Can You Even Operate a Farmers Market in the Middle of the Desert?

Roots & Fruits x Barstow Farmers Market

In 2024, Roots & Fruits was awarded a USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service, Local Food Promotion Program grant that would help expand our online market to support local farmers and ranchers in the goal of creating accessibility to the digital economy, a broader audience, and introducing their products into markets they would not be able to reach in traditional manners. Ultimately, the grant would help bridge the gap that exists between producers and consumers in the Mojave high desert.

As an online market, Roots & Fruits works directly with farmers and ranchers to provide customers with the freshest locally grown fruits & vegetables, honey, edible plants, and more. Roots & Fruits ultimately bridges the gap between Farm to Table in the Mojave Desert- specifically in remote communities and towns like Barstow, Victorville, Hesperia, and Apple Valley.

Barstow? Why Barstow?

The City of Barstow is a unique town located in the Mojave Desert with a population of approximately 25,000 people. It is located between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and can be considered a transient town. Thousands of people travel through it whether they are driving Historic Route 66, taking a lunch break while driving to Los Angeles/Las Vegas, or refueling their vehicles. However, Barstow is much more than just gas stations, a pit stop, and a town with a historic street. Barstow is an important town for surrounding communities such as Baker, Newberry Springs, Yermo, Fort Irwin, and Hinkley to name a few.

If you think Barstow is remote, on your next vacation or day off take a drive through the Mojave Desert past Barstow and you will notice that there is pretty much nothing. There are no grocery stores, let alone farms or farmers markets, and these towns must drive to Barstow to do their shopping. Newberry Springs is the only town with some agricultural production, but it is still not in the scale to supply an entire region.

The question for Roots & Fruits then was, "Why should these desert communities have to conform to months old produce from grocery stores?" The answer was simple, "because that's all there was." Therefore, in 2022-2023 Roots & Fruits began operations out of the need to bridge the gap between remote communities and access to fresh fruits, vegetables, and foods directly from the farm. Similarly, in 2023, the Barstow Youth Sports Coalition began operations of the Barstow Farmers Market- the only farmers market in town and the last farmers market after Victorville, in the northern part of the high desert before reaching Nevada. The Barstow Farmers Market

At the time, the Barstow Farmers Market was held only one day per month- every third Saturday of the month. Excitement and support for the market were present, however, it was very difficult for farmers to be. After being awarded the Local Food Promotion Program grant, Roots & Fruits subawarded and partnered with the Barstow Youth Sports Coalition to make the farmers market a consistent and reliable place where desert communities could have access to fresh and nutritious foods. The partnership would be ideal because the Barstow Youth Sports Coalition already had a strong presence in the community, and with Roots & Fruits network of farmers and agricultural producers, the market could become what the community was looking for- a weekly market with fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, and more!

First, Roots & Fruits and the Barstow Youth Sports Coalition conducted a joint survey to seek the communities’ input on a farmers market. We wanted to learn what they wanted, what day worked best for them, what times worked best for them, and what they wanted to see at the market. Survey results demonstrated that 93% of respondents wanted a weekend market that was held from 10AM to 2PM and they wanted a weekly market that would be consistent to be able to access fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and eggs. Secondly, Roots & Fruits surveyed farmers to learn if there was interest in traveling to Barstow, what would make the trip appealing, what would prevent them from attending, and why they would not want to attend.

90% of the answers demonstrated that farmers believed Barstow was too far and that is why they would not attend. Respondents also stated that they would be dissuaded by high market fees and low sales. Therefore, as a result of distance we were turned down by more farmers than we wish we were.

So, Can You Actually Run a Farmers Market in the Middle Of the Desert?

Yes, but not only in the middle of the desert. You can operate a farmers market in remote communities so long as your market acknowledges and understands its uniqueness to its landscape, community, and region. Wanting to operate like a farmers market in a big city is great motivation, but what works for them will probably not work in a smaller town, and more than likely will also not work for the farmers.

From the very beginning of the market restructuring we clearly understood that operating a market in the desert would be a challenge, but it would be 100% worth it. We knew that it was going to be a challenge getting farmers out to Barstow because the closest farms are more than 100 miles away. Even more, the number of farmers who are certified to sell at farmers markets is even lower, and many of the farmers who are certified were already booked with markets in bigger cities. In addition, we were aware of the time farmers would need to travel round-trip and approximately how much they would have to spend on fuel. The farmers we were able to recruit were traveling from Ontario, CA, Porterville, CA, and Santa Barbara County- a 1.5 to 3 hour drive one way. We understood that farmers would be incurring a considerable loss before even starting the market. Even more, we were aware that we needed to reduce the burden on farmers and help ease the barrier of entry to the market. On top of their operating and travel expenses, farmers would need to get a business license to be able to participate in the market, as required by the City of Barstow. The Barstow Farmers Market management team then took it upon themselves to personally help the farmers fill out their business license application and Roots & Fruits even sponsored the license cost for them. In addition, in efforts to reduce the barrier to entry, the market established very low vendor fees- some of the lowest vendors fees in farmers markets across the high desert.

Market organizers must be aware that the goal of the farmer is ultimately to sell their merchandise, feed communities, and make a living. If the return is not attractive or enough to cover their expenses, they will drop out. Afterall, farming is their livelihood- the way they make a living and support their families- so making profitable returns is in their best interest and it should also be in the market's best interest. Market organizers also bear the responsibility to promote the market and create awareness. The more people and communities know about the market, and the more people attend the market, there is a higher probability of success for the vendors.

Okay, So What Has the Barstow Farmers Market Done for Farmers and Desert Communities?

The Barstow Farmers Market has given the city of Barstow, its surrounding desert communities- including military communities such as Fort Irwin- something to do in Barstow on Sunday's. The Barstow Farmers Market has become the place where families gather, have a good time, and have access to fresh fruits and vegetables directly from the farmer.

The farmers at the market are happy to be in Barstow and have expressed feeling respected and appreciated for their work because people do not try to haggle with them as people in big cities and other markets do. Of course, there are days when market sales are low, but that is why the market planned to make the vendor fees affordable for the vendors. Other markets charge vendors a flat fee plus a percentage of sales, but the Barstow Farmers Market makes it easy and accessible for farmers with a simple flat fee.

In addition, in its mission to support farmers, ranchers, and the local community, the Barstow Farmers Market applied to become a California WIC Authorized Farmers Market and became 1 of 9 markets in San Bernardino County able to accept WIC and Senior Farmers Market benefits! More recently, the Barstow Farmers Market was also approved by the USDA to become a SNAP authorized farmers market, creating accessibility to fresh fruits and vegetables for a larger population in the Mojave Desert. Even more, the market is currently in talks with a local health organization working on a possible "Food is Medicine" program to be able to increase nutritious food intake for their patients.

All of this, the Barstow Farmers Market and its accomplishments, have been possible through joint efforts between Roots & Fruits and the Barstow Youth Sports Coalition, facilitated by funding from USDA grant funds. Grant funds have been beneficial in reaching remote communities that would otherwise be difficult to reach- such as military complexes- by means of digital and print advertising. More importantly, grant funds have been imperative to keeping the market in operation on a weekly basis. A weekly market has been well received by the community and farmers alike and has been essential to retaining farmers and feeding the community! You can visit the Barstow Farmers Market every Sunday at Dana Park from 10 AM to 2 PM! It's a fun thing to do in Barstow!

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Funding for Roots & Fruits and the Barstow Farmers Market was made possible by a grant/cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.