Cultivating Connections

Eight years ago, the Wolfforth Farmers Market was nonexistent, and few farmers were growing or selling produce to the community.

Jessica Tullar Caroom is the director of Growing Together Texas, a non-profit aimed at supporting gardeners, growers and cooks. She said upon moving to Lubbock in 2013, she saw increased consumer demand for fresh food, and the challenges of connecting producers with consumers.

Caroom has a doctoral degree in epidemiology and having a background in health, Caroom said, has always made her value healthy eating and helping people and communities.

“I come at this from a systems perspective, from a data perspective, and a public health perspective,” Caroom said. “So, if you’re going to eat more vegetables and fresh food, then I know that I have had a good day.”

In May 2023, Caroom said she established LBK Grown which is a sister organization to Growing Together Texas.

Caroom said LBK Grown originated from a conversation with Jessica Fultz, who was only able to purchase produce from E3 Farms at the time.

“Jessica used to have a chalkboard in her restaurant listing all of the producers she was buying from,” Caroom said. “One day I walked in there, and the chalkboard was gone. She told me she took it down because E3 Farms was the only name left on there.”

Caroom said LBK Grown is an online farmers market that helps consumers purchase produce directly from farmers.

“The website allows people to contact the farmers pretty easily, and all this information is freely available,” Caroom said, “because I want to encourage that conversation between growers and restaurants.”

To ensure there is a variety of products being sold on the website, Caroom said she has monthly grower gatherings in which various chefs and farmers can meet.

Caroom said the grower gatherings allow farmers to talk about the crops they can grow most efficiently while ensuring there is not an abundance of the same vegetable or fruit.

“It helps make it a little easier for us and the farmers in order to maximize our total growth,” Caroom said.

LBK Grown also offers recipe bags along with Community Supported Agriculture boxes, a subscription-based service that customers can enroll in for several weeks.

“The boxes are $25 each week, but they contain different fruits and vegetables, and customers can either have them delivered or pick them up from the farmer or the other three pickup locations,” Caroom said.

Recipe bags, Caroom said, were eventually included in the CSA boxes, to help customers understand how they can incorporate some of the produce into their meals.

“I include a recipe bag with every (CSA) box, the recipes are based off of ingredients included in the box,” Caroom said.

Caroom said the CSA boxes and recipe bags have helped ensure that farmers are able to sell their produce, rather than relying on sales at the farmers’ market.

“The farmers will have a guaranteed order each week, and we normally do 20 to 25 CSA boxes,” Caroom said. “All of their produce is sold; there are no leftovers.”

Despite the success of LBK Grown in its first year, Caroom said influencing peoples spending habits was the hardest.

“Getting people to try something new or start a new behavior, that’s what’s difficult,” Caroom said.

Caroom said she plans to begin selling her CSA boxes and recipe bags again by April 2024 and is hopeful that more growers and customers will be interested in gaining more involvement in the program.