S9 Ep74: Empowering Farmers: Local Markets Boosting Community Food Access
"It's hard work being a farmer, and we just don't value it. And we just don't realize… that we're losing them." —Jennifer Grissom
When SNAP and EBT are in flux, local food systems become a lifeline. This episode breaks down how farmers' markets can become emergency food hubs that protect both people and producers.
Jennifer Grissom from Food Access LA shares how her nonprofit expanded market match, launched emergency food distributions, and coordinated with partners to meet urgent needs while keeping farmers paid.
Listen now to learn:
How market match stretches SNAP and keeps choice for families
Tactical steps for rapid food distribution that support local farmers
How teams cut unnecessary red tape and move quickly during crises
The long-term threat to small farmers and what communities can do today
Press play, subscribe, and leave a rating if this episode helped you understand what local food resilience looks like in practice.
Connect with Jennifer:
Jennifer Grissom is the Executive Director of Food Access LA, a nonprofit organization committed to improving equitable access to fresh, nutritious foods across Los Angeles. The organization operates nine farmers' markets and leads community programs focused on nutrition education, food distribution, benefits access, and urban agriculture support. Jennifer works closely with small farmers, food vendors, and community partners to build a more resilient, people-centered local food system. Her leadership emphasizes dignity, autonomy, and sustainable economic opportunity for both families and farmers.
Episode Highlights:
00:43 Overview of Food Access LA
04:24 Market Match and Emergency Funding Tactics
09:53 Red Tape vs. Action
11:35 Managing Demand & Communication
15:10 Planning in Uncertainty
20:22 Local Purchasing Agreements, Food Box Partnerships
Tweets:
Local food = local power. Learn about market match, grassroots fundraising, and emergency food responses that keep communities fed and farmers paid with @justine.reichman and @foodaccessla Executive Director, Jennifer Grissom. #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #localfood #foodaccess #foodsecurity #farmersmarket #community #marketmatch
Inspirational Quotes:
01:02 "We understand the importance of this whole food cycle and this food ecosystem that happens, and our farmers' markets are a great way to display that, but they go out more into the community than just that one day that the farmers show up." —Jennifer Grissom
02:05 "It's super important, because for the farmers, it gives them an opportunity to serve the community directly, and enables the community to get to know their farmers and who they're buying from and what their process is." —Justine Reichman
02:39 "It's about knowing where your food comes from." —Jennifer Grissom
02:55 "When you're building that week after week, you see that the benefits and that ROI come out from years of being in this community and showing up." —Jennifer Grissom
04:33 "We 100% see this as an emergency food situation. People are anxious and scared and nervous and confused." —Jennifer Grissom
05:26 "It's a way to also allow people to shop with autonomy and dignity, and they're able to choose what's best for them and their family." —Jennifer Grissom
05:59 "It's very important, and pivotal for people, because it could mean the difference between eating and not eating." —Justine Reichman
09:17 "When you know something needs to be done, you just get up and do it." —Jennifer Grissom
15:29 "We are going to take it week by week, and we all agree that we may have to reevaluate, we may have to change things as we go." —Jennifer Grissom
18:26 "Stop trying, stop waiting for that to happen. It's not going to." —Jennifer Grissom
18:59 "It's hard work being a farmer, and we just don't value it. And we just don't realize… that we're losing them." —Jennifer Grissom
21:59 “It's a really big problem, and we can't fix everything overnight. We can only encourage people to go support the farmers; supporting the farmers supports the nutrition." —Justine Reichman
22:35 "As an individual, there's a lot you can do. It takes a little bit of extra effort, but the reward of going to a farmer's market is just so worth it." —Jennifer Grissom
Transcription:
Justine Reichman: I'm excited to have you here, JJ, today to talk about food, of course, and Food Access LA, who I know you work with. I'd love to learn a little bit more about you as well as Food Access LA, so welcome.
Jennifer Grissom: Thank you. I'm excited to be here, and ready to share whatever you would like.
Justine Reichman: Well, first, for those that are not familiar with you and the work that you're doing, maybe you could just kick us off with a little bit of the highlights of what Food Access LA is? And what do you want people to know about it?
Jennifer Grissom: We are a nonprofit organization. We operate 9 Farmers Markets in Los Angeles, but we do a lot more than that. So we have a lot of programming centered around nutrition education, food distribution, and benefits and incentives supporting urban agriculture. So we really understand the importance of this whole food cycle and this food ecosystem that happens. Our Farmers Markets are a great way to display that, but they go out more into the community than just that one day that the farmers show up. So we are in our communities every week, doing a lot of stuff. But mostly supporting our small food vendors and farmers, and then making sure that people have access.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. And your target audience in general, is it broader, is it really focused on lower income and middle income families?
