Carlsbad Gateway Center – Daily Harvest Express

Imagine skipping the trip to your local farmers’ market and having your fresh favorites delivered right to your doorstep. Or for many that enjoy the farmers’ market experience itself, envision having those favorites right outside your office space – combining work, pleasure and produce. Located at Carlsbad Gateway Center , Daily Harvest Express, a local produce and food-crafters delivery service, makes healthy choices not only attainable, but downright easy.

Daily Harvest Express is a family-owned business comprised of Janis and Rafael Garcia and their daughter Yvonne. Their business is aimed at boosting the availability of locally cultivated and produced food to the people of San Diego County, helping sustain local farming while improving the health and well-being of the community. Their services include an online farmers’ market and delivery service, where people can peruse their selection and have their favorite fresh, locally grown produce delivered to their door. They also operate a mobile farmers’ market, where employees can shop for farm fresh produce right at their workplace, as well as healthy cooking demos with a local chef. These healthy cooking “lunch-and-learns” align with Daily Harvest Express’ emphasis on wellness education.

This local food hub sources directly from local farms and food-crafters, and delivers to people who may not have access to a traditional farmers’ market.  Janis and Rafael Garcia saw the need for additional farm-friendly outlets to provide another revenue stream for small farms after noticing many farms typically don’t have the resources and capacity to go into large retailers.

“Locally grown food tastes better, hasn’t lost its nutrients and does amazing things for the environment by minimizing fossil fuel consumption and pollution,” said Janis Garcia. “On top of that, supporting local farming is good for the local economy.  We have more small farms in San Diego County than anywhere else in the US, and we take pride in supporting this vital part of our community.”

After a year as an outdoor fruit-and-vegetable stand at Sunshine Gardens in Encinitas, Daily Harvest Express changed their business model and moved into an old greenhouse and became an ecommerce business, allowing them to become more efficient and create less waste. They’ve since built their business on this commitment to healthy and sustainable practices. Nothing goes to landfills, and at the end of every week much of their products are donated to the families that face hardship.

This local food hub focuses on making healthy choices accessible and visible. After initially focusing on bringing fresh fruit to break rooms around San Diego County, they added home deliveries to their services.  In 2015, they changed their name to Daily Harvest Express and launched their first mobile farm truck, rolling up to company parking lots for their employees.

This unique service allows patrons to customize their orders and programs to fit their needs, something Daily Harvest Express is proud to offer. Customers can choose from any of the pre-packaged farm boxes and programs or create their own, with the option to choose from fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and baked goods as well as specialty items. There are even gift options, to share the healthy wealth with loved ones.

Daily Harvest Express thrives on their quality customer service and mindfulness. They created the mobile farm stand after the County of San Diego requested service from their farm stands to many of their locations. Today they even have a storefront at Carlsbad Gateway Center, where North County locals can stop by and pick up artisan goods and produce as they please.

The Carlsbad Gateway Center’s own devotion to supporting small businesses is the perfect fit for Daily Harvest Express. They now have convenient access to some of the goods they offer from tenants at CGC.

“The community support and networking at Carlsbad Gateway Center is like nowhere else,” said Janis. “There is an attitude of mutual support and sharing between businesses here that is fostered and encouraged by the owners. We glean and share advice with our neighbors on a daily basis.  We know our neighbors want us to succeed and vice versa.”

To learn more about Daily Harvest Express and start getting a weekly delivery of organically grown, locally harvested fruit and veggies to your home or office, visit www.dailyharvestmarket.com .