CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. (AP) – The Jaime brothers could be mistaken for any of the commercial truck drivers ushering cargo from the factories and warehouses that give this city its name.

But inside the brothers’ truck is a lively surprise – crate after crate of freshly picked tomatoes, lettuce and herbs.

Jaime Farms, a six-acre patch of green nestled in the City of Industry, is an unexpected link to a paved-over past: a working farm that yields fresh produce just 22 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

“The shorter amount of time between picking and eating, the better,” said Stephanie Christopher, a longtime customer of Jaime Farms at a farmers market. “You have more nutrients in your food, and it tastes better.”

Less than 70 years ago, walnut groves and orchards covered the San Gabriel Valley, including what is now the City of Industry. With a population surge following World War II and the flight of inner city dwellers to the suburbs, land in the valley became a precious commodity.

Looking to carve out a community dedicated to industrial use, the city was incorporated in 1957, crisscrossed by railroads and hugged by two east-west freeways.

The groves are long gone, replaced by massive industrial complexes including cheese-maker Cacique and a Teledyne Technologies facility. In the city that spans 14 square miles, trucks could outnumber the 834 residents.

“It’s one of the most fertile areas in the United States, but you wouldn’t know it because it’s paved over,” said Paul Spitzzeri with the city-owned Homestead Museum.

The six acres farmed by the Jaime family is the last of a large parcel owned by the family of Frances Maschio, who remembers the cabbage, alfalfa and black-eyed peas her father used to grow when she was a child.

Maschio owns the land with her husband, Chuck, a city planning commissioner. They have turned down repeated offers from developers seeking to buy the prime real estate.

“Our parents owned it, and we enjoy living here,” she said. “We see no need to sell it.”

The couple still lives near the farm, and Chuck Maschio picks vegetables whenever he wants. Their great-grandchildren love romping through the fields when they visit.

Jose Luis Jaime, 54, began as a farmhand for Maschio’s previous tenant and worked his way up to foreman. When the tenant vacated the plot, Jaime took over in 1997.

Although it has been farmed for decades, the land still proves rich in minerals for arugula, dandelion, kale, Swiss chard, beets, turnips, carrots, red-leaf and green-leaf lettuce and every kind of heirloom tomato imaginable.

“Whatever we grow ends up being a really nice product,” said Jaime’s son, Edgar Jaime.

On a recent morning at the Santa Monica Farmers Market, Jaime Farms took its normal spot. Hundreds of customers passed by, pointing here and there to cucumbers and radishes, inspecting tomatoes and melons for ripeness. Business has been brisk, with sales for a day in Santa Monica averaging $3,000. Just a month ago, the Jaime Farms stand began taking credit cards.

Chef Hideyo Mitsuno of 2117, a Los Angeles restaurant, said buying local ensures his customers have a sensory and nutritious experience.

“That’s the mission of a chef, to serve great food and take care of their health too,” Mitsuno said as he purchased bags of baby eggplant, cauliflower and celery.

Jaime Farms is a rarity as the state loses an average of 42,000 acres of farm and grazing land each year to urbanization.

Edgar Jaime said his competition gets farther away each day. For them, the price of gas has made treks to farmers markets even more difficult, leaving local customers without many kinds of fresh produce.

“For them to come from far away, it’s hard,” Jaime said. “I know a lot of them do wholesale instead of farmers markets.”

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