{"id":252464,"date":"2026-04-05T03:59:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T03:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/252464\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T03:59:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T03:59:38","slug":"little-italy-mercato-brings-fresh-food-and-community-to-downtown-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/252464\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Italy Mercato brings fresh food and community to downtown San Diego"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">SAN DIEGO (FOX5\/KUSI) \u2014 One of the most popular weekend destinations in downtown San Diego continues to draw crowds with fresh food, local flavor and a strong sense of community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.littleitalysd.com\/events\/mercato\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Little Italy Mercato;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Little Italy Mercato&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Little Italy Mercato<\/a> farmers market stretches roughly six city blocks, making it one of the largest in San Diego County. Since launching in 2008, the market has become a staple for residents and visitors alike, offering everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to eggs, baked goods and specialty items.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Rows of vendors line the streets, with a steady stream of people browsing, sampling and shopping throughout the morning.<\/p>\n<p><a data-ylk=\"ct:story;elm:img;itc:0;\" class=\"stretched-box\" href=\"https:\/\/fox5sandiego.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/Little-Italy-Mercato.jpg\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/dd701b02a636a7781adf0e929e34ff0b.jpeg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lowell Cohen, a local vendor at the market, with Gourmet Kraft Corn, said quality is key to what they offer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWe use non-GMO oil. I literally sampled over 45 farmers to get to the current product,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Vendors say the market provides not just products, but an experience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cOur most popular things here are the juices,\u201d said Luis Ramirez, who works for Polito Farms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIt\u2019s fun here,\u201d added Liam Hammes, also with Polito Farms. \u201cYou meet new people, great vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Organizers say the Mercato is about more than just what\u2019s on the table. Farmers markets like this play an important role in supporting local growers and small businesses, helping them connect directly with the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Each weekend, the Little Italy Mercato continues to serve as both a marketplace and a gathering place, where fresh food meets local culture in the heart of San Diego.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fox5sandiego.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego &amp; KUSI News.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego &amp;amp&quot;}\" class=\"link \"> For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego &amp; KUSI News. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN DIEGO (FOX5\/KUSI) \u2014 One of the most popular weekend destinations in downtown San Diego continues to draw&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[5313,112105,112106,68500,74,76,75,15147,112107],"class_list":{"0":"post-252464","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-farmers-market","9":"tag-fresh-food","10":"tag-fresh-fruits-and-vegetables","11":"tag-luis-ramirez","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-san-diego-headlines","14":"tag-san-diego-news","15":"tag-sense-of-community","16":"tag-weekend-destinations"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}