Jennifer Grissom: Yeah, that's a great question. We've actually been really refining that as a leadership team. Our main priority is low income, mid to low income individuals that might not have the opportunity to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. They may not have a grocery store in their neighborhood, but equally, we also feel a very, very strong responsibility for our small food vendors and our farmers. And so everything we do is looking at like, how can we make sure that both of those populations are served? So a little bit of both.
Justine Reichman: And I think it's super important, because for the farmers, it gives them an opportunity to serve the community directly, and enables the community to get to know their farmers and who they're buying from, and what their process is. What are they doing with the land? How are they feeding it? What are they using? You create a stronger connection, I think, that way. I look for the same strawberry farmer every time I go to the Farmers Market.
Jennifer Grissom: Yeah. Everybody has their favorite, and you have your favorite farmer. It is absolutely right. And there's a connection there. It's about knowing where your food comes from. It's about knowing that that food was picked probably the day before, so you know that it's nutrient rich. But then there's this community connection that we know also plays into the health and wellness of an individual, of a family, of a whole community. And so when you're building that week after week, after week, you see the benefits, and that ROI comes out from years of being in this community and showing up. And we have so many farmers that could very easily pay someone to show up at the market for them, but they don't, because they love being there so much. They love watching people pick their food and smell it, and they love teaching kids about how to choose a ripe watermelon, whatever it might be, that brings so much joy into everybody's life. So it's really beautiful, I mean, if I'm grumpy, I just go to a market like, you can't not be happy there. Even if it's rainy and cloudy, it's such a beautiful place to be.
Justine Reichman: It is. I think there's music at the one, buy me, and there's local kids playing from the school, or there's somebody playing a guitar where they have some seats to sit down and eat. So I'm with you. I think it's super, it makes me smile.
Jennifer Grissom: It is. It's like a community space. My favorite is around the holidays. Kids from the school will come and practice their music that they're going to play for their parents, and they'll practice it there at the market, and it's adorable. We all need a little bit of that in our lives, especially right now.
Justine Reichman: I just want to touch on a couple things. So right now, with the government shutdown and all things that are happening around, you guys have really made quite a leap as to how to be able to help those folks continue to have access. Can you talk to me a little bit about that?
Jennifer Grissom: This year has been a lot, and we've learned a lot. We've been able to take what we've learned from each of these situations and apply it to now. And we, 100% see this as an emergency food situation. People are anxious, scared, nervous and confused, and so we knew right off the bat that not only were they going to come to us for answers, they were going to come to us needing help. And so we wanted to, again, we serve both mid to low income individuals and families, but also those farmers, we wanted to make sure they were also being supported. So we dipped into our pockets as far as we could to get some emergency funding, and are able to continue with our market match program, and supplement that even further in an effort to replace or replenish those SNAP or EBT Benefits. We might not be able to do it all for every single family, but we're doing as much as we can, and getting it out there as much as possible. It's a way to also allow people to shop with autonomy and dignity, and they're able to choose what's best for them and their family. And they're not having to stand in line at the food bank, which they might actually have to do some days too. But at least, this is an opportunity that they didn't have to do that day. So we're getting out as much as we can. It's hard, because it's a lot of administrative work, and it's a lot of guessing right now because there's no systems in place. But we're happy to do it, and we really wanted to do it for our communities. And it's very important.
Justine Reichman: It's very important. I think it's really pivotal for people, because it could mean the difference between eating and not eating, or not having access to something that is good for them. Then having to rely on something. I don't want to call out different things that I necessarily judge as not good. But I think it enables people to make a better choice for themselves. It 100% does.
Jennifer Grissom: And I can't imagine what it would be like to, all of a sudden, have something that you've planned for and you've prepared for just taken away from you. Especially if you have children to feed, you can't imagine the fear. So as much as we can, we want to be able to alleviate that from people and take away some of that anxiety. So we did a lot, no questions asked. We provided food when it was available, and we could just give it straight away. Or whether it was through the market, match dollars. However we could show up for that community, we did. And we're stretched thin. We already went through the fight. We did this with the fires. We did this during the ICE raids. It's been a lot this year, so I know we're the only nonprofit that's feeling that. But I will say that to turn around and see the value that's brought to our communities and to our farmers, it's worth it. We are willing to give up whatever we need so that we can make sure we're keeping these systems going, and these local food economies strong.
