As the Jacobs family continued to grow their business, they were forced to get creative in some respects, saying at one point, “We didn’t have the capital to buy a big truck and refrigeration.” But they didn’t let this speed bump get in the way of deliveries. “It was a funny story,” Jacobs recalled. “We stripped the seats out of a Honda Civic and loaded it up. We could get about $3,000 worth of boxes in there and still have room for the driver.” That very Honda Civic later doubled as their getaway car for a vacation to Mexico. (Don’t worry, the seats were put back in.) While making their way up the Baja Peninsula, they spent a few days visiting local farms and talking to people. “We learned that a lot of these little farms had really beautiful crops that were market gardens,” Larry said. But because of the town’s small population—about 10,000—it didn’t take long to fill up the local market. “It was pretty isolated to get product anyplace else.” With a need to develop a source of organic fruit and vegetables during their off-season, this inspired the couple to attempt to bridge that gap by partnering with these growers. With the support of the locals and the Mexican government, a fruitful partnership was created and from there, the del Cabo collective was born. “I think if we had known how challenging and risky it was, we probably wouldn’t have done it. But we were young and naive, so we did it,” Jacobs said. Initially, their focus was to establish a system where these farmers could be self-sufficient and ultimately make a higher
The scenic landscape of a del Cabo farm.
income to support their families. The collective started out with a group of 10 people, and from there, it continued to grow. “Other communities up and down the Baja became interested as word began spreading,” Jacobs said. “It was hard for us to walk down the beach without somebody asking us how to become a part of this thing.” Today, the del Cabo collective spans the full length of the Baja California Peninsula and into mainland Mexico, providing organic farming training and lasting quality of life to more than 1,250 farming families in 14 communities. Beyond their philanthropic work, Larry and Sandra have remained committed to leading their company in sustainable and forward-thinking practices. In 2020, Jacobs Farm del Cabo introduced its ClimateLab program, a comprehensive initiative to support farmers
21 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com May | June 2025
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