Photos by Floyd Hampton Livingston courtesy of the Office Of Councilmember Steven Neal.

As far as trends go, farmers markets is a damn good one.

And just like the 7th District did recently, yesterday the 9th District joined the world of non-corporate food acquisition with The Greener Good Certified Farmers Markets’ debut of Greener Good – North, a new farmers market which will put the area’s resident consumers directly into contact with producers on a weekly basis.

“Having access to healthy food is important to the communities of North Long Beach,” says 9th District Councilmember Steve Neal. “It has been a desire of many residents to have a farmers market locally. We’re excited to introduce the first-ever farmers market to the 9th District and expect it to be very successful.”

The Greener Good – North farmers market, which is activating a vacant lot on the corner of Artesia Blvd. and Atlantic Ave., is the third farmers market to start up in Long Beach over the last three months. In April, the 7th District farmers market—also managed by The Greener Good Certified Farmers Markets—debuted, followed in June by a famers market in the 2nd District’s Bixby Park.

Long Beach’s newest farmers market comes was part of a $1 million HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Living) Zone grant awarded to the city’s Health Department by Kaiser Permanente.

“Obesity is one of the most pressing health concerns for our communities today,” said Dr. Joseph Colli, assistant area medical director and Pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center, when the grant was awarded in January. “We are especially concerned about the high rate of childhood obesity in North Long Beach, where 55% of individuals over 12 years of age are overweight or obese. Poor diet, inactivity and obesity contribute to the risk for many health issues, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. That’s why it’s important that we all work together to create opportunities for children and families to eat healthier and move more in communities like North Long Beach.”

According to a Health Department press release, “The vision of the HEAL Zones is that at the end of the three-year grant period, communities will be measurably transformed so that opportunities for engaging in healthy behaviors—walking and biking on safe routes, buying affordable fresh fruits and vegetables close to home, exercising in parks and participating in active after-school programs—are part of daily life.”

According to Jorge Rivera, manager of The Greener Good, a goal is to incorporate free yoga classes to the roster of what’s currently offered at the 9th District market, which already includes free Zumba classes, a variety of hot food vendors (“We’re trying to keep the hot food vendors healthy,” he says), local musical artists, and arts & crafts vendors (who are required to have made whatever they sell).

Rivera notes that the 9th District market is set up to accept not only credit/debit cards, but also EBT—an important way to help ensure that all healthy options are being made available to people of all socioeconomic strata.

The 9th District market is a project of the Coalition for a Healthy North Long Beach, which Health Dept. HEAL Zone Coordinator Shawna Stevens says includes Neal’s office, representatives of City departments, community-based organizations, neighborhood associations/groups, the Long Beach Unified School District, healthcare providers, “and other key stakeholders who have been working together on projects in North Long Beach for the past few years.”

“During the proposal process [for the HEAL Zone grant], we created a Community Action Plan (CAP) which outlined the environmental strategies that we wanted to focus on over three years and the settings we wanted to work in,” says Stevens. “The five settings are schools, parks, neighborhoods, clinics, and corner stores. Current environmental strategies include increasing healthier offerings within HEAL Zone school sites (Grant Elementary, Starr King Elementary, Hamilton Middle School, and Jordan High School), increasing opportunities to open space/physical activity areas, working with corner stores to provide healthier options, implementing a mobile produce stand and looking at ways to strengthen current Safe Routes to School efforts.”

The Greener Good – North farmers market takes place every Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 609 E. Artesia Blvd. (at the corner of Atlantic Ave. & Artesia Blvd.). 

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