Elders’ Group Plans Farmers’ Market

Farm-fresh vegetables and fruits as well as arts and crafts products made by senior citizens will be available at a new farmers’ market, scheduled to begin June 26 in Van Nuys.

Audrey Phillips, director of community relations and volunteerism at the Organization for the Needs of the Elderly (ONE), is the mastermind behind the farmers’ market, which is intended to raise funds for the organization.

“I’m a person who has shopped at farmers’ markets and I thought, ‘What a wonderful thing for us to do,’ ” Phillips said.

The market will be held at the organization’s parking lot, 17400 Victory Blvd. It is expected to draw about 1,000 San Fernando Valley residents every Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m.

So far, ONE has recruited 30 farmers to market their produce in conjunction with the Southland Farmers’ Market Assn., a nonprofit organization that helped establish the Santa Monica and Calabasas farmers’ markets.

“It can bring people into parts of town that you want to revitalize; it provides fresher, low-cost produce and people can find foods that they wouldn’t normally find in grocery stores,” said Marion Kalb, the association’s executive director.

Marilyn Fried, ONE’s acting executive director, said the market will raise an estimated $15,000 a year for the organization.

A special feature of the market will be items for the Valley’s Asian and Pacific Islander elderly who might otherwise travel to downtown Los Angeles to buy produce.

Andrea Spolidoro, associate director of the Asian Pacific Older Adults Task Force, served on ONE’s planning committee for the market. She said the market will provide such Asian vegetables as bok choy, won buck, Chinese parsley, mung beans and daikon radish.