Youngest of 4, and the only girl in the family, Judith Calvillo has proved herself as tough and resilient. The Brothers Ranch Farm is a passion of her dads, and it carries on to her.
“At the end of the day every job has its good and its bad, but if you could build that with family, it’s very rewarding,” Judy said. “It takes a strong mindset to work with family, but worth it in the end”.
Judy feels that there is a different kind of tiredness coming from an office job, that farming is physically tiring, and more rewarding, while a desk job is very stagnant and actually creates more health problems. Working outside, along with people from all walks of life is something she is fortunate for.
Before the pandemic, Judy worked for a seed company. She did the packaging, exporting, customer service, and the business side of work. These skills, Judy said, Prepared her for creating Farmers Markets on Wheels.
Farmers Markets on Wheels is a delivery service that Carla (her partner) and her created. They buy produce from other farmers and from local farmers' markets and then deliver it. They also use produce from Brothers Ranch.
Many small businesses had to shut down during the pandemic, but Farmers Markets on Wheels excelled. Judy’s business partner, Carla, does all the pantry items/ prepared food, anything that’s not produce-related. She also helps work with small businesses, and restaurant owners to package and deliver food in a convenient way.
“The goal of the business was to get through the pandemic and make it as successful as we could,” said Judy. “We made food more accessible and made around 4000 orders. This was an over-achievement, a lot better than expected and now we want to expand further in other areas during the post-pandemic. Many small businesses had to shut down during the pandemic, but Farmers Markets on Wheels excelled”.
Judy and Carla are currently working with 50 food vendors in and out, and 150 different farms. It’s incredible too since
it's a multi-racial company. Judy’s business partner is not Mexican like her, she’s Philipino, which adds diversity to their work. Carla is in the start-up world and has good experience, so she knows what she’s doing.
She told me to Picture a farmer and a hardware engineer coming together. They clashed at first because they both had very different ways of going about a company, but their differences are good, and they now know how to work together. She said that they have essentially sealed the marriage, and learned to work together, which is very rewarding overall.