Justine Reichman: I think what you're doing, it's a tall task, and it's a tall order. It's a tall task, and it really forces us to think out of the box. It forces us to push boundaries and really get creative. I'm curious for those other nonprofits, for those other whether it's Agriculture Institute of Marin and in Marin or whomever, with your experience doing this, and I guess that you had to be scrappy, what are some of the things that you learned that maybe you could share with them? So that if they were inspired by what you're doing and wanted to create systems similar to this, they might have a good idea.
Jennifer Grissom: We love the people at AIM. That is one of the silver linings of this. I will say that people are coming out like we're having to be creative, we're having to talk more, we're having to coordinate more and collaborate. And it's in a way that is kind of beautiful. So we're talking, we're putting farmers in touch with each other. So if there is an organization that maybe they normally just do bread and eggs on Wednesdays, and they want to expand that, we get them in touch with our farmers. We're not going to gatekeep. We're going to let them coordinate that at whatever best fair price is for the farmer. There's a lot of opportunity there to build some new programs. So we've seen some collaboration between people who are feeding the unhoused and our farmers now that we hadn't had before, and those are kind of just starting to develop. But I will say that it also just takes some, like you said, scrappy. But it also just takes some, I call them getter doneers, a silly term. But it takes people literally just standing up and starting to get stuff done. And that's really the thing that we learned from the beginning of this year. I have an amazing team. And when we had an idea, we just did it. We kind of learned as we went. We didn't wait for it to be perfect, because it wasn't going to be. And we needed to act now. I think the number one thing I would say that we've learned is when you know something needs to be done, you just get up and do it. And that has made a huge difference. And because of that, now we're like, we're ready to do it. We've done it. I feel like we're veterans now. So the minute something needs to be done, we just get up and do it. I know that sounds probably too simple, but I don't know. I think it's because I have amazing people, to be honest with you,
Justine Reichman: I would imagine, your team is amazing. But as you're saying this, I'm imagining all this red tape. Oftentimes, when you're working in organizations, nonprofits or otherwise, there's a lot of red tape. So how did that play into it for you?
Jennifer Grissom: That's a really good question. So we did have a little bit of red tape with some of our government funding, and we just made the hard decision to start moving away from that because it was really hindering us. So again, we have wonderful partners. And we also just called out to our community, and we were kind of like, hey, some of you have more, some of you don't have. If you have more, can you give? And we'll distribute that to the people who need it. And so we did a lot of really grassroots fundraising to be able to support what we were doing. Again, an amazing team. But our farmers are also amazing, and so we always want to pay them fair prices. That's negotiable, right? But 9 times out of 10, they were like, we put 10 extra boxes in for you. So they were doing stuff like that. And I think maybe even through covid and this last year, I think we've all learned what red tape is important and in place for a reason, and then what isn't, and it's not. We don't want to value processes, procedures and safety. Of course we do. But sometimes when, again, you just have to get stuff done, and we got to move this food, and we got to feed people. We already vet all of our farmers and vendors from the get go, so we know everybody we work with is safe and on the up and up. So that groundwork was already done, and then we just got food to people. There's just nothing that's gonna stop us from doing that, I guess.
Justine Reichman: And so now as we're sort of here we are, I don't know how many days now we're into this, but we're far enough into this. You're seeing things, I'm imagining a shift, and you're continuing to get more people, I would imagine. So how are you addressing that?
Jennifer Grissom: It was interesting because there was a dip, and we were nervous about promoting. We didn't want to overwhelm our staff or overwhelm the farmers. If you need help, show up, we're going to be here for you. And then when we felt like we had that solid, we were like, all right, we can handle this. We just started promoting it really, word of mouth, because we knew that was the best way to spread information. And we started also being really clear about what we knew was happening and what we didn't know, and trying to really correct some of the misinformation that was going out. So a lot of it was really boots on the ground grassroots, talking to people and making sure they knew what to do. And then we also were in constant contact with our team. How's it going? Do you need extra support? Do you need someone else to show up? How are the farmers doing? So a lot of communication. Everybody just worked well. It flowed well. And I will say, I think whether this sounds kind of woo woo or what, but I think it's because everybody has good intentions, and everybody wants the best. So it's really been fairly smooth. There have definitely been days when we were like, oh, what's the right decision? Do we make a big broadcast about this? Or do we only do it for these markets? Whatever the decision might have been. And I think just because everybody has the same objectives and goals, it makes it really easy to make those decisions and execute whatever it is we're doing.
