Alma Backyard Farms gives them a second chance through work on land
A basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables along with a bouquet of flowers is perhaps the only Mother's Day gift Sylvia Torres will receive this Sunday, May 10.
Like her, many mothers in the Compton area, south of Los Angeles, who have been affected by the loss of work due to the coronavirus, will be able to take home, a very unique gift, freshly cut fruits and vegetables from the urban garden from the parish of San Alberto El Grande.
You would never imagine that those fruits and vegetables that will serve to feed their families have been cultivated by ex-convicts who have come out of prison and are in the process of reintegrating into society.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to bring organic fruit to my home. It lasts much longer, ”says Sylvia, very happy about the unexpected gift. She is the mother of a 37-year-old son.
Due to the coronavirus, she and her husband were left without a job, that is why the basket full of fruit and vegetables that she is going to receive on Mother's Day, is very good for her.
In these moments of pandemic, the San Alberto El Grande Church in Rancho Domínguez in southern Los Angeles County, in collaboration with Alma Backyard Farms and Catholic Relief Services, decided to celebrate mothers facing financial need by donating fruit, vegetables and flowers.
"We will deliver 200 bags and flower arrangements to the first mothers who arrive. We will have musicians to play the Mañanitas while we give them the baskets with fruits and vegetables ”, explains Erika Cuellar who, together with Richard García, founded the organization Alma Backyard Farms in 2013.
Alma Backyard Farms has three programs. One of them trains around 100 ex-convicts per year in urban agriculture to help them re-enter.
"Through agriculture, we teach them to participate and share with the community so that they see that their lives have value," says Erika.
Opportunity to give
Luis Mota, who was incarcerated for several years of his life, spends weekends, when not working in construction, to volunteer for the Alma Backyard Farms urban farm.
"I do everything: planting, irrigation, maintenance, I helped with vegetable sales before COVID-19," he observes.
But participating in the preparation of food baskets for mothers takes on special significance for him. “With this health crisis, I feel like I'm doing something positive and paying the community for what it has done for me. In addition, many of the mothers who will receive the fruits and vegetables are single mothers.
Give instead of sell
Alma Backyard Farms have two farms dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables in Los Angeles. The largest is on the grounds of the San Alberto El Grande Church where they grow tomatoes, tomatillos, pumpkins, chilies, cucumbers, radishes, beets, carrots, lettuces, among other products.
"Normally, we sell the fruits and vegetables we harvest at a vegetable stand in the farmer's market," says Erika.
However, Because everything changed with COVID-19, they stopped selling in March, and started donating their harvest every two weeks to help families who have become unemployed..
"We have been able to add to the bags of fruits and vegetables, bread, beans, rice, nuts and prepared soups," he explains.
As the Mother's Day celebration approached, they decided to do something special to honor the parents, and what better than to give them their baskets of fresh and organic fruits, along with a flower arrangement in a delivery ceremony that will be enlivened by a band.
"We want them to feel that we do not forget them," emphasizes Erika.
It is born from an alliance
It was in 2016 when the San Alberto El Grande church that belongs to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles as well as Alma Backyard Farms and Catholic Relief Services teamed up to transform an unused softball field, located in the parish itself, into a medium urban farm. acre.
Catholic Relief Services is an international Catholic organization that offers humanitarian support to disadvantaged communities around the world, and in that effort coordinates projects with dioceses.
What this organization wanted was for 650 needy families in the area and 250 children in grades K-8 to have access to the highest quality, nutritious and organic food..
The Alma Backyard Farms urban garden initiative is funded by Catholic Relief Services with 25% of everything raised during Lent in the parishes of local communities.
Sergio López, community engagement manager at Catholic Relief Services, details that they joined Alma Backyard Farms in 2016 to respond to the Pope's call to eradicate hunger through social enterprises.
They also found spaces that were not used in churches to establish urban gardens. Alma Backyard Farms' largest farm is in San Alberto El Grande Parish, where mothers will be celebrated this Sunday.
The delivery of the fruit baskets will be this Sunday, May 10, starting at 9 in the morning, on the grounds of the San Alberto El Grande Church, at 804 East Compton Boulevard in Rancho Domínguez.
Mothers are advised to arrive a little earlier so they can reach their gift. If for some reason your basket of fruits and vegetables doesn't touch you, there will be another distribution on May 24.
