Growing Local Ecosystems Through Food

Food insecurity and access to basic needs

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Food insecurity and economic instability have long been linked in a vicious cycle. 8 million Californians live in food deserts, areas without access to grocery stores or alternatives for healthy, affordable foods. 1 in 8 people in LA say they can’t find fresh produce in their neighborhoods, and 1 in 5 can’t afford it. Our communities are at greater risk of diet related illnesses which can be attributed to lack of healthy food. It’s been said that a dollar stays in the black community for just 6 hours. In 2020, 41% of black-owned businesses closed due to the pandemic. We don't have enough essential black-owned businesses, specifically grocery stores. Black farmers have long been marginalized, making up less than 2% of farmers in the U.S and merely 0.7% in CA. Systemic barriers challenge their ability to grow, sell, and thrive. We believe that by focusing on our local food system, not only can we feed our neighbors, we can also create a substantial economic impact.

Prosperity Market is a literal farmers market on wheels & food truck in one! The back is the market & the front is a kitchen that we’ll rent out to chefs, giving us the ability to provide fresh produce & hot meals. This grant will support mobile market stops around LA which brings healthy foods to vulnerable communities while expanding the reach of our producers. It will also support wholesale & distribution logistics, which broadens the supply chain, builds capacity, & increases sales potential. Our model alleviates challenges caused by inadequate food distribution while creating economic opportunities for a thriving, equitable local ecosystem.
Our mobile trailer will feature 30+ black businesses and allow us to operate daily, serving neighborhoods consistently and deepening our impact. In addition to being a sales platform, we help businesses scale. We offer technical support with marketing, certifications, etc for vendors, and nutrition education for customers. By centering our farmers, we introduce Angelenos directly to the source, enriching their connection to our local food system. By accepting CalFresh, we can create viable economic activity which preserves & creates jobs while increasing food access. Our Prosperity Bucks program is free money given to residents to shop which strengthens the purchasing power of healthy foods in underserved communities. We're piloting digital bucks (used to shop online) with a housing complex for formerly unhoused seniors in South LA.

Since being a 2023 LA2050 grantee, we’ve seen many impacts of our success. We supported 15+ communities and increased vendor sales by 52%. Continued success will decrease food insecurity, support income equality, and create jobs throughout the entire supply chain, contributing to a stronger LA. Our short term goal is to increase mobile trailer stops which will support 30 - 60 black farmers & businesses, serve 6 - 12 neighborhoods (particularly South LA), create 5 jobs directly with Prosperity Market, and additional jobs for partnering businesses. We’ll expand our vendor technical support & resource program, providing businesses more tools to scale. Long term, we'll have multiple trailers serving designated neighborhoods through LA. If all CalFresh eligible residents enrolled, it would create an additional $1.2 billion dollars in related economic activity. By accepting CalFresh & increasing enrollment, we can generate additional revenue that preserves & creates jobs.

We debuted our mobile farmers market at the 2023 LA Auto Show to great reception, validating our work thus far. To date, we've hosted 25 pop-up markets, 14 produce giveaways, formed 20+ partnerships with aligned organizations, and work with an extended roster of 100+ businesses. We’ve grown our monthly virtual markets to an online shop open 24/7 with delivery & pickup. We measure the impact of our work through vendor & community surveys which we evaluate and implement. Sales & capacity growth of our vendors are indicators of successful programs. We've seen the growth of vendors like Tranquilitea Shop securing funding & Gloria's Shito getting a co-packer to scale production. Vendors find our workshops practical and have seen instant impact to their marketing. Last year, we saw a 58% sales increase online, and we continue working to scale e-commerce. Our Prosperity Bucks program has been well received by community & vendors, and we’ve circulated $8k to date.