Feed the Soil, Feed the Soul

Green space, park access, and trees

East LA South LA South Bay

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

The work of ALMA Backyard Farms is concentrated in South Los Angeles, where we understand the overlapping challenges of food insecurity, economic inequality, limited access to green spaces, and high rates of incarceration are particularly exacerbated and impose barriers to individual and collective health. These systemic issues are rooted in disinvestment, racism, and environmental injustice, leading to generational poverty, poor health outcomes, and limited opportunities for personal and community growth. ALMA recognizes that growing and sharing nutritious food, creating shared experiences in nature and providing meaningful, dignified work can generate community connections that are essential for healing some of these disparities. Decades of experience working in restorative justice in areas of concentrated disadvantage in South Los Angeles motivates ALMA Backyard Farms to build pathways to healing and health through urban greening and organic farming initiatives.

ALMA’s method of “Relational Farming” and whole-person re-entry support programs are effective at creating food security, reducing rates of recidivism and inspiring healthy habits for community members usually left out of conversations around “wellness”. Yet the need for affordable, fresh food and healthy reentry support continues to grow, exacerbated by the challenges left in the wake of the pandemic. ALMA believes health should be accessible to all Angelenos, not just the affluent or those in certain zip codes.
With support from LA2050, ALMA will expand the existing Farm Stand that has a proven track record of success, built over the past twelve years. Over the next 6-12 months, ALMA will launch their Mobile Trailers as social enterprise expansions to activate new areas of the Farm Stand in Compton and the recently opened San Pedro Farm Stand. The Mobile Kitchen will be a modular training tool and production space for the internal team and site for public-facing cooking demos, family workshops and increased catering capacity. ALMA’s Flower + Nursery Trailer will offer ALMA-grown cut and dried flowers, sell organic native plants, soil amendments and edible landscaping, as well as therapeutic herbal products. The ALMA Beverage Trailer will be retrofitted and launched as a mobile beverage counter for serving made-to-order coffee drinks, ALMA’s signature smoothies, juice and aguas frescas. Barista training will be integrated into ALMA’s job training program.

In the near-term, ALMA proposes and implements real, lasting solutions to the challenges of overcrowded prisons and environmental injustice in South Los Angeles County. ALMA’s Farm Stand is a replicable, successful model that reverses the story of scarcity and disenfranchisement in South LA to one of a proud, healthy, food and resource-secure community deeply connected to the land and each other. Currently ALMA grows and distributes 125,000 lbs. high quality, organic produce (vegetables and flowers) per year. Farm Stands now operate 3 Sundays per month and are on track to serve over 12,000 visitors this year. In the long view, ALMA and other organizations working in re-entry, food equity, social and environmental justice programs will help establish a culture that values regenerative practices and interdependent communities where urban agriculture is an enduring community resource that helps to nurture civic participation and cultivate a sense of pride in Los Angeles County and beyond.