ALMA Backyard Farms has a simple message: Reclaim lives, repurpose land, and reimagine community.
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Co-founded in 2013 by Erika Cuellar and Richard Garcia, ALMA Backyard Farms is celebrating ten years of providing Los Angeles County with fresh produce and a place for reform and connection.
Through their shared history of ministry work within the juvenile detention and prison systems, Erika and Richard discovered that many individuals were looking for opportunities to, as the ALMA website puts it, "give back" to the communities they "took from."
ALMA BACKYARD FARMS team membersALMA Farms
Richard tells KNX reporter Heather Jordan that they discovered the power behind the gardening project during their time working at Homegirl Café.
"People started to open up, and people started to make these connections between growing food and growing their own lives," says Richard.
The duo has about an acre of land at two LA locations, one in Compton and another in San Pedro, where they grow seasonal produce.
ALMA Backyard Farms Compton locationJohn T Nguyen
Erika says all the food they grow is available at their on-site farmstand in Compton. The farmstand is open every other Sunday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and "it's our way to make the food available and affordable to the community."
ALMA Farm standALMA Farms
Listen to the whole interview below.
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