Margarita’s Fresh Flowers, Produce and Plants

Linda Vista

At Margarita’s Fresh Flowers, Produce & Plants we meet Santos Hernandez and his family. Santos, a Oaxacan native started a farmers’ market booth at Kobey’s Swap Meet on Sports Arena Blvd. before he opened his own roadside shop in 2000. Naming the market and nursery after his mother, Margarita, he sells bouquets of flowers cut fresh from Encinitas. The flower and vegetable transplants, along with the fresh produce in his shop come from his farm in Escondido. Now open seven days a week, plus two days at the swap meet with the help from his family, Santos leads a busy life. It’s a life he enjoys, spending time with his children and wife, getting plenty of exercise at work, being around healthy food all the time, and straying from harmful substances. The family business seems to be running okay for Santos, but he doesn’t see himself passing the business down to his kids. University and medical school is what he sees in his children’s future.

Linda Vista Farmers’ Market

Linda Vista

It’s another Thursday in Linda Vista. A group of women sit around a table at the Linda Vista Farmers’ Market chatting about their lives. We meet neighborhood resident Thuy Le, a Vietnamese refugee and senior on Social Security. She explains that when she was able to work she would buy organic produce, now on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) she’s not able to afford both rent and the produce at the farmers’ market. Thuy is concerned that the processed and pesticide-grown foods at the supermarket are bad for her health, but must buy them because of her limited income. Often she is not able to afford food at the farmers’ market or the supermarket and must seek emergency food distribution at Bayside Community Center or be indebted to her credit card company for end of the month meals. Regardless of purchasing produce at the farmers’ market, Thuy is there every week with friends seeking deals and enjoying the experience of the farmers’ market.

Linda Vista Community Garden at Bayside

Linda Vista

At the Linda Vista Community Garden at Bayside Community Center we meet resident gardeners Tomasa Ruiz and Yves Brancheau. Tomasa grows organic produce for her family and in the garden finds relief from the everyday stresses of raising teenagers. Yves teaches his young children about nature and reinforces healthy diets and exercise. The success of the garden highlights the obstacles around the neighborhood for expansion.