The term, ‘produce aggregation’ doesn’t really conjure up a picture of healthy kids and families and farmers bringing good food to communities facing food insecurity. But Southside Community Land Trust’s Produce Aggregation Program is working to do just that. It’s a way to connect urban farmers to their neighbors with healthy food while at the same time connecting their small farms to new markets. It “gets fresh local food into the local community,” said Amelia Lopez, Food Access Associate at Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT), who works on the Produce Aggregation Program.
Small-scale farmers typically face numerous challenges to access wholesale markets: they lack the capacity to grow large quantities, may not have access to processing facilities, and must manage the complexities of logistics and distribution required to fulfill wholesale orders.
The Land Trust’s Produce Aggregation Program addresses these challenges by acting as a wholesale buyer that combines the harvest of numerous urban farmers to distribute in larger quantities. The program has its own Farm-to-Market processing center to collect and process crops grown by numerous different farmers and manages the logistics and distributions of the produce aggregation, making it possible for small farms to increase the scale of their businesses.
Twenty-seven farmers regularly sell their produce through the aggregation program. Most of the farmers are refugees, immigrants, or part of other marginalized communities. Over half of the farmers that participate in the Produce Aggregation Program have plots at the Land Trust’s Urban Edge Farm or Good Earth Farm properties, where farmers are able to farm on larger plots of land. As their businesses expand and they run out of space, many farm on numerous plots in multiple different community gardens and farms. Most of the farmers in the program also sell at farmers markets, but income from farmers markets can be unpredictable and unsteady, explained Lopez. The Aggregation Program gives them another, more reliable, outlet to sell their produce. In addition, there are many years of experience among the farmers, and they are gratified to share this knowledge with the high schoolers who take part in the SCLT’s paid internship program.
“[The Aggregation Program] has been a support for selling our vegetables…. Sometimes there are moments when we have an abundance of some products and the program helps us to sell them,” said Margarita Martinez, translating her husband’s comment from Spanish. Teo Martinez, a farmer from the Dominican Republic, and his wife, Margarita, are commercial growers based at the Land Trust’s Urban Edge Farm. While the Martinezes appreciate the additional market channel through which they can sell surplus vegetables, they believe the program can be improved. “I do believe that it can be more. More can be done,” said Teo, again translated by Margarita.
Marcel De Los Santos, SCLT’s Grants and Communications Manager: “The fight against food insecurity faces several significant obstacles that threaten its sustainability. Reducing crucial funding sources, such as the expiration of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds, has left many food assistance programs needing help to maintain their service levels. Land acquisition for food production and community gardens has become increasingly difficult as urban development drives up property costs and reduces available space.”
Additionally, rising food and transportation costs and persistent supply chain disruptions strain food banks’ operational capacities. These challenges are compounded by the growing demand for food assistance services, climate change impacts on agricultural production, and the need for consistent volunteer engagement.
As food policy expert Janet Poppendieck notes, “The greatest challenge we face isn’t just feeding people today, but securing the resources and infrastructure to ensure we can continue feeding them tomorrow.”
In 2023, the program paid out $190,000 to farmers, doubling from the previous year, and distributed an estimated 44,000 pounds of produce in the local community.
The Produce Aggregation Program runs two distribution cycles each week during the growing season. The Land Trust orders different products in various quantities from different participating farmers and notifies them in advance of each cycle what they will be purchasing. Farmers deliver their produce to the food hub where it is processed and packed into bags with other farmers’ produce. Each bag contains approximately $20 worth of fresh produce, sourced from different farmers, and is ready to be distributed. In the fall, seasonal produce like chayote, winter squash, Lemongrass, garlic, and sweet potatoes is distributed, as well as collard greens, cabbage, herbal tea, parsley, honey, carrots, onions. In the summer, produce includes: tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, eggplants, potatoes, cilantro, onions, cucumber and zucchini.
The program distributes the produce through numerous community partners that give it out to their participants for no cost. Distribution partners include organizations like health clinics, day cares, and recreation centers. Health clinic partners such as Integra Community Care, Lifespan Hospital and Clínica Esperanza give out the produce through the VeggieRx program, where doctors refer patients to receive a “prescription” of produce. In 2023, roughly 9,750 individuals received free produce through the program. Along with the food, recipients receive packets with recipes, storage tips, and education materials about the specific foods they receive.
The Land Trust’s Produce Aggregation Program began in 2018 and has since grown each year. It is currently funded primarily by the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program (LFPA) which began during the pandemic to expand access to local, healthy food and increase economic opportunity for underserved farmers. As of 2022, the program has a new home in the organization’s new Healthy Food Hub at 404 Broad Street in South Providence.
Southside Community Land Trust, the local nonprofit organization that runs the Produce Aggregation Program, is based in Providence’s Southside neighborhood. Founded in 1981, the Land Trust’s mission is to help local urban farmers by providing land access, agricultural resources, and agriculture and business training. The Land Trust supports the operation of 60 community gardens spanning the towns of Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls, including 20 Land Trust-owned properties. The Produce Aggregation Program is one of many that the SCLT runs or partners with to address food insecurity in the Providence area. Farmers markets, gardens, education programs and internships, are among further examples of the SCLT’s mission. All of these activities, like the Produce Aggregation Program, help increase access to fresh, healthy, and culturally-relevant food for these urban communities and feed roughly 1,200 families each year.
Thanksgiving will see the end of this year’s growing season but the work of the Land Trust continues year round. Along with its partner organizations and local businesses, farmers, volunteers, students, families and the local community, the Land Trust is working to make Providence a healthier city.
Brooke Warner was born & raised in Rhode Island and has lived in Providence since college. She currently works on an organic vegetable farm and was previously an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Farm Fresh RI.
