Local supermarkets have new competition in wholesome fresh foods.

Offering a wide variety of fruits, breads and vegetables at Lawndale’s new farmers’ market, about 20 sellers representing native Californian farmers spend every Friday morning selling healthy foods to nearby South Bay residents.

“The people you are dealing with here are the farmers; we aren’t big corporations,” Rose Rennie, Energy Bee 100 percent pure honey seller, said. “All of us farmers are based in California and everything you see is from California.”

To be sure that these people are indeed small California farmers, they have to go through a certification process, meaning that the products that they are selling have been grown, picked, packed, smoked, baked or processed by the seller.

“We can’t compete with the big guys and we don’t want to,” Rennie said. “This is as fresh as it gets, if you want it any fresher you would have to go to the farm and pick it yourself.”

According to the Daily Breeze, Lawndale used to be known as the “best garden country in Southern California.”

Before the rapid lifestyle that is seen in the South Bay area, fruits and vegetables were grown there; now residents have the opportunity to see and taste this fresh vegetation.

“Not only are fruits and vegetables offered here, but also nuts, breads and of course honey from California,” Rennie said. “Honey is a good sugar replacement and also good for allergies, year-round.”

As residents walk around sampling goodies through the L-shaped lot they can be sure that they are receiving fresh-picked or fresh-baked products.

These farmers are able to establish a connection with the residents and with the community because they produce one-on-one conversations with their buyers, keeping in mind that they are ordinary people trying to make an honest living.

“I am thrilled that Lawndale has a farmers’ market,” Annie Meyers, Torrance resident of 30 years said. I love fresh produce, there is nothing else like it. I often go to other farmers’ markets because I am one of those people who can’t get enough of a good thing. The farmers are so friendly and I am happy that the South Bay has added another market.”

Aside from fruits and vegetables this market also offers food from other cultures, for example, pupusas from El Salvador, Mexican style corn and crepes from France.

“It has been a wonderful afternoon so far,” Peter Moore, Lawndale resident of 23 years, said. “I hope that this specific market grows. I would enjoy seeing more people come here to buy food from these farmers, and residents have to be aware that these vegetables are fresher and better in price that what Vons or other giant chains offer.”

Stores like Vons or Albertsons offer fruits that farmers’ markets cannot get ahold of, but residents have to keep in mind that these farmers are strictly from Califonia and not from a foreign country that can provide certain foods.

“Many people come with the mind-set that they will find coconuts and bananas because they are used to seeing those types of fruits in bigger produce stores,” Rennie said.

“People have to keep in mind that our products are from California and only from California,” Rennie said.

“Bananas and coconuts cannot be produced anywhere in California; those are more tropical grown fruits. California does have banana plants but they really don’t produce good bananas; some don’t produce at all,” Rennie said.

Fresh breads are also sold and sampled at the market. Larry Sardoni from Old Time Bakery in Fontana offers his customers whole bread, cheese bread, garlic bread, jalapeno bread, cheddar cheese bread, corn bread, and six-grain bread, which is high in fiber and low in carbohydrates.

“This family-owned bakery has been around for eight years and in that same time we have been attending farmers’ markets,” Sardoni said. “We do about forty-seven other farmers’ markets from here to San Diego.”

With food costs soaring in California, residents may have peace of mind knowing that there is a closer place where they can shop for their fruits and vegetables with the confidence that it is fresh and that the prices will be reasonable and affordable.

“Farmers’ markets will always be around. It gives the farmers opportunities to get their product out, and it also benefits the neighborhood and the residents because they are receiving fresh service and products,” Sardoni said.

Want to go?

What: Lawndale’s farmers’ market.

When: Fridays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: Lawndale Civic Center; 147th Street, off of Hawthorne Boulevard.

Find out more: www.lawndalecity.org