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By Lookout Staff

September 13, 2011 -- Santa Monica's Farmers Markets will celebrate 30 years of fresh produce and communal shopping this week with the first ever Good Food Festival and Conference.

The festivities, which start this Wednesday at the Farmers Market on Arizona Avenue, will run through Sunday and will feature a two-day festival and street fair at Santa Monica High School, a symposium on agricultural art from the Depression Era, cooking demonstrations, a film called “The Harvest” about the child and immigrant laborers harvesting crops in the U.S, a summit on Public Health and Food Policy and even a trade show.

"The purpose of the Good Food Festival is to link some of the best local
farmers and family-owned producers of food and farm products with the
public,” according to FamilyFarmed.org, the organization responsible for
putting on the five-day event.

Aside from connecting growers to the public, the five-day festival will also be an opportunity for growers to network with “trade buyers and leaders in the field [in order] to foster relationships that facilitate the growth of local food systems,” the site said.

On Wednesday, Arizona Avenue's weekly Farmers Market will host Amelia Saltsman, author of The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook, who will preside over a day of cooking demos, tastes, and tasty conversation.

Thursday, Barnum Hall will be the venue for a symposium on Works Project Administration (WPA) commissioned art, with a discussion moderated by Evan Kleinman from NPR.

The festival will culminate with a weekend-long Good Food Festival & Street Fair from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on the Santa Monica High School campus.

For more information about the events, including a daily schedule of events, locations and admission prices, visit http://goodfoodfestivals.com/