The Origins of Farm Fresh LA
Have you ever wondered why it’s so tough to get locally grown food on your plate? The answer is more complex than you might think. As you peruse the aisles of your grocery store, you might notice that California-grown strawberries are more expensive than ones grown in other states or countries. This is because the globalized economy forces California farmers to question whether selling locally is profitable for their businesses. Costs like labor, water, and land are more expensive in California which results in local farmers charging higher prices. This often makes it more affordable for store owners to stock food grown out-of-state, which may help those stores in the short term but, in the long term, this harms our local economy. Billions of consumer dollars that could be spent towards sustainable, locally grown foods instead are directed out of the region and even out of the country. The unfortunate reality is that much of what’s grown in-state is shipped overseas. And while the Office of Farm to Fork, located within the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), aims to connect Californians with fresh, locally grown food, they can’t do it alone. This is where the idea for Farm Fresh LA was born, with the goal of supporting local stores to purchase locally-grown produce, thereby promoting local economic growth.
However, more access to California produce is only beneficial if consumers can afford it, and farmers cannot afford to lower their prices due to high production costs. Through Farm Fresh LA, consumers are able to access that produce via the federally-funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as SNAP), known as CalFresh in California. When a consumer makes a $5 CalFresh purchase, they receive a free bundle of produce valued at $20, subsidized through a grant from CDFA. This enables local stores to stock local produce, while still providing farmers with sufficient compensation. However, the grant for Farm Fresh LA was not originally written to function in this way.
When our Executive Director Christine Tran came on board in May of 2020, the grant was written to support the creation of a voucher program that participants were required to enroll in to reap the benefits of. A voucher program gives participants paper vouchers to use at their local corner stores, but the vouchers themselves needed to be distributed and, with the pandemic underway, Christine recognized the need to eliminate this extra step. By ensuring that anyone shopping with CalFresh could attain a low-cost bundle of locally-grown produce, vouchers were no longer needed, and the covid risks and the administrative burden for store owners, their staff, and customers was reduced (while, admittedly, the administrative burden was slightly increased for LAFPC staff — but this is something we are happy to embrace). The administrative burden is reduced because Farm Fresh LA addresses the supply chain — from grower, to aggregator, to store, to consumer — in its entirety. Farmers can count on a guaranteed number of sales, our aggregator can expand their relationships with stores, store owners are provided with consistent local produce that they can afford to stock, and consumers are able to access that produce with their nutritional benefits. This is what makes Farm Fresh LA unique compared to other nutrition incentive programs. Not only does the program take into account the food supply chain as a whole, it also is able to pivot when issues arise.
The Farm Fresh LA program we have today reflects LAFPC’s commitment to listening deeply to the communities involved (the farmers, store owners, and the customers) to make it more accessible. But there is one more element to consider, which is the negative stigma that many people have about using their CalFresh benefits. This is why, in collaboration with First 5 LA and the LA County Department of Public Social Services, LAFPC created FRESH IDEAS FOR CALFRESH, a three year research study to develop ways of destigmatizing CalFresh. And contrary to the belief that nutrition incentive programs are a drain on the economy, if there was 100 % participation in CalFresh by eligible individuals, Los Angeles County would actually receive an additional $541 million in federal funding annually.
Now in its second year, Farm Fresh LA continues to evolve and respond to feedback from participating store owners, customers, and the community at large. By supporting local farmers and corner stores through programs like Farm Fresh LA, we can create a more sustainable and equitable food system that provides nutrition for all and, at the same time, stimulates the economy.
