Closing With Integrity: Supporting Carla’s Fresh Market

Hi, my name is Raina, and I’m raising funds on behalf of my sister, Ariell, the founder of Carla’s Fresh Market in Highland Park. Many of you have met her at the store, holding babies, petting dogs, and simply loving being in community. She spent four years dreaming and building Carla’s, pouring everything into relationships with local farms, food makers, and neighbors.

But one unprecedented event after another, from wildfires and ICE raids to tariffs, a slump in the local economy, and rising costs, has left her with debts that weigh especially heavy on the small producers who trusted her. These are events we have all lived through and felt in different ways, but for a small business it often means cutting back and operating on margins that are already impossibly tight.

This fundraiser is to help pay those producers back and close this chapter with integrity. Every contribution goes directly to the people who supplied the market and believed in Ariell’s vision. Any amount, or even sharing this page, truly makes a difference.