Solving the Puzzle of Food Insecurity by Re-discovering the American Farmer: Innovator / Scientist / First Responder

California State University, Fresno Introduces The Southside Market Project

The Issue 

Despite being one of the most agriculturally rich and productive regions in the United States, parts of Fresno County are food deserts. The Fresno metropolitan area ranks among the highest in the nation for food hardship—defined as limited access to sufficient, nutritious food due to economic constraints. To address this issue, Southwest Regional Food Business Center (SWRFBC) partner California State University, Fresno (CSU Fresno) is working to establish farmers’ markets at three strategic locations within the metropolitan area; specifically the southside of Fresno. These markets aim to increase community access to fresh, local produce while simultaneously creating marketing opportunities for small-scale farmers, food producers, and community builders in and around Fresno. 

Our Response 

California State University, Fresno hosted a series of technical assistance workshops and seminars tailored to the needs of local farmers growing fruits and vegetables, as well as food entrepreneurs developing value-added products. These sessions were designed under the influence of research, data collection, and analysis of regional norms by the coordination team for SWRFBC. As a result, technical assistance sessions addressed collective vulnerabilities within small farm outputs by providing support within business acumen, developing a matriculation process for vendors, and designing a market place for sustainable economic proliferation at established and accessible local market spaces. In this, the Southside Market Project was created and curated within local specification for partnerships and community alliances. 

Workshops presented covered a wide range of agribusiness topics including: direct-to-consumer marketing strategies, brand development and storytelling, farm recordkeeping for better decision-making,and packaging and labeling techniques. With access to experts across the academic spectrum, the center was also able to offer seminars on soil conservation, integrated pest management, food safety and HACCP certification. In addition, workshops and seminars provided valuable networking opportunities, allowing attendees to connect with community organizers and peers. Within a year of networking, the coordination team was able to connect over 115 farmers, food producers, and entrepreneurs to technical assistance and service organizations. This growing network has become the driving force behind the establishment of three permanent southside, farmer controlled, markets; under the umbrella: Southside Market Project. Now championed by the collective community, this market system has become the subject of the Revive Fresno initiative and various community organizers and investors. The coordination team, under the directive of the SWRFBC model of coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building, provided technical assistance and opportunities to improve capacity. Inasmuch as the market introductions and technical assistance reflected a collective remedy for the area, the Business Builders Subawards represented a coordinated opportunity to extend and assert a more individual response to the Southside Markets. This process included applications submitted to the SWRFBC for Business Builder Awards to support farming and market momentum. As a result, five candidates were granted subawards from the CSU Fresno partnership. 

Coordination and alliance were key foundations within the build of this response. Local community organizations and leaders, such as the African American Farmers of California with Will Scott and Chris Fields, West Fresno Family Resource Center with Yolanda Randles, Select Training and Tutoring Institute with Henry Hendrix, Asian Business Institute and Resource Center (ABIRC) with Alex Luanglath, and Punjabi American Grower Group (PAGG) with Archdeep Singh held numerous meetings and became actively involved in the planning and the development of the farmers’ markets. The weight of each voice, amplified by the farmers they represented, produced a momentum vital to local communities and national inspirations. Current plans include the incorporation of commissary kitchens and the transitioning of these markets into full-scale food hubs as momentum builds. Two market locations have been finalized, and a third is currently under consideration. 

Progress to Date 

The technical assistance and business builder awards provided through SWRFBC have helped small farmers and food entrepreneurs grow and sustain operations; generating economic confidence within interconnected local food suppliers. In all, a sense of collective mobility has progressively influenced the shape and potential outcome for each market design. Currently, all of the participants in the offered SWRFBC technical assistance workshops plan to participate in at least one of the farmers markets within the created southside network. The Southside Market Project is represented by the Southwest Market, Southeast Market, and Downtown Market. 

Southwest Market 

With over 60% of the CSU Fresno program participants holding membership with the African American Farmers of California, this farming institution has endorsed the Southwest market. Of the markets, the southwest market is the most advanced within plans for opening. A site has been determined for this market and management plans are underway, as community organizers define a market master. 

Subaward Recipient: Dr. Henry Hendrix 

Southeast Market 

ABIRC and PAGG both support market projects, but have emphasized interest in the Southeast market. With 15% of ABIRC farmers planning to booth at this market and two of those farmers being recipients of SWRFBC Business Builder subawards, the number of planned participants is steadily rising. Due to the potential size and current numbers connected to this market, a site has been challenging to secure. However, the coordination team has narrowed down competitive options. 

Subaward Recipient: Sean Yang & Nonglak Suksawat 

Downtown Market 

The coordination team has partnered the Downtown Market with Fire Foods and the Revive Fresno initiative. This partnership has defined a location for the market and secured a space within a very promising food HUB expansion in the business district of downtown Fresno. With an emphasis on value added products, small street food vendors, and the longstanding robust food relationship with Mexico, this market is filled by value added producers like Spartan Sauces, The Pie Mamas, Alfonso’s Pomegranate Juices, Gladys La Authentica Birria Sauce, Paula Jackson’s Water Ice, Fire Foods, Smokin’ Woods Barbeque, Isla Tea Lounge, and many many more. 

Subaward Recipients: Paula Jackson & John Petrogonas 

In addition to important alliances and stakeholders, The Southside Market Project is supported by SWRFBC partner Community Alliance of Family Farms, with additional support by the Farms, Food, Future project; the Fresno Metro Ministry; Building Youth Today for Tomorrow; The Sweet Potato Project II; Kris Marshall (Operations Manager for Clovis Culinary Center and the very successful northeast- Clovis Farmers Market); Tim Lambert (consultant & co- director Valley Culinary); and a host of downtown businesses and farmers. 

What it Means 

CSU Fresno tailored a response to its local farmers with the potential to address economic vulnerabilities and impact food production. This response creates a measurable impact because it acknowledges all farmers within their regional subcontext (comparable and measurable), and considers the dynamics faced by small-scale food production. The coordination of a dedicated market system for the southside of Fresno has informed community demands and inspired increases in capacity for suppliers (see progress). In this, ongoing impacts, measured by the success and influence of rural farmers, can include outputs that have direct relationships with the agricultural potentials amongst abandoned landscapes familiar to the Central Valley of California. This service model for problem solving utilizes comprehensive coordination deeply rooted in an academic profile. It integrates small scale farming operations into the greater farming zeitgeist by addressing needs within specificity. While supporting the translation of the farmer as agricultural scientist, innovator, and first responder, this approach defines intentional equipping and supporting that build capacity by influencing economic realities with suggested market systems and keeps the local farmer as the central figure within a global concern. This impact means that a considerable contribution has been seeded toward a global effort in solving the puzzle of food insecurity.