It was over thirty years ago, on June 23, 1979, that the first Los Angeles farmers market occurred in a Gardena parking lot. Grower attendance was small, but each week it grew exponentially, as did the demand for locally grown produce. This past Thursday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and several of the founders of the farmers market movement gathered to celebrate the immense success farmers markets have met throughout the city since then. Los Angeles county currently has 121 current farmers markets, more than any other country in the nation, where farmers sell their produce to over 250,000 Los Angeles citizens. The goal of this event was to focus on expanding farmers markets to increase access to fresh and local produce, especially to more impoverished communities. To learn more about this event see this Los Angeles Times article.