Sprouts of promise
Sprouts of Promise is a vegetable-positive 501(c) (3) non-profit. We operate four certified farmer’s markets and run programs in and around them that: expand food access, fight food waste, and educate.
Our Mission
Our mission at Sprouts of Promise is to leverage farmers' markets as a force for building healthy communities.
Volunteer
It takes a community to build a sustainable local food system! Our programs rely on passionate volunteers and interns. Watch our volunteers orientation videos below, then fill out a volunteer application to become part of our community!
COOKING TOGETHER
Parents and kids at the Westwood Transitional Village, learn versatile, vegetable-focused recipes in our hands-on cooking classes!
This monthly class helps residents of the Transitional Village make the most of the produce donations they receive through our Help a Farmer, Help a Family program.
Cooking Together is taught by talented volunteers, (some of whom are professional chefs and nutritionists). Our curriculum was designed in collaboration with UCLA's Teaching Kitchen. To find out how you can get involved email: community@farmermark.com
Click below to a make a donation!
KIDS’ ZONE
Kids’ Zones are places for children to build happy farmers’ market memories and to play in the presence of fruits and vegetables. Research indicates that exposure to whole, uncut vegetables demystifies them (and even makes kids want to eat them).
Our Kids’ Zones provide crafts, story times, sing-a-longs and magic shows! Rather than telling kids to eat their vegetables, we give them a reason to want to come to the farmers’ market.
We have Kids’ Zones in our Playa Vista, SOCO (Costa Mesa), and Hollywood Park (Inglewood) and N. Laguna Hills markets! We partner with kid-focused individuals and organizations to host each Kids Zone. If you work with kids and would like to host a Kids Zone, email community@farmhabit.com.
Help us build the next generation of conscious eaters!
MARKET GLEANING
Sprouts of Promise is determined to make all of our markets as sustainable as possible in addition to being a positive part of the communities in which they are situated. In order to address both of these needs at once, we have committed to food recovery practices at all of our markets.
At the end of market days, our food recovery and gleaning volunteers work with farmers to determine which of their products are suitable for resale and which are destined for the trash or compost. The volunteers gather any unsellable (but still delicious!) produce and distribute it to nearby organizations that address issues of food access.
Want to help fight food waste and alleviate hunger in your community? Fill out our volunteer application to get started!
Gleaning opportunities are available at the West Hollywood and Westwood Village markets (all other markets are gleaned by our wonderful community partners).
MARKET COMPOST HUBS
Food is the #1 item in landfills, and when it rots it creates methane, a greenhouse gas 84 times more potent than CO2. But when food scraps are composted, they builds soils and encourage plant growth — which pull carbon from the atmosphere!
Our compost hub volunteers greet community members interested in composting and help them deposit their food scraps in our designated bins. They also keep track of how many people are composting, and how much compost is coming in.
These volunteers are essential to Sprout’s sustainability practices. As some of our compost collections go directly to farms, their efforts also help support farmers at our markets and contribute to the health of our local food system.
Interested in helping at the Compost Hub? Fill out a volunteer application!
Market Field Trips
Want to teach your class about local food? Come join us at the market!
Our staff provides guided tours of our market, teaching kids about the difference between farmers' markets and grocery stores, what freshness means for nutrition and taste, and the importance of supporting local farmers.
Ample opportunity exists for cross-disciplinary learning. Feel free to combine your market tour with a language lesson (identifying produce in Spanish), science lesson (exploring the carbon cycle with local farming), and more!
Field trips are available for all grade levels, and can be catered to the age of the class.
Interested in learning more? Contact community@farmermark.com for more info.
Farmer to classroom
Our Farmer-to-Classroom Program brings farmers into elementary schools for interactive and sessions. Kids can don a beekeepers uniform or get to know a goat.
Farmer-to-Classroom introduces kids to the people that grow their food and cues them in to cycles of cultivation.
Interested in having a farmer visit your classroom? Contact info@farmhabit.com for more info.
Market Tours
An in-depth discussion of our food system starts in the farmers' market! Tour participants will sample seasonal fruit, participate in a Q & A with a local farmer, and learn about the nutritional, environmental, and social impact 'going local' can make.
Market tours are available for groups of five or more. We customize tours for pre-school children, college students, corporate teams and nutrition groups. Email info@farmhabit.com to schedule a tour in a market near you!
Lectures and Public Speaking
The locavore lifestyle impacts personal, community, environmental and economic health.
With experience in lecture halls (UCLA) and classrooms (LMU) our team can bring a robust discussion of food and the farming industry into your classroom or office.
Contact Aubrey@farmhabit.com to schedule speaking engagements.