Multi-Farm Aggregation & Distribution in the El Paso Food System

The intention for Texas Center for Local Food’s (TCLF) trip to El Paso was to deepen our understanding of the multi-farm collaborative aggregation and distribution of local food products. The Desert Spoon Food Hub (DSFH) is an exceptional example of this sales channel within Texas and we were eager to visit farms that contribute to the food hub and learn how aggregation supports their farm businesses. So Sue and Katie Lavallee hopped in the hybrid and took a road trip to West Texas.

Desert Spoon Food Hub was created to fill a gap of local food access in El Paso, TX. When Adriana Clowe returned to El Paso after living in Houston, she wanted to source fruit and vegetables directly from farmers. She quickly learned one of the few ways to do so was to visit the farms and pick up produce with her children. Soon after, her sister, Vanessa and mother, Patsy wanted her to bring back produce for them as well and they too became invested in this project. They started to offer aggregated farm produce to their neighbors and packing boxes in their living room to meet the demand for local produce in El Paso and with this growth Desert Spoon Food Hub was born.

The family of Directors at Desert Spoon Food Hub each bring complimentary skills and interests to support this work. Adriana (daughter and sister) draws from her engineering background as the Director of Operations to coordinate across other food hubs and producers to ensure they meet their orders. Patsy (mother) offers her natural charisma and community connections as the Director of Public Relations. Vanessa (daughter and sister) builds their brand through marketing and merchandise. If you get the pleasure to speak to them, they will each exclaim that they have “the most fun job”, demonstrating the importance of having a team with varied skills and passions to accomplish the complex work of multi-farm aggregation.

We experienced the passion and heart that the team at Desert Spoon Food Hub bring to this work as they graciously hosted our time in town. They coordinated site visits with their producers and collaborators, as well as provided access to tour their grocery store, commercial kitchen, and warehouse. We were fortunate to get the inside scoop and we’re sharing it with you!

We also visited La Semilla Food Center, another multi-farm aggregator in Anthony, New Mexico. We spoke with Julieta, who manages the La Semilla Community Farm and leads the Farmer Fellowship program, which pairs aspiring and beginning farmers committed to their training with seasoned partner farmers. This program reduces barriers such as land access and startup capital to provide invaluable growing experience, while also offering labor support to the established producers. Mario, the lead on their multi-farm aggregation, facilitates purchasing products from over 20 producers across El Paso, TX, Anthony and Las Cruces, NM to provide fresh produce boxes to childcare, senior centers, and families through the New Mexico Grown, Food Is Medicine, SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks programs. La Semilla also offers a community wash and pack station and shelving in their cold storage to partner producers, demonstrating how food hubs pool more than just produce and share critical infrastructure to help producers build operational capacity as well.

Beyond that, La Semilla coordinates logistically with Desert Spoon Food Hub to leverage each other’s delivery routes to move produce and enhance farmer sales while nourishing more community members. An example of this was observing the movement of Full Circle Mushroom products, whose facility in La Mesa, NM we had the great joy to tour. Full Circle Mushroom provides gourmet mushrooms to Desert Spoon, La Semilla, and Bodega Loya, a farmstand in Soccorro, TX. When Growing With Sara Farm, the vegetable production that primarily supplies Bodega Loya, delivers to La Semilla, they also pick up Full Circle Mushrooms from Desert Spoon for their farmstand. This reciprocal relationship allows each organization to diversify their product offerings, expanding their customer reach while increasing farmer sales.  On paper and in the U.S. these organizations could be perceived as competitors, but they choose to coordinate and collectively create & strengthen the local food system.

It was inspiring and informative to explore the El Paso local food system. Despite crossing arbitrary state borders and driving along the national border, our time focused on really digging into the food shed of the region -- the geographical area between where food is produced and where that food is consumed. The openness to support and coordinate within the food shed provides a hopeful example on how multi-farm aggregation and distribution can support farmer businesses, community wellbeing, and more connected local food movement.