Glassell Park's Cityfarm Debuts at Altadena Farmers Market

When the new Altadena Farmers Market debuted on Wednesday, May 30, the products of Reies Flores were one of the main attractions.

Flores, who has been selling eggs from Heritage breed chickens from the City Farm, made his own farmers market debut in Altadena.

From the L.A. Times:

Since high school, [Flores] thumbed through poultry catalogs and dreamed of the chickens he'd own some day, he said on a visit last Monday to his site, where crowing roosters provided an alternative soundtrack to the suburban landscape.

Why heritage poultry? "Historic poultry breeds are largely disappearing, and only people like me are keeping them alive," he said. Until recently he sold privately to individuals and never considered farmers markets until he met [farmers market co-organizer] Elizabeth Bowman through the Urban Agriculture Working Group of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council.

Here are Patch Editor Dan Abdenschein's observations about the Altadena Farmers Market as a whole:

• The turnout seemed good--several vendors sold out and the closest street was packed with cars.
• I already had plenty of produce so I went specifically to buy eggs, goat cheese and meat.  By the time I was done checking the place out, taking photos and eating a meal, all three were sold out!  Great news for the market, but don't wait too late to show up.
• The mix of produce looks good--maybe not quite everything you might need, but most of it for sure.
• The market was bigger than mid-week markets I've seen in Pasadena and Sierra Madre but not as big as Saturday's Victory Park market in Pasadena.
• The location, however, is better than any other market I've been to--trees and greenery instead of a hot parking lot.
• The pupusas served at the market were great.  The wait was very long, but they were the only vendor serving prepared meals.  That may well not be the case in the future.
• I biked to the market and I was definitely not the only one.  The traffic right around the market was a little dense, but parking didn't look too bad as long as you were prepared to walk a little.

We want to know what you thought of the market.  If you stopped by, let us know what you thought in the comments section below.  If you've got photos of the market, add them by clicking the 'Upload Photos' button above.