On September 16th 2012, Farm Cart Organics was officially born! At just 21-years-old, founder Katherine Lesh (née Shepherd) took over her family’s long-established produce stand in Carpinteria, California. As we celebrate the 8th anniversary of Farm Cart Organics, we sat down with co-owners Katie and Jason Lesh to reflect on the goodness that has come from eight years of hard work and perseverance, as well as to hear more on their dreams of what is yet to come! We could think of no better a time than now to slow down and reflect for a moment. Thanks for supporting local – we wouldn’t be where we currently are without community members like yourself.  

Happy Anniversary, Farm Cart Organics!

What was the very first day of Farm Cart Organics like 8 years ago? How large was the business at that point? How many staff members did it include? 

I opened for business on September 16, 2012 when I was just 21. At the time it was only a produce stand and there was zero other aspects of the business. My parents had actually started the produce stand 10 years before but closed it in 2008. So when I did open there was already a super tiny customer base. It was really rad! It was just my boyfriend at the time (Jason) and we didn’t have any employees for a very long time! He harvested the produce from my dad’s farm here in Carpinteria every single morning and I worked at the produce stand in the afternoon. We really didn’t know what we were doing looking back on it (LOL) and I certainly didn’t have any future plans for it. But no matter how tired we were we showed up day after day for years.  -Katie

Fast-forwarding 8 years later, what does a typical day look like for you Katie? Walk us through each part.

I guess this answer really reflects on what ‘season’ the business is in. If you were to ask me this 5 months ago, I would have told you I was working 13-17 hour days, ordering the products, packing boxes, delivering boxes, running home to respond to customers, sourcing more and more food, trying to find any and all help and everything humanly possible to keep our business afloat during the start of COVID. A month ago I had my head buried in a computer dialing out this new software, importing all the customers over and fine tuning all the many small details. So to sum up this question, THIS WEEK I am in charge of our supply chain. It starts by calling all 5-7 farmers on a Wednesday and asking what they have an abundance of for the following week. Placing the orders with them and finalizing the boxes. But still, I wear a lot of hats here and oversee marketing, sales, customers, the store, paying the bills, employees, logistics, growth & vision and a whole other slew of things just depending on the week. -Katie

How has Farm Cart Organics helped shape the City of Carpinteria?

I don’t know if we have helped shape the City of Carpinteria, so much as we have brought out into the public eye a little more of what the city has always been. Carpinteria was built by farmers, and has always been home to traditional, organic vegetable growers.  Before chemical farming became normal, traditional farming was organic and Carpinteria was founded by traditional dry bean farmers, lemon farmers, and other creative crop growers.  

If we have shaped anything, it is that we have helped to revitalize our little corner of town alongside the Lucky Llama, Women’s Heritage, Teddy’s by the Sea, and Rincon Brew.  It is has been very cool, to be a part of creating a welcoming, healthy little corner for our community. -Jason

What are the values we hold here at Farm Cart Organics? How do we carry those values out each day?

We hold truth, respect, and transparency as our core – a non-negotiable integrity structure. The way this looks is simple: we tell you the truth, we weed out the deception, we reveal the mendacity, we provide the best value to you that we can, and we respect where you are on this journey and work with you at that point as a guide. This extends across our employees, our farmers, and most importantly with our customers.  We work hard to do this from a place of love and protection, and with the core motivation that we want to make things better, healthier, and easier for everyone that is involved with us. -Jason

What are three words that best describe Farm Cart Organics?

Transparent, Happy, Fresh. -Jason & Katie

How many employees do you now have?  

Well let’s just point out that before COVID-19 we had about 2 full-time employees and 4 part-time. Now we have 6 full-time and 33 part-time… -Katie

What is your business title and/or role within the company.

I am CEO and CFO. I really dislike those words though. I lead by example and I’m a very hard worker. I expect our employees to do the same and they do! In essence, we’re all just a big team and I’m just a co worker that knows a lot about the business. I don’t want or need a title! -Katie

What has been your favorite project at Farm Cart Organics so far? What has been your proudest moment here?

