Overview:
-Dazmonique Carr's journey in food advocacy began with an agricultural training program at Detroit's Earthworks Urban Farm.
-Carr's Deeply Rooted Produce kicked off with food deliveries made by bicycle.
-“I really love that there’s people like Dazmonique in the city that are using the space we have to do urban agriculture and to showcase what sustainability can look like,” says customer Shubhum Sidhar.
This story is published as part of Planet Detroit’s 2025 Spring Neighborhood Reporting Lab, supported by The Kresge Foundation, to train community-based writers in profile writing. This year’s participants will focus on highlighting grassroots leaders driving positive change in metro Detroit.
Dazmonique Carr is reshaping the way Detroiters access fresh, locally sourced food. Her journey into urban farming and food distribution began with a hands-on education in agriculture and evolved into a business that aims to prioritize sustainable and equitable food systems.
The path to food advocacy for Carr, the director of operations and owner at the zero-waste mobile grocery store Deeply Rooted Produce, began in 2018 when she attended the agricultural training program at Earthworks Urban Farm, in Detroit’s Islandview neighborhood.
The program, which trained participants on a nearly 2-acre certified organic farm, exposed Carr to the complexities of food distribution, particularly the financial risks that small farmers face at markets. Observing farmers at Detroit’s Eastern Market, she noted the challenge of securing guaranteed sales despite high operational costs.
Motivated by this experience, Carr registered Deeply Rooted Produce as a business in 2017. It wasn’t until June 2020 that the company formally began selling produce. Initially, she delivered food by bicycle, sourcing from Eastern Market farmers and distributing produce at community events hosted at Wayne State University through her organization.
This grassroots effort laid the foundation for what Deeply Rooted Produce would become: a mobile grocery store that aims to commit to increasing food access through alternative distribution models, including delivery services, farm stands, and grocery vending machines, and plans for a future farm-based retail space.
Deeply Rooted Produce is operational seasonally from June to November, with the goal of becoming a year-round operation in the future. The organization offers one weekly produce box for purchase.
‘I really didn’t realize that I came from a line of farmers’
Carr’s relationship with farming extends beyond her professional work. She traces her agricultural roots back to her grandmother’s land, where pear trees once grew. Though she didn’t initially recognize her connection to farming, she said she later embraced it as part of her identity.
“I didn’t realize that my mom’s favorite fruit was pears because my grandmother had pear trees on her land,” Carr said. “My great-grandmother was a farmer, so I really didn’t realize that I came from a line of farmers. But when I did, I claimed it.”
Carr graduated from Wayne State University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise, and she is pursuing a master’s degree in sustainable food systems at Arizona State University.
Carr has built relationships with Black, Indigenous, and people of color, or BIPOC, owned and family operated farms throughout Michigan. While she is one of the farmers supplying Deeply Rooted Produce, she has also worked with organizations such as Occupy Yourself and Rescuing Our Nature in Detroit, as well as Indigenous farmers in Traverse City and members of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
Her partnerships include local artisans, such as Lorraine’s Premium BBQ Sauce, and other Black and Indigenous product makers featured in subscription boxes.
One of her primary concerns is ensuring fair compensation, particularly given the labor-intensive nature of farming. Unlike large-scale agricultural operations that rely on task-based pay models, Deeply Rooted Produce operates in an urban setting with smaller spaces and different economic constraints. As a result, Carr said she is focused on restructuring operations to provide livable wages to future employees.
As a Black woman in farming and sustainability, Carr said she has faced industry-specific barriers, from financial constraints to the historical marginalization of Black farmers. She acknowledges the influence of mentors who guided her through different aspects of agriculture and business, helping her navigate a field that often lacks representation for people of color.
MORE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD REPORTING LAB
Black students sail the Detroit River with Harry Jones: ‘Water is in my DNA’
Harry Jones aims to make sailing accessible for Detroit youth, growing the Detroit Community Sailing Center from eight to 80 participants, and forging partnerships to establish the Detroit River Education Center.
How Detroit Impact’s ‘fatherlike figure’ Calvin Colbert shapes young lives
Calvin Colbert has dedicated nearly three decades to managing the Detroit Impact youth center, empowering low-income families and at-risk youth through education and mentorship. “I’m blessed every day to get up and to be able to come here and function,” he says.
Andrew Bashi’s legal journey: ‘Working on the issues I care about’
At the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, Andrew Bashi tackles civil rights cases while empowering residents to organize and advocate for their needs. He advises aspiring attorneys to brace for challenges and engage in activism even before law school.
How customers find Deeply Rooted Produce
Mickey Donohue, a native of Canada who moved to Detroit in November 2023, said she was originally looking for community gardens when she found Deeply Rooted Produce in an online search last spring.
It was important to Donohue to support local organizations and she wanted to compost, she said, adding that she noticed that Deeply Rooted Produce provided the service.
“As well as the farm-to-table concept. Deeply Rooted Produce also provides convenience to me, as I’m a fellow Detroiter and utilize their delivery service,” Donohue said.
With Deeply Rooted Produce, Donohue said she feels like she’s part of a group that has similar interests, such as sustainability and local farmers. Donohue said she appreciates being able to support a business owned by a Black woman.
Shubhum Sidhar moved to Detroit in 2019. Sidhar found out about Deeply Rooted Produce in 2023 when he Googled farms in Detroit, he said.
Sidhar said he appreciates the convenience of having the produce delivered to him, as he lives on the city’s east side. Deeply Rooted Produce delivers within 50 miles of its location.
“I really love that there’s people like Dazmonique in the city that are using the space we have to do urban agriculture and to showcase what sustainability can look like,” Sidhar said.
After learning about Deeply Rooted Produce, Sidhar said he felt encouraged to start his own garden, and he grew tomatoes and started composting in his own home.