Justine Reichman: And so as you're making these decisions and trying to figure out what to do next, what are some of the key factors that you take into consideration? That's a lot, right? To me, it's building like, okay, how do you prepare that?
Jennifer Grissom: We consider it like a Venn diagram, sort of like whip, how does everybody overlap? It's like 20 circles. But what's being affected? What's the goal? What do we need to address here? In this case, it was like, how do we get dollars or food into people's hands that is also supporting the farmers? How is the best way to do this? So starting with that objective in mind. We sit down as a leadership team, and we brainstorm ideas, and we hold each other accountable for which ideas are going to really, truly match our mission. We think through potential problems. And at the end of the day, agree that nothing's going to be perfect, and so let's get as close as we can. And a lot of times, it comes down to like a roll call vote of like, do we want to do this? Or this? And we go through those decisions. And I will say that again because everybody has the same objectives in mind. There's details there to discuss. But you would think in these times of really high tension and anxiety there. I have a team of all women. You would think that there would just be a lot of emotion. And there is, but it's not directed at each other. We do a really good job of making sure that we are headed in the right direction. So we just balance those out. So if something just seems out of balance, we'll adjust it. Is a $5 match enough? No, but 50 is too much. We can't keep up with that. Or will this overwhelm staff? Yes. Okay, then maybe we do it like this, and that'll be a little less overwhelming for them. So a lot of balancing and weighing, and looking at that Venn diagram, and seeing what we can get as close to perfect in the middle.
Justine Reichman: And so now, as time continues to elapse, what are your plans? How do you even begin to plan what the next few months look like when we have so much uncertainty and so many things that we just don't know?
Jennifer Grissom: It's really hard to get ahead of anything right now, and it's hard to have the time. But even mentally, it's hard to just think about anything else. We're almost not planning. I don't want to say we're not planning, say we're not planning, but we have seen that, I'm not going to be able to predict what's happening in six weeks or two months, so we are going to take it week by week. And we, again, all agree that we may have to reevaluate. We may have to change things as we go. So we're not going to make any permanent decisions right now, even if it has nothing to do with this. We're just not going to start any big projects, because we don't have the mental time or energy. We just accept that right now, we may not be able to have this concrete, strategic five year plan, because we have no idea what that means. We will get back to that, I do believe. But we're kind of planning to be uncomfortable with the unknown, which is hard, and it's kind of scary. It's a bit scary, actually. But that's where we are. I feel like this is also a sad thing. We're used to this chaos now, which is not good. But we also are, I am trying to be in modeling this, and I'm trying to get my team to be very intentional about taking breaks and stepping away, and they're doing that. We just had a team that went and ran a half marathon together. We had some people that went camping this weekend. I went out of town for a little bit, and really not feeling guilty about stepping away. So that's not really planning exactly, but that's what we're doing right now to protect ourselves so that when we're ready to plan, we can basically roll up our sleeves and start planning. But right now, we just can't. We just don't know.
Justine Reichman: I can imagine. And for you guys, you probably have a plan that you had that was existing, and that sort of gone by the wayside. You're like, okay, well, we need to address this. This is what's happening, so forget it. There's a saying about it, but I'm really bad at repeating plans.
Jennifer Grissom: It's not happening. I will say that. There you go.
Justine Reichman: You're really making sure that the farmers are getting paid, and the community is getting access to food. What are some of the greatest challenges that you face in the foreseeable future that you're concerned with? Maybe the top three.
Jennifer Grissom: One of the top things that I'm concerned about is, I see this opportunity to really strengthen our local food systems, and to really put the support into small food businesses and farmers. I am worried that we're missing this opportunity. We learned during covid that our food systems were broken and nothing changed, and we're learning that lesson again. I just feel like it has to be at a local level that we address this problem, because we obviously cannot count on any federal situation that's going to address anything. So stop trying, stop waiting for that to happen. It's not going to. My concern right now is that we're not making the best of this opportunity. That's my first concern. My second concern is farmers and anybody in the nonprofit world. Everybody, really. Farmers are worn out. They are tired. They are exhausted. We are seeing farmers get to retirement age and they have no one to pass their farm on to. What's going to happen when we do not have farmers growing our food? That keeps me awake at night.