Truthfully, I’m only truly excited by fear and overcoming fear.  

So, the proudest moments for me have been when our team has pushed through big fear barriers – those times when it just doesn’t seem possible, but you just go for it and find a way.

For me, as an individual, it was being petrified but heart called to sneakily drive our old diesel van between snow storms to support the Indigenous resistance of the Dakota Access Pipeline.  Every mile, felt like it was going to break down, and every mile it looked like the sky would open up with snow and the wheels would come off our mission. Yet every mile the van kept chugging along, the skies held back, and when we arrived and impressed the Lakota elders with our delivery and the intention that our community sent us with – I felt super proud to be the carrier of that intention.  

For us, as a team and as a community, it was recently when COVID-19 hit and everything got turned upside down. There was a huge rush for food on the farms, and a huge uptick of new members needing delivery to their door. It seemed unsurmountable, and it seemed like too much, but our team got tight and everything we needed to step up came when we needed it. Our farmers showed deep loyalty, our team hustled and ran like you wouldn’t believe people could day-in and day-out, a new packing facility magically appeared, and we rose to the occasion. It was not easy, but it has been insanely gratifying to not have shied away from the difficulty. -Jason

What is the best part of doing your job?

I really love providing a rad service to our community. Being in contact with our farmers, placing orders, watching the farmers deliver to our facility, seeing the final product get assembled, watching it get loaded in the vans and then knowing that they are out on the road and going to over two-thousand homes – the whole process is just mind blowing! It’s something I’m really thankful for. Another part of my job that is super rad is really understanding where our food comes from. Not just recognizing the face of the farmer, but also the crew behind it. It’s the men and women that work their asses off day-in and day-out – oftentimes working under harsh conditions like smoke from fires and with little time-off – that grow and harvest our food. Seeing them, honoring them, knowing them by name, and watching them be humble AF is awe-inspiring. Knowing how much hard work goes into every case of lettuce that comes off the field makes me feel thankful for the clean delicious food I get to eat. -Katie

What is on your wish list for the next 8 years with Farm Cart Organics? 

That’s really a question that I don’t get to think about much because I’m too deep in weekly work. But sheesh, it would be rad to keep it growing and reach more people. Maybe deliver into LA, maybe ship our boxes across the country – I am not sure! I’ve always dreamt of doing a one-for-one model with these boxes. Where you would buy a box and in return it buys an Essential Box for a family in need. We are opening our first restaurant in January/February so there is a lot to learn there, but we got this!! I’m also working on just being a better person, a better boss, a better wife, and a better parent. I want to feel fulfilled in the next eight years and I’m excited to see how that will unfold. -Katie

Last but not least, what is your all-time favorite veggie and/or fruit? And why? Include a recipe if applicable. 

My favorite is probably sweet potatoes! I can straight up eat an entire baking sheet of roasted sweet potatoes in one sitting. It’s ridiculous! I dice them in about 1-inch cubes. Pour some Olive Oil or Avocado Oil on it and toss. And then sprinkle some Salt and Garlic Powder on it. Roast it at 400 for about 25 minutes before flipping half-way through. I love eating a giant (MASSIVE) platter of these with kimchi and avocado. It’s just great! -Katie

After eight incredible years, we’d like to personally thank Katie and Jason Lesh for their dedicated efforts to feed our local communities — through rainstorms, early-mornings spent packing boxes, blistering heatwaves, late-nights spent at the computer, tumultuous fires and catastrophic mudslides, to global pandemics — we know we can rely on Farm Cart Organics to have our collective backs through thick-and-thin all while providing the very best in organic produce and grocery items. Cheers to the next eight years! Thank you Katie and Jason for providing an invaluable resource for so many, and for using your platform to do good and to love well on others.

Now, let’s go eat some veggies!!