What farmers markets bring

The nonprofit's inaugural membership drive is seeking donations totaling $12,000 a month from monthly members.

"We really are trying not to pass that on to the farmers and vendors," she said. "We don't want to continue to have to increase their fees. We want them to come."

Grissom said she's optimistic that fans will respond. But the worst case scenario could lead to some some of their markets shutting down. What's at stakes is not just these longstanding neighborhood spaces, but reliable access to local and healthy food for Angelenos. Grissom noted that a major program at their markets allow residents to use government food assistance for purchases.

In addition, the loss of these markets would take away a source of support for farmers.

"When you are spending your money at a farmers market, you are giving that farmer or vendor 82 to 99 cents to of your dollar," she said. "That does not happen in a grocery store or other situations."