Sometimes, I've tried to grow tomatoes. It's hard. When I grow one, I'm like, this is amazing. And that goes into one salad. It's hard work being a farmer, and we just don't value it, and we do not know. I work with farmers all the time. I go on farm visits. I talked with them,and I still couldn't really tell you what it's like to be a farmer. It's a lot of work, and so I am worried that we're going to be losing them. So those are kind of two big overarching worries that I have, concerns that I have. And then on a short term, smaller level, I am just worried about the health and wellness of our communities. I feel like the stress and the anxiety that is happening now coupled with the lack of dense, nutritious foods, and access to that. I feel like we're going to see long term impacts from that 10 years down the road. I just worry that, can we stave that off enough? Can we make sure people are getting what they need to stay healthy, mentally, emotionally, physically? All of those things now so that 10 years down the road, we're not still dealing with these impacts. So those are my top three concerns. I would say.
Justine Reichman: Keep me up at night, that's a lot. And taking that responsibility on yourself as part of a solution seems overwhelming. How to break it down to feel like you're addressing those things. Do you look at this and say, okay, so for number one, here's two ways that we can deal with this, or address this situation to maybe not solve the problem, but help the problem. I don't know any other way to think about it.
Jennifer Grissom: Yeah. I think we do look, like I said, there's lots of silver linings there. We have a lot of great people in our corner that are in this fight with us. I think there's a lot of advocacy work that is being done. I am very grateful to live in California where I feel like, if I do this advocacy work, it is going to actually make a difference. But I do think that you can break it into chunks. For example, there's a local food purchasing agreement that is a work in progress that has been done. It's an agreement about to run out, and we want to renew it so we see that it's been done. We know that it can continue. And so focusing on that for a day or two kind of gives you a little bit of hope, and it's a manageable situation. Just encouraging people to go to the markets, that's something simple that I can do and remind people. Even those that don't live in California, like my daughter, I called her the other day and said, do you have plans to go to the market? Make sure you're buying from your local farmers. So little things like that. Even if it's just one or two people, that gives me a little bit of hope. And like, okay, we're there. We are out here. We are going to make this happen. And then we do things like, we haven't even touched on doing actual food distributions. We've talked a lot about our markets, but we will do things intentionally to make sure that our farmers' food is being purchased, even if it's not at the market. And we'll get that out to a food bank or a partner that's giving out food boxes. One of the senate districts here is doing a big food drive, and they're handing out boxes from our farmers. So there are other things that are happening that make me, I can take a deep breath a little bit. Okay, we are doing some good things to address this problem.
Justine Reichman: And it sounds like you are doing good things. But it just sounds like it's a really big problem. We can't fix everything overnight. We can only encourage people to go support the farmers. And supporting the farmers, supporting nutrition, and creating access. Even creating those relationships like you were talking about, the food bank with the farmers, to make sure this food is sold. All so integral to make sure that these systems continue to work and feed, quote, unquote, both the farmers and the community.
Jennifer Grissom: Yes. You're totally right. You are feeding the farmers. I think as an individual, there's a lot you can do. It takes a little bit of extra effort. Because now, you got to go to the store to get your non-perishable items, your dish soap and whatnot. But God, the reward of going to a Farmers Market is just so worth it. And there's CSA options. So if you feel like you can't go to the market, or the market in your neighborhood is on a day when you can't go, there are options. There are things that you can do to still support that without taxing yourself. And so I encourage each individual to take responsibility and do what they can do. Awesome.
Justine Reichman: JJ, thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. For those folks that are curious to learn more about options from Food Access LA , what's the best way for them to connect or learn more?
Jennifer Grissom: Yeah. Following us on Instagram at Food Access LA , or through our website, at foodaccessla.org, we post regularly and keep everybody up to date on what we're doing.
Justine Reichman: Of course, we don't want to leave out those people that maybe can help, that might be listening, and that might be able to provide a resource, whether financial or otherwise, it really doesn't matter. But how might they get in touch, and who should they be connecting with?
Jennifer Grissom: Yeah. They can email me directly. I love to hear from people. It's Jennifer, J-E-N-N-I-F-E-R @foodaccessla.org, and all of that information is also on our website. There's a Donate button if you want to remain anonymous. I just love hearing from people. That's one of my favorite things, to have personal emails, so don't hesitate to reach out.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. Thank you so much for the conversation. It was so great. I want to thank our listeners for tuning in. Because without them, we wouldn't really have a community.
Jennifer Grissom: That's true. Thanks for having me. It was beautiful.
