Route One Farmers Market: Mobile Farmers Market Success Story

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  • Received Food System Resilience Grant

    Route One Farmers Market was awarded $25,000 by SBCFAN’s Food System Resilience Grant program to launch the first Mobile Farmers Market as a pilot project to improve food accessibility in Santa Barbara County.

  • Joined mobile market pilot program

    Route One Farmers Market applied for and was chosen to join a Mobile Market Pilot Program that has been invaluable in supporting and advising their program development. The program, which is a partnership between Fresh Approach, Veggie Van, and The Farmers’ Truck, provides $60,000 in unrestricted funds by the Beacon Fund to support infrastructure development and program launch.

  • Visited fellow mobile farmers market operators

    The Route One Farmers Market team visited fellow mobile farmers market operators through their partner Fresh Approach and other pilot co-members. Fresh Approach, which has been running a mobile market since 2013, begins mentoring Route One as they prepare to launch their mobile market.

  • Hired a Mobile Market Manager

    In the Spring of 2022, Route One hired its first mobile market staff member to plan, coordinate, and manage the organization’s Mobile Market program throughout the Lompoc Valley. This management role is responsible for leading Mobile Farmers Market sites across the valley and directly supervising Mobile Market staff.

  • Celebrated Farmers Market Anniversary

    On May 1, 2022, Route One Farmers Market celebrated their third anniversary with live local music and introduced Route One’s brand new Mobile Farmers Market Truck to the community. At the event, they debuted the final options of the truck wrap artwork and the truck’s name. Attendants voted on their favorite art and name and provided feedback on how their truck can be accessible as possible in serving the Lompoc Valley.

     

  • Launched Mobile Farmers Market

    On November 26, 2022, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the mobile farmers’ market launch in the Lompoc Valley community. This mobile farmers market specifically serves Lompoc five days a week and prioritizes neighborhoods based on their access to fresh, healthy food.

FUTURE Plans for activation:

Route One Mobile Farmers Market is actively involved in the Lompoc Community Food Hub Project. Once it is up and running, they intend to host nutrition education classes to teach the community about food waste prevention and how to take advantage of what’s growing down the street from you affordably.

The mobile market will help expand access to affordable, fresh foods by accepting Calfresh/EBT Benefits. Their goal is to make it easier for our local farmers to reach North County customers and for CalFresh recipients to take advantage of Market Match to make their dollars go further when purchasing fresh food. All fruits and vegetables will be affordable, and they hope to offer a 50% discount to customers who receive or are enrolled in support programs similar to other mobile farmers market models. Learn more about Market Match in the video.

In this video, our Market Navigator Sonia Sandoval shares how to use your EBT to shop at the market and maximize your money with Market Match.

NOTABLE SUCCESSES

  • “All of this progress came from seed support from SBCFAN grant funding. With this support, we have been able to build the structure of the partnership for the pilot program, pursue additional funding opportunities, and nurture new connections.”
  • “When we are talking about local food access in particular mobile markets are one of the best solutions because of their flexibility. We can identify and prioritize neighborhoods where the need for food access is the highest and adapt to be available at the right time for communities.” – Shelby Wild, Executive Director, Route One Farmers Market
  • This project has been almost three years in the making to provide equitable access to produce, address food security, and strengthen food distribution in North Santa Barbara County.

KEY METRICS

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State-wide Mobile Market Pilot Program Partners
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State-wide Mobile Market Pilot Program Partners
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grants

Activating Food Action Plan goals

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