Fruit stands begin popping up around Coachella Valley

Throughout the years Desert Hot Springs, Dale Draayer said he and his family have bore many fruits while running their store ‘Farmer in the Dale.’

“About 26 years ago, my wife worked at an avocado packing shed, and I worked in construction,” Draayer said. “Construction shut down in the late ’80s, and she brought some avocados home, and I started selling them out of the back of my truck. It was an experience. I brought my kids up in the business. They would unload oranges and everything. It was a life experience.”

But while he and other vendors operate legally, Draayer said other stands in the valley could be set up illegally.

Local agriculture experts like Spencer Bray said it’s important to know you are buying from a legal vendor.

“To protect yourself from possible food pathogens, you have to make sure that it is someone who is producing food legally here in your operating area,” Bray said.

Bray said you can tell if a fruit stand is legal if sellers have filed and displayed permits with state and county agriculture and health departments, and also checked with their city to see if they’re even allowed to sell on the streets.

For more information on rules for operating a fruit stand, experts say you can contact theRiverside County Environmental Health Department.