By Ayushi Das

There are few places in Los Angeles where families can grab their weekly groceries, take their kids on a bounce house, and purchase handmade candles and jewelry all in one place on a Saturday morning. At the North Hollywood (NoHo) Farmers Market, though, customers can experience all of this and more.

Located at 5000 Colfax Avenue and running every Saturday from 9:30am to 2:00pm, the NoHo Farmers Market gathers family-owned startups and local farmers to sell their products to the wider community.

Jim Dunn, one of the coordinators, has been overseeing the farmers’ market for five years. “We’re there every Saturday morning setting up the bounce house, the seating area, and doing social media for the vendors,” Dunn said.

Vendors range from families selling farm-fresh produce, to local fishermen supplying high-quality catches.

“We encourage vendors to work together,” Dunn said. “Like at the fish booth, we’ll promote Brother’s Product garlic spread, and let people know how to put together an easy salmon dinner using the spread, a piece of fish, and any fresh produce.”

Brother’s Product is one of the 20 NoHo Farmers’ Market vendors, selling homemade spreads and dips. There is an emphasis on sourcing small businesses like Brother’s Product, to create loyal customer-business relationships.

“Our market is very customer-oriented,” Dunn said. “As a vendor, you get to build up your customer base over time and provide a great experience for our guests.”

“We moved locations about two years ago,” Dunn said. “Our customers have shifted from primarily millennials to families, so we try to keep it family-oriented.”

A unique feature of the market is offering Market Match to low-income guests. “Market Match is a program we partnered with for guests to come use their EBT benefits,” Dunn said. “They can use up to $15 in benefits for any hot food, fresh produce, or bakery items.”

But in the wake of the government shutdown, the NoHo Farmers Market has had to get creative with continuing to provide for customers on federal food assistance.

“One of our members suggested having people bring food products for us to donate to the food pantry down the street,” Dunn said. “This way, we can still help families in need.”

NoHo Farmers’ Market is smaller compared to other farmers’ markets in the area, but being a tight-knit community allows the market to give back to the broader community.

“We’re there for people to come and get to know their vendors,” Dunn said. “I think the enjoyment of going to a market kind of dies down when you go to a larger market and you can’t interact with your vendor. … Seeing everyone’s face and knowing we are a place where families come together, that’s the best part.”

For vendor inquiries and more information about NoHo’s Farmers’ Market, visit farmersmarketnorthhollywood.com. For more information on how to make food pantry donations, visit @nhcfm on Instagram.