LA Farmers Markets | The Gourmandise School

Dear Students,

It’s hard to imagine that we have been living this new normal for less than a couple of weeks now. We’ve encountered shortages at our favorite grocery stores, turned to take-out in place of dining in and shifted our purchases to hold us over for weeks instead of days. While grocers are working feverishly to restock shelves, our farmers’ market managers have been busy working with the local health authorities to ensure that our beloved markets remain open. In this era of self-preservation and safety, we’d love to offer you a way to keep your spending within our community and support the families who grow, pick and pack your produce. By purchasing fruits, vegetables and staples at your local farmers’ market, you’ll be getting supplies have exchanged far fewer hands than what you’d be buying in a store and keep farmers employed while their restaurant accounts being to wane.

Some of our neighborhood markets are closed; these tend to be those with a heavier prepared foods sections than farmers’ booths. Those markets designed to be farmer-forward are the ones that will remain open (see our list below). We’re grateful that the city of Los Angeles deemed markets a necessity, both for the physical and economic health of communities.

While shopping at your favorite market, you’ll notice the following changes to your usually experience:

These market will be farmers only and not include prepared foods other than pre-packaged breads and staples.
Your farmers will ask you what you like and will bag the produce for you.
Hand sanitizing stations are present at the entrance and within the markets.
If you can, please plan on spending a minimum of $15 at any stand that is taking cards only to help defray credit card fees.
Please adhere to the social distancing guidelines! Market managers are walking around to help guide you through lines and spacing.

Once you’ve brought your lettuce, pork belly and strawberries home, email our cooking and baking hotlines (and they are HOT! we’ve loved your questions!) for tips and recipes. Email us at hotline@thegourmandiseschool to learn how to braised, baste and bake your best.