Feeding bodies, spirits in South L.A.

A health food oasis grows in an area neglected by big grocery chains.

- BY TYRONE BEASON

Photographs by GENARO MOLINA Los Angeles Times CUSTOMER Eliana Vela says she likes the fact that Süprmarkt is educating people about sustainability.

Olympia Auset’s route to opening a health food emporium in one of the food deserts of Los Angeles started with her own trips to the grocery store.

It was 16 years ago. Auset was fresh out of college and living on a vegan diet. Her neighborhood largely lacked healthful options, and she wound up commuting two hours round-trip by bus to buy nutritious food that fit her budget as a recipient of federal food aid.

“You spend all of this time on the bus, get somewhere that has healthy food and then you're having to debate with yourself: Can I afford this apple?” Auset recalled.

From those demoralizing trips across town, Auset went on to found Süpermarkt, a nonprofit organic produce business on Slauson Avenue in South L.A. that started as a street popup in 2016 and grew into a storefront grocery in 2024 thanks in large part to a community crowdfunding campaign.

The inequity in access to healthful food spans the whole county but hurts its poorest residents and communities of color the most, researchers at USC found in a study last year.

About 25% of Los Angeles County residents don’t consistently know they'll have enough food, and even more, 29%, lack access to nutritious foods that can help prevent heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Roughly 30% of Black and Latino residents, who make up the majority of South L.A., have trouble finding healthful food.

Among recipients of federal food assistance through this state's CalFresh program, 39% don’t have food security and 45% don’t have nutrition security.

This in a state that grows nearly half of the nation’s vegetables and three-quarters of its fruits and nuts, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.