LOCAL BUSINESS
The college dorm room flora is often a crowded space, filled with posters, minifridges and convenient snacks. But for junior business student at Texas State Gerardo “Gary” Escobar, his dorm room is a space for entrepreneurship from which he runs a microgreen business.
Escobar’s room serves as the headquarters for Green Pastures, soon to be renamed Sanctuary Greens. His setup includes metal shelving units, each holding 20 trays of microgreens under grow lights. Despite the available space, he remains mindful of how much he grows.
“With microgreens, you don’t need a large amount of space to start growing,” Escobar said. “But I don’t always grow 20 because I’ve been looking at how much I sell; And I don’t like to overgrow.”
Green Pastures can be found at San Marcos Farmers Market every Saturday, selling fresh microgreens priced at $6 per container. His mission is to feed people healthy, nutrient-dense food that is both affordable and accessible to launch a healthier future, free of food insecurity.
Microgreens are the early stage of fully grown vegetables. If they continue to grow, they will become mature vegetables, but the early harvest contains various concentrated nutrients. Grown from regular vegetable seeds, microgreens take 10 to 14 days to grow. Escobar grows a variety of microgreens, including broccoli, radish, arugula, peas, sunflower and turnip.
For Escobar, his business is driven by purpose rather than profit. His passion stems from the food insecurity he witnessed growing up in south San Antonio. He recalled the struggles many families in his community faced not knowing where their next meal was coming from or having to choose food based on what they can afford rather than what is healthy.
“I think, whenever you have a relationship with people who do experience it, you almost want to put yourself into that and almost imagine and be there for them as if you’re experiencing it yourself,” Escobar said.
Friends of Escobar, like Nikolai Hewitt, a fellow student at Texas State and a friend since freshman year, reflect the strong support Escobar’s business has received. Hewitt initially purchased microgreens for himself and his mother and has been a loyal customer ever since.
“I actually have three more right now in my fridge, and they’re really good,” said Hewitt. “[He has] integrity in his business [and] in his personal life. … He’s very responsible and has a lot of integrity.”
Theresa Quinn, Texas State University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship director, said Escobar’s entrepreneurial potential is evidenced by his humility and vision.
“Green Pastures is going to make such a difference,” Quinn said, adding a remark on the high quality of his character. “He is one of the most humble entrepreneurs that I’ve run into.”
Kevin Adams is the manager of the San Marcos Farmers Market and president of the San Marcos Farmers Market Association. He encourages Escobar to expand his passion for agriculture beyond his business.
“He seeks out information from people who have been doing it longer than him, and I think that’s the way to go; and it’s ironically rare,” said Adams. “He’s dedicated. He takes cues, [is] super helpful, gentle, kindhearted, and he tries to lend a hand, even with the running of the market.”
Escobar also highlighted the fundamental role that other people’s involvement had in his success.
“We’re meant to support one another, and you can’t do that if you’re not willing to be open to you maybe not having the best judgments about things, maybe not having the best idea or way of doing things,” said Escobar.
Escobar hopes to expand his presence at the farmers market and grow his microgreens business into a subscription model with an online platform, allowing customers to place orders outside the market.
Ultimately, he envisions focusing entirely on his business and expanding into regenerative agriculture, using sustainable farming practices. He’s passionate about how microgreens use less water and are compostable, making them an eco-friendly choice for food production.
“There’s always going to be uncertainty in everything you do,” Escobar said. “But as long as you have some sort of purpose, some sort of foundation [so] that you have a direction that you’re going that’ll help you make those difficult decisions; then I think you’re in a good spot.”
