The next time you are visiting Los Angeles, look for a 48-foot-long pink mobile trailer with the words “Prosperity Market: Not Your Average Farmers Market” etched on the side. Inside is a range of Black-owned produce, food, and local goodies, thanks to friends Carmen Dianne and Kara Still, who are making it easier to support Black farmers, food producers, and businesses in California with their rolling market.
The market-on-wheels was an idea born during a pandemic marked by social unrest, supply shortages, and a collapse in Black-owned business ownership — a report from the U.S. Black Chambers found an estimated 41% of Black businesses nationwide closed during that time.
Against that backdrop, both women had challenged each other to buy everything they needed for a day from Black-owned businesses but realized they couldn’t. Another jarring pandemic memory was watching grocery shelves go empty of the most essential thing: food. While supply chain issues created longer lines and shortages nationwide, they noticed these problems were exacerbated within Black communities…