LA JOLLA – Buying local food is getting easier in La Jolla.
On Jan. 14, Navore Market launched its first aggregation hub at the La Jolla United Methodist Church, giving residents a single location to pick up fresh, locally grown food from multiple San Diego farms through the company’s online platform.
The pickup program, a pilot which currently operates one day per week, allows shoppers to order from participating farmers and ptroducers online and collect everything in one stop.
The La Jolla hub currently includes 11 local food producers, four of whom are farmers. To date, the location has served fewer than 30 customers, with weekly orders ranging from one to five.
According to Navore Market chief executive officer Caroline Driehaus, the pilot phase is focused on refining operations, understanding consumer behavior, and building a sustainable model before scaling.
“Customers can shop from their favorite producers without a subscription, customize their order, choose pickup or delivery, and support farms they know by name,” Driehaus said. “We deeply value farmers markets and CSAs; we’re not replacing them — we’re complementing them by increasing accessibility, reducing friction, and helping local producers reach customers who otherwise couldn’t participate.”
The aggregation hub model is supported by a $471,860 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Local Food Promotion Program, a federal initiative aimed at strengthening local and regional food systems. The grant funds technology upgrades for food producers and helps them build long-term relationships with restaurants, retailers, and wholesale buyers.
Driehaus said Navore also tracks outcomes such as increased producer revenue, expanded market access, improved distribution efficiency, and measurable reductions in waste.
According to Driehaus, the platform’s fee structure is designed to benefit producers. Beginning next year, producers will pay a monthly subscription starting at $60. On customer orders, a 6.5% platform fee is added on top — not deducted from farmers’ earnings — so producers retain 100% of their product revenue.
By comparison, Driehaus said, farmers markets often charge weekly booth fees of $25 to $60 or 7-10% of sales, and CSA platforms with full features can range from $99 to $350 per month.
Navore is measuring the La Jolla hub’s success through metrics including producer participation, customer adoption, order volume trends, distribution efficiency, and producer-reported impacts on revenue and waste reduction, Driehaus said. “Success is not measured by volume alone, but by sustainability. Are producers finding it valuable? Are customers returning? Is it operationally efficient?”
If the La Jolla pilot proves successful, Navore plans to expand the model to other neighborhoods, starting with a location at the Mission Valley YMCA. Driehaus said the company will evaluate how community-centered institutions influence adoption and make expansion decisions based on data.
Driehaus said Navore aims to fill a gap between farmers markets, CSAs, and grocery delivery services. Farmers markets require customers to shop at specific times, CSAs often require subscriptions with limited customization, and grocery delivery services typically source globally.
The La Jolla hub currently offers a rotating selection of produce, eggs, baked goods, and specialty items, depending on what local farmers have ready, she added.
“This is about making local food more accessible, more efficient, and more resilient,” Driehaus said. “We want to support farmers while simplifying the process for families who want to eat locally.”
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