Colorful sights and smells awaited Garret Malone, who couldn’t get enough of the free samples from various vendors at Moorpark’s Farmer’s Market.
Residents flock to the marketplace where vendors sell pesticide-free produce, and hormone free meat products.
Peter Larcomb went to the market to buy “non GMO food.” He said that mass produced food is out of control, bad for us, and is causing cancer.
“This needs to be a movement started across the country,” said Larcomb. “It needs to spread like a wildfire. The progressivists need to wake up and realize there’s a problem.”
Rita Buhlmann is a Moorpark resident who says she goes to the farmer’s market every Friday.
“I’m a firm believer in organic foods and supporting the local farmers, and I just find the food to taste better,” said Buhlmann.
Reflecting on the array of fresh fruits and organic, gluten-free scones she had purchased, she eyed a bag of corn chips and added, pointing, “They’re delicious and you can only get it here!”
Every Friday, the parking lot of Staples transforms from a barren, bleak, outcrop of cement and car exhaust into a bustling little marketplace. Small booths containing everything from fresh bread and cactus tortillas to scented candles spring up.
The little gathering of stores is supported by community members who want to be able to choose healthier options in meats and produce. They admit that the things they buy at the Farmer’s Market can’t be found elsewhere.
Moorpark resident Jodi Selzer joined longtime friend Cybele Sliva to shop at the market.
“It’s important for me to support the local farmers and to eat locally,” said Selzer. “And I like to buy meat hormone free and grass fed.”
Sliva comes to the farmers market to obtain soothing homeopathic remedies.
“I get the goat’s milk soap specifically for my son who has got really bad eczema,” said Sliva. “It’s been great.”
At one booth, shrouded in black netting with a small square porthole cut out for customers to make orders, David Shannon shoveled the kettle corn back and forth while it exploded in a symphony of flavor and cacophonous popping below. The smell of buttery sweet popcorn wafted through the parking lot and drew in customers.
Malone came to the fair in a white shirt, which quickly became smudged by the variety of samples he’d tried at various vendors. He stopped at a booth selling scented candles and took a sniff. “It smells great man. They’ve got a bunch of good candles over here,” he said. “I come over here all the time for all my scented candles. It really sets the mood so I love it man.” Malone said that the shops at the Farmer’s Market have great deals that he can’t find anywhere else.
With great variety comes great selection. Douglas Paulsen’s purchase was predicated on trying new things.
“I bought some things that I didn’t plan on buying because I tried some things that were tasty, and that I’ve never heard of before,” said Paulsen.
Moorpark’s Farmer’s Market Friday is open every Friday at 742 East Los Angeles Avenue in the afternoon from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and is free to the public.
