Producing more than just food

By Jennifer Palmberg
The Collegian

At first glance, the Fresno State Farm Market looks like a quaint little place the University tucked away behind the sheep unit on Barstow, but further investigation would reveal it’s a thriving market.

The market sells fresh produces like fruits and vegetables as well as products such as meats, nuts, cheese, ornamental horticulture (houseplants), gift baskets, Fresno State ice cream and Bulldog Root Beer.

The market also features the largest slection of award-winning Fresno State wine and even sells seasonal produce like corn and pumpkins.

Daniel Avila, the university’s dairy processor, makes 56 different flavors of Fresno State ice cream using the natural ingredients grown by the agriculture department. Some of the flavors like pumpkin, peppermint and eggnog are seasonal, but big sellers like vanilla, cake batter, cake batter cookie dough, coconut almond chip, strawberry and rocky road are made more often.

Lisa Rotta, student assistant manager, said the price comparison between the farm market and chain grocery stores varies.

“For some things like our wine, horticulture, fruits and vegetables our prices are very good,” she said. “A few of our other items may cost a little more here because we need to make some kind of a profit.”

The farm market was established in 1987 and has been dedicated to serving the students as well as the community. The market sells only the products produced by the agricultural and food science departments and merchandise such as T-shirts, aprons, tote bags and hats designed to promote the Agriculture Department.

Manager Diane Downing has been working with the farm market for four years but has only been manager for one year and one month.

“Four years ago they didn’t open the store until noon because that’s when most of the students were getting out of class,” she said. “This made our elderly customers unhappy because they wanted to get their shopping done in the morning before it got hot. So they found me and I would open the store in the morning and then would leave at about the time the students would start arriving.”

As the manager, Downing said she only hires Fresno State students.

She said it’s extremely valuable and beneficial to students in the agriculture department because it gives them an opportunity not only to grow or make their own products like most universities, but to also sell their products.

Downing said she is proud to be part of the only university with an Enology Department that’s licensed to bottle and sell their own wine.

Downing said market sales for all products are fairly high. She said during corn season (May - October) she expects to get about 1,000 customers a day. In the winter season that number decreases but the store still gets frequent customers. Her most frequent customers are senior citizens and alumni.

Downing said a lot of the elderly customers say they love supporting the school and many have children or grandchildren that have graduated from Fresno State.

“We just broke our record this year in sales,” said Downing. “We made $700,000 by the end of the fiscal year (July). We usually only get about $630,000, so this year was a pretty big jump.”

Ratto said that 90 percent of the money the market makes is given back to the specific departments that provided the goods. The other 10 percent is used to support the market, make improvements and pay the employees.

“Almost all of the money we make goes back to the students,” Downing said.

The Fresno State Farm Market is located on the southeast corner of Barstow and Chestnut. It is open from 9 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

Comment on this story in the Features forum >>