Mobile Farmers’ Market offers fresh produce for Sacramento area’s low-income residents

In 2019 Sara Bernal, the program manager for the West Sacramento Urban Farm Program, proposed placing a farmers’ market on wheels in the city’s low-income communities. Shortly after, the California Department of Food and Agriculture awarded her an $87,000 refrigeration grant she used to manufacture a Canadian-made truck.

Then COVID-19 struck the U.S. and the six-month wait for the mobile produce truck turned into two years. Now, with a vehicle similar to the size of a traditional U-Haul moving truck, Bernal has begun the pilot of the Mobile Farmers’ Market.

“With the seniors particularly but also these affordable housing complexes with families, it can be exceedingly hard if you don’t have a car to get groceries,” Bernal said. “So the whole purpose of the truck is to get produce to people where they live in the easiest way possible and then to make it affordable.”

According to The Grocery Gap, a 2010 study conducted by national research institute PolicyLink and nonprofit organization Food Trust, stores located in low-income zip codes in Sacramento are less likely to stock healthy foods than stores in wealthier areas. Low-income neighborhoods in California have 20% fewer healthy food sources than higher-income, while obesity and diabetes rates are 20% higher for those living in the least healthy food environments.

In California, low-income neighborhoods have fewer purveyors of healthy foods (supermarkets, produce stands) compared to outlets that primarily sell unhealthy foods (convenience stores, fast-food restaurants). But residents living in areas with higher densities of fresh food markets have lower rates of obesity, according to the study.

“It’s really an honor for me as a young farmer to be able to be growing food in a way that really feels like I’m in service of my community here in Sacramento,” said Heather Lyon, coordinator for the West Sacramento Urban Farm program.

All produce grown just miles from where it’s sold

According to Lyon, a majority of the produce available on the Mobile Famers’ Market truck is grown at Riverfront Farm, one of five farms within the program. A small selection of the produce is grown at the Center for Land-Based Learning headquarters in Woodland, a nonprofit that oversees several programs, including the West Sacramento Urban Farm Program.

Lyon, who has been farming for six years, oversees the Riverfront Farm in collaboration with Bernal. Lyon and several interns started growing the produce for the truck in April while her colleagues at the Woodland headquarters started weeks prior.

“It’s really a program with a ton of potential and we’re not exactly sure where it will end up going,” Lyon said. “But I think one of the goals is that this truck will be a resource for the other farmers and the West Sacramento Urban Farm Program and other local farmers who are interested in using it to market their produce as well.”

According to Bernal, the Mobile Famers’ Market is unique to other operations in that she and her team not only distribute fresh produce but are sourcing it from the community, growing it only a few miles from where it is being consumed. As a result, the program can grow items that aren’t easily found in West Sacramento including the Dundicut peppers, which are native to Pakistan, Amaranth greens and Indian eggplant.

“That’s one of the things that I think is super special and really unique about this program,” Lyon said. “The fact that the food is grown and sold within three miles, even less than that. It’s all right here in West Sacramento — I’m really proud to be part of keeping the vegetables close to home.”

The truck stops at three West Sacramento affordable housing complexes, including independent low-income senior housing complex Margaret McDowell Manor and accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payment. Customers using SNAP can purchase seasonal produce including vegetables, starches, herbs and fruits at a 50% discount.

Deborah Berlin, a three-year resident of Margaret McDowell Manor, was one of more than 50 customers at the July 6 opening of the Mobil Farmers’ Market. She used her EBT card to purchase zucchini, yellow squash and carrots for $4.

“The produce looked really good, everyone was really happy,” said Berlin, 68. “We had a lot of residents out there for the truck because you do not get that good of produce right now.”

‘They put the grocery stores to shame’

According to a 2019 study conducted by the American Diabetes Association, most seniors preferred fresh produce over canned or dry goods, but are sometimes unable to cook them. If seniors had limited transportation options, then they were unable to select the best shopping location for affordable foods or shop for food frequently.

According to Berlin, who usually drives her and her friends to her nearest supermarket, the produce available at the Mobile Farmers’ Market is fresher than what’s found at her grocery store.

“You do not get that fresh of produce right now in the stores,” Berlin said. “The pick is not too good right now ... you usually get it where it’s been for a week and it’s older.”

Along with fresh produce, the Mobile Farmers’ Market offers recipe cards in English and Spanish that feature recipes using the seasonal produce sold on the truck.

Residents are also welcomed to free nonperishable pantry items purchased by Bernal and her team from Woodland’s Yolo Food Bank at 20 cents per pound. Berlin walked away with a free pack of cookies, canned corn, pasta, tomato sauce and a spatula.

“This was probably the highest turnout we had at any event ... and the vegetables were awesome, I mean they put the grocery stores to shame,” said Nancy Gifford, social services coordinator for Margaret McDowell Manor. “Sara is just one of these high-energy people and when she called me I clicked with her really early own and she was instrumental in making this happen.”

The Mobile Farmers’ Market is open Tuesdays from noon to 2 p.m. to all Margaret McDowell Manor residents and the public. The pilot program is set to conclude in October.

“Feeding people and trying to grow the local food system and get out of this totally broken industrial food system is a massively important thing for me,” Bernal said. “This is just one small tool to hopefully give folks the opportunity to actually access fresh produce to hopefully avoid diet-related illnesses.”