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San Diego, Calif. – Little Italy’s Farmer’s Market, The Mercato, is celebrating “Apple New Year” at the weekly farmer’s market throughout the month of January. Since kicking off the month with special fitness booths and demonstrations from companies including BodyFit, Weight Watchers and Yoga One, visitors have been coming back for more every Saturday! As part of the month-long initiative, the Mercato is supporting WitKids, Inc. –WHATEVER IT TAKES!, an non-profit organization that was inspires kids to make a difference through community service and The Dinner Garden, to create a volunteer event where garden seeds will be distributed to San Diego families interested in growing their own vegetables.

“We go the extra mile at The Mercato,” said Catt White, the noted “Market Maestra” who founded The Mercato with the Little Italy Association. “Shoppers come to the Mercato all year long for healthy foods and support of local merchants -- we thought there was no better way to kick off the New Year than to add fitness and healthy lifestyle resources for visitors to enjoy.”

Next up on the calendar:

• January 23: Fitness enthusiasts and those looking for a healthy jumpstart can find resources from companies like BodyFit, Weight Watchers, Core Invictus, Metro Comp Healthcare, Yoga One and The Pilates Room.



• January 30: WitKids,Inc.-WHATEVER IT TAKES! and The Dinner Garden will provide families an opportunity to volunteer at Amici Park in Little Italy. Volunteers will bag seeds which will be distributed to San Diego families interested in growing their own vegetables. Everyone in the community is encouraged to volunteer and participate in this family friendly opportunity, which also qualifies for the “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. “ promotion. In addition to distributing seeds, the group will demonstrate container gardening techniques for downtown residents who don’t have typical backyards.
  
  The Mercato and Washington Elementary School teamed up to support the effort in San Diego, and volunteers will distribute garden seeds to needy at the farmer’s market. Contact Sarah Hernholm to volunteer by emailing sarah@witkids.org.

The market includes more than 80 merchants that have warmed the hearts of locals and visitors to San Diego as the top destination for fresh organic produce, meats, cheeses, pastas and other authentic foods; artisan crafts; viewing of live chef demonstrations, tastings and more. The Mercato has been successful in its mission to serve the community and has a host of accomplishments to share including the issuing of weekly e-newsletters chocked full of content; publishing The Mercato Monitor; and engaging the restaurant, farmers and locally-based businesses to support a sustainable and healthy environment for San Diego. The Mercato is developed and run by the Little Italy Association (LIA), and held every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Date Street in the Little Italy neighborhood of downtown San Diego. A full roster of participating vendors can be found by visiting http://www.littleitalymercato.com.

WitKids, Inc.- WHATEVER IT TAKES! is an international non-profit organization founded by a teacher who realized her students were inspired and empowered when working on community service projects. She left the classroom to launch WitKids with a mission to educate, inspire, and empower kids to make a difference in the world through volunteer work and community service. For more information visit www.witkids.org.

The Dinner Garden Project provides garden seed packs to children in need through school programs, food banks, and social organizations like The Little Italy Association. The organization’s hope is that children and their parents will learn the joy of producing food at home to reduce food expenses and improve their health. For more information, visit www.dinnergarden.org.

For more information on the Disney promotion visit www.disney.com.