A certified farmers’ market opens again Tuesday, June 23, at Villa Parke, where about 13 vendors — certified growers and food artisans — will sell produce, baked goods, prepared foods, and plants from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 363 E. Villa St.
The market sits at the corner of Garfield Avenue and Villa Street and has run on Tuesday mornings since 1980, according to the City of Pasadena. It accepts EBT and participates in the Market Match program, funded by Hunger Action Los Angeles, which provides CalFresh recipients with additional funds to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables, according to the market. EBT users check in at the information booth, where staff process benefits.
The City of Pasadena’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department has operated the market since 1995. Surplus revenue funds recreation programs at the city’s community centers, according to the city. The Villa Parke market was the first of Pasadena’s two certified markets; the larger Saturday market at Victory Park followed in 1984. Both belong to the California Federation of Certified Farmers’ Markets, and their farmers are certified by the county agricultural commissioner.
Certified growers sell only what they grow, and the market does not permit craft vendors, according to the market’s website. Most vendors accept electronic payment, and cash is always accepted. The market runs year-round, rain or shine, closing only during the week of the Rose Parade.
“Farmers’ markets introduce us to the hardworking farmers who grow food for our families,” Gretchen Sterling, manager of the Pasadena Certified Farmers’ Markets, said in a City of Pasadena statement. “Farmers work long days, deal with changing weather conditions, and travel a long way to be at our markets weekly.”
Sterling, who has managed the markets since the early 1980s, said the operation aims to connect shoppers with the people who grow their food. “We keep four farmers for every one food artisan. We do no crafts. We are your food source,” she said in an interview with Pasadena Weekly. “We’re there to keep that connection between you and the farmer that’s growing your food.”
Sterling also said the seasons shape what shoppers find. “Just because you see it in the grocery store doesn’t mean that it’s grown locally here year-round,” she said in the same interview. “That’s not the way Mother Nature works. Mother Nature has different seasons, and different things grow in those seasons.”
Koko Panossian, director of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, said in the city statement that the program fits the department’s mission. “PRCS is proud to support such a meaningful and long-standing program,” Panossian said. “The Pasadena Farmers’ Market aligns with our mission to offer affordable resources, encourage healthy choices, and foster connections within the community.”
The market is at 363 E. Villa St.; details are available at pasadenafarmersmarket.org or 626-449-0179.
In 1997, the markets program received the Arthur Nobel Award for “making life better in Pasadena,” according to Pasadena Now. “My biggest heartwarming thing is people learn to know who grows their food, and it is not an easy job,” Sterling said in an interview with Pasadena Weekly.
Pasadena Certified Farmers’ Market at Villa Parke | Tuesday, June 23, 2026, 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Villa Parke Center, 363 E. Villa St. | 🔗 https://www.pasadenafarmersmarket.org/
