About Us

Living Smart is a local non-profit specializing in the education of youth and families in health, business, financial management, and life skills.

Our Mission

Living Smart provides unique proactive curriculum for youth, organizations, schools, and individuals. Our certified educators teach vital life skills and self-sustainability in the classroom and through hands-on real-life opportunities. Our comprehensive program encourages students to “LEARN while they EARN” with on-the-job training at the Living Smart Farmers Markets. All education programs and trainings are supported through our Farmers Markets, sponsorships, partnerships, grants and individual donations.

Our Objectives

The Living Smart Farmers Markets has six main objectives:

To supply educational tools and resources so that young people can receive training that will help them recognize entrepreneurship as a real career choice and become more knowledgeable and confident about starting a business, as well as managing their personal finances. As a result, these youth will be better prepared to earn a living through making their own jobs via entrepreneurship, and they will be equipped with the practical skills to earn, spend, save, invest, and manage money wisely.
To provide training, inspiration, and educational tools for parents, teachers, and youth leaders to begin teaching their young people about managing money, saving for the future, avoiding debt, budgeting, thinking more entrepreneurially, and looking for opportunities to use their talents and skills in the development of business enterprises.
To promote community outreach and volunteer programs for youth to incorporate into their social and business ethics and to prepare them for the job market by creating job opportunities and hands-on, on-the-job experience for career and skills building.
To provide on-the-job training experiences for teens ages 14+ in a “teaching business model” for students to receive ongoing hard and soft skills education through weekly lessons that they practice on-the-job while earning a wage and utilizing the financial education skills gained through our programs to plan and manage the use of the income earned.

E.nigma_farmers_market_at_Fair_Oaks_california_7c987ad2-35da-4f0c-98fd-8528c82927ac.png

Meet the Founders

Living Smart Farmers Markets (Non-Profit) was founded by Don and Marie Hall in 2008. The organization was created to provide real-world, hands-on, relevant financial, business, and entrepreneurship education programs that foster the future economic well-being of our youth from all social and ethnic backgrounds and teach them the importance of contributing to their communities by giving back and establish collaborative partnerships and positive relationships with their local businesses and service agencies.

“It is our desire to help our youth think laterally and globally but to act locally to make a difference in their own communities by becoming purposeful leaders and role models for positive change and improvement. It is hoped that our efforts can be substantially enhanced through grants and the goodwill of businesses, institutions, and individuals who recognize the crucial importance of effective financial literacy, business, and entrepreneurship education for this generation”.

Weekly Year Round Farmers Markets - Rain or Shine!