Zucchini Two for a Dollar

Zucchini are two for a dollar on the table, a dollar each for the bigger ones in the basket I recite for another customer at the weekly Leimert Park farmer's market. I've been working for food here as a salesman here since I got back to California from the Christmas holiday, and I have to say that Saturday morning is my favorite time of the week.

After riding a bus ten minutes to the little patch grass with a fountain, I walk down a street lined with African themed stores selling drums, brightly patterned robes and dresses, and cartoony paintings of black women dancing. I can already hear the soulful oldies blaring from the market tucked past the stores, and then I walk up to my farmers, Liz and Alberto. Alberto greets me with, You're late. You're fired. So I tell him, Fine, I'm leavin and I jump in with setting up the displays and greeting customers.

The customers here wear their hair in dreads, weaves, straightened, and in headwraps, and they're always eager for another recipe for the latest vegetable we've brought to market. We see a lot of the same customers every week.

I think that selling has a lot to do with building a good rapport with our customers—commenting on their clothing, the weather, or some other topic that presents itself. Even if there's no sale, at least I had a nice conversation. the other key to selling is problemsolving. If a customer thinks the beets are too large, that means helping them find the smallest bunch or answering their objections or suggesting Swiss chard (which we have) for collard greens (which we're done growing for the season).

I enjoy the challenge of providing the right vegetable to each customer and educating them on our crops. It's a great way to feel connected to this hidden gem of South LA.