Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Under our first outcome, CSU focused on engaging 200 youth and community volunteers and transforming our garden into a productive urban farm. Between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012, CSU organized 74 volunteer opportunities (exceeding our goal of 10) with 221 youth and community volunteers participating. The main volunteer opportunities were during regular Tuesday and Saturday volunteer/work days at our mini-urban farm at Expo Center and at other sites such as our new urban garden site in South L.A. we are creating with Community Build. Prior to the volunteer events, outreach materials were created and staff conducted volunteer outreach targeted at all community residents, especially low-income families with children, teens and young adults, and seniors. The farm also hosted 12 visits for students in CSU's Growing Healthy program and groups from local schools. Additionally, 10 Garden Gateway (gardening workshop) series classes were hosted, where 122 community residents learned skills for home food production and healthy cooking skills. Again, staff created materials and conducted outreach for these workshops. Although we originally projected that 100% of our urban farm would be under production in the second reporting period, we are still at approximately 75% production. We look forward to moving toward 100% in our third reporting period. Though we were unable to specifically hire an individual as farm manager, we were able to use the funds from NIFA to hire a farm assistant, who is a South Los Angeles native and has deep ties to the community. He shares the role of farm manager with three other staff members. Our "beyond organic" urban mini-farm in South Central LA continues to increase its yield: 2,567 pounds of produce (Sept. 2010-Aug. 2011) to 3,900 pounds of produce (Sept. 2011-Aug. 2012). Under our second outcome, CSU engaged 26 young people ages 17 to 25 in this second reporting cycle in our From the Ground Up (FGU) youth training program. The youth gained skills in organic food production, farm/land management, healthy cooking and nutrition promotion, and produce marketing; and developed food system awareness through participation in the two 3-month, 8 hours per week FGU program. At the culmination of the programs, ceremonies were held to honor their accomplishment and contribution to the community. Under the third outcome, the number of households purchasing local produce through the weekly produce stand and bag program increased from 975 households between Sept. 2010-Aug. 2011 to 4,296 households between Sept. 2011-Aug. 2012. Similarly, the number of produce bags we sold increased from 1,005 bags in our first reporting period to 2,220 in our second reporting period. PARTