Long Beach Farmers Markets Reveal Summer's Freshest Seasonal Produce Picks

This Saturday morning, the lot at Marine Stadium fills with tents and the smell of just-picked peaches. It’s peak season at the Alamitos Bay Farmers Market, one of at least six weekly markets operating across Long Beach.

Why eating seasonally matters now

Global supply chain disruptions have sent grocery prices climbing. But local farmers markets offer a direct hedge: produce that traveled 50 miles or less, picked within 24 hours. For Long Beach residents, that means strawberries from Santa Maria and sweet corn from the Central Valley, not flown in from Mexico. Nutritionally, fruits and vegetables lose vitamins over time-a 2020 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that spinach loses about 50 percent of its folate after eight days of cold storage. When you buy at a farmers market, that spinach might have been in the ground 48 hours ago.

Where to shop in Long Beach

The city’s flagship market is the Downtown Long Beach Farmers Market, held every Friday on East Third Street and Promenade. It runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. year-round. Up to 40 vendors sell everything from stone fruit to cut flowers. For a smaller, neighborhood vibe, the Bixby Knolls Farmers Market sets up every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon on Atlantic Avenue near 43rd Street. The Alamitos Bay market at 101 Marina Drive runs on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A third major option is the North Long Beach Farmers Market on Tuesday afternoons at 5215 Atlantic Avenue, operated by the nonprofit Grow Long Beach. The organization’s executive director, Jennifer Nguyen, says the market is part of a citywide push to make produce accessible in food-insecure neighborhoods-the market accepts CalFresh and SoCal EBT cards, and offers a matching program for up to $10 per customer.

What’s in season-and how to buy it

Right now, in July, stone fruit peaks: peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots from Kern County. Look for firm fruit that yields slightly to gentle pressure. Summer squash and zucchini fill bins at likely every vendor’s stall-the yellow crookneck variety sells best when it’s 6 to 8 inches long. Tomatoes are heavy on the vine: heirloom varieties like Brandywine and Cherokee Purple appear in shades of yellow, red and deep purple. Those tomatoes maintain their peak flavor for about three days on the counter, according to the Long Beach chapter of Slow Food USA. For greens, chard and kale thrive in coastal fog; buy bunches with crisp, unyellowed leaves. And melons-cantaloupe and galia-arrive from the Imperial Valley. The Long Beach Organic Garden Club notes in its July newsletter that melons are ripe when the stem end yields to gentle thumb pressure.

The numbers back the switch to market shopping. A 2024 survey by the Long Beach Office of Sustainability found that 68 percent of regular farmers market shoppers reported eating more vegetables daily compared to supermarket-only shoppers. The city plans to open a new weekday market in Belmont Shore by spring 2027, according to the office’s public report. For now, the existing markets see roughly 12,000 visitors combined each week during summer.

Before you go, bring cash-some vendors don’t take cards. Bring your own bags; reusable totes or produce bags cut down on plastic waste. And don’t be shy about asking vendors how to cook something. The farmer at the Downtown market who sells pattypan squash will tell you the best way to slice it. That conversation-real, seasonal, local-might be the best part of your Saturday morning.