To Save the Hollywood Farmers' Market, We Must Act Now

Since December the Hollywood Farmers' Market has been fighting to keep its turf. The market, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next month, has peacefully inhabited a four-block section in the heart of Hollywood for its entire existence — until the Los Angeles Film School (LAFS) started complaining, that is.

In December of 2010, LAFS rescinded its permission for the street closure permit that the market requires, claiming that students needed access to the school's parking garage on Sundays. Since then a series of meetings, negotiations, and temporary reprieves have taken place, but so far no compromises have been reached.

The market's latest permit was set to expire last week, but now the local food site has been granted another 30-day extension.  The extension was announced in a joint statement by L.A. City Counsel President Eric Garcetti and Michael Woo, President of SEE-LA, the nonprofit that runs the Hollywood Market and other farmers' markets in the Los Angeles area.

While it's great that the market will remain open for now, unfortunately, it looks like it's the farmers' market and not the school that's ultimately going to have to give ground. SEE-LA has been exploring alternative footprint plans that would give the LAFS the parking access it seeks while still maintaining the market's capacity, and it's now hired an architect to consult with on relocation possibilities and logistics. The LAFS doesn't seem to have budged at all on the issue, and in fact, the school recently announced plans to construct a new building right at the heart of the market, further complicating negotiations. In addition to consulting costs and legal fees, the market is faced with the prospect of some serious relocation costs if the school gets its way, which, as the L.A. Weekly's Squid Ink blog notes, seems a likely outcome.

In light of the growing financial burdens on SEE-LA, a fundraiser is being held by local chefs at the Farmer's Kitchen on April 29th to benefit the Market Preservation Fund. Even if you can't attend what is sure to be a delicious fundraiser, consider making a small donation to the Fund so that not only the Hollywood Market, but all the markets SEE-LA runs in low-income areas can stay open and continue providing fresh, healthy food to the citizens of Los Angeles. And of course, please sign our petition to the Los Angeles City Council urging them to maintain the market at its current size and accessibility.

Photo ciredt: Umberto Brayj via Flickr