By 8:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, the produce is out at the corner of Garfield Avenue and Villa Street — a routine that has repeated on the same block of Pasadena since 1980.
The Pasadena Certified Farmers’ Market at Villa Parke opens again August 18 and runs until 12:30 p.m. Certified growers and food artisans sell fruit, vegetables, baked goods, prepared food, ranch-raised meats, jams, jellies, fish, and cut and potted flowers. Craft vendors are not permitted. The certification is a county designation meaning the farmers offering produce for sale are the ones who grew it.
What distinguishes the market from a grocery aisle is who can shop there. It accepts EBT and participates in Market Match, a program funded by Hunger Action Los Angeles that gives CalFresh recipients additional money to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables. Shoppers using EBT check in at the information booth, where staff process the benefits.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services has operated the market since 1995. Surplus revenue does not disappear into a general fund; it pays for recreation programming at Pasadena’s community centers, according to the city. Koko Panossian, the department’s director, described it in a city statement as “a meaningful and long-standing program.”
Villa Parke sits one block north of the 210 Freeway, roughly midway between the Fair Oaks Avenue and Lake Avenue off-ramps.
NEED TO KNOW: The Pasadena Certified Farmers’ Market at Villa Parke runs Tuesday, August 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Villa Parke, 363 E. Villa St., in Pasadena, at Garfield Avenue and Villa Street. Entry is free, with goods sold by individual vendors; EBT is accepted and Market Match funds are available at the information booth. For more, call (626) 449-0179 or visit https://www.google.com/
