By LILY TINOCO | Reporter
Palisadian Sahel Amani has been organizing a mini, temporary farmers market every Tuesday and Thursday on Temescal Canyon Road since the closure of the Pacific Palisades Farmers Market.
Amani, who has lived in the Palisades for 12 years, explained that she and her family always enjoyed the farmers market, which typically operates at Palisades Charter High School and was closed when Los Angeles Unified School District prevented events and gatherings on its campuses.
“When it shut down, it was kind of a shock to my family … it was a family outing every Sunday, and it was a whole ritual,” Amani said to the Palisadian-Post. “I thought, ‘How can I bring that back to the community? I must not be the only one feeling this.’”
So she reached out to one of the vendors she frequented and asked if he would deliver fresh produce to her neighborhood. He asked if she could find more people who were interested—and the response was overwhelming.
“For the next three weeks, I was basically taking messages and phone calls, making a list of over 200 people … I became this produce lady,” Amani said. “Once we realized how much demand there was for it, we decided to make it a more organized thing.”
This began early into the city’s imposed stay-at-home order, when there was “still a high level of fear and anxiety,” Amani said. She said she imposed precautions to make sure it was kept safe.
“I made sure everybody was keeping six feet apart, I took everyone’s last name and gave everyone 15-minute intervals based on last name—so if your last name started with A through J, you would come from 3 to 3:15 and so on, so that it wouldn’t get crowded,” she said. “People were so happy to have this that they obviously complied.”
And it grew from there: The impromptu farmer’s market began on Tuesdays and extended into two days a week, both Tuesdays and Thursdays. More vendors have also joined the market, including a second farm, an orchid-floral vendor, and a kombucha and fermented-vegetable vendor.
Amani said that a baked goods vendor will be joining this week also.
“[We] wish more vendors could show up there on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, we miss the farmers market terribly,” Palisadians Vera and John Schwartz shared.
Requests for information from California Certified Farmers Markets—which operates the Pacific Palisades Farmers Market—about when the market might return to Pali High and if the organizers are considering alternate locations in the meantime went unanswered as the Post went to print Tuesday.
Palisadian Julie Handler also shared her thoughts on the farmers market with the Post.
“I am so grateful to Sahel for organizing our own little farmers market with two of my fave organic farmers from our original Palisades’ farmers market,” Handler said. “Such a convenience to drive five minutes down Temescal, park easily and be in and out in 15 minutes.”
The farmers market operates on Temescal Canyon, “so it’s more open spaced, more grass area, less traffic, less foot traffic,” Amani explained.
Amani said that it’s always best to reach out to her via Nextdoor if interested in visiting the farmers market.
She also posts updates there, including vendors, and if there is ever a change in time or location.
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