About Despensa
You photograph what you bought at the farmers market, log which farms you bought it from, and a few days later it asks what you made with it. Maybe you make some friends along the way!
Where it came from
I kept forgetting which farms I bought from at farmers markets. I’d get home with good tomatoes or corn and forget who grew them, and by the following Wednesday my memory of the stall had blurred into every other stall. There are beautiful diaries for the films you watch and the meals you eat at restaurants, but nothing for the food you carry home in a tote bag on a Sunday morning. So I’m building one, starting with the markets I actually shop at in Los Angeles.
What it is; what it refuses to be
I want this to be a wholesome, positive place that is a net positive for farmers. This will not be Yelp for farmers markets. Someone writing a semi-negative review for a film may not hurt its performance at the box office. However, for a farmer, it could hurt their business. So there are no star ratings for stalls, no rankings, no leaderboards, and no way to leave a bad review. You rate the strawberries you ate, never the person who grew them. And, eventually, the hope is that people will become more and more excited and educated about their local food and farmers and foster genuine relationships with those farmers, and help their businesses by being regular supporters. That’s the dream!
About me
I grew up in West LA with parents who pushed me to eat healthily and eventually I obliged. I got into cooking and going to farmers markets after spending my freshman year of college in Paris — definitely no dining halls there. When the pandemic hit, I became obsessed with the Bon Appétit YouTube channel, and eventually the joy of cooking with friends. There is nothing on Earth I enjoy more than hosting a dinner party with friends, putting together a playlist, curating an evening, and enjoying each other’s company. Especially with food I’ve bought from the farmers market. In a world that is increasingly trying to disconnect us, cooking and buying food from local farmers/vendors and making meals for friends and family is the least we can do. And it is a way for us to regularly show our appreciation and love for one another. If you run a stall, manage a market, or just want to talk about the produce you are spending too much money on: mike@despensa.market
For farmers and market managers
Claiming your page is free, permanently. Being listed here is meant to help your stand, never to grade it — and any vendor who would rather not appear at all can opt out, no questions asked. If you’d like your market added or your stall represented properly, email me directly and I’ll set it up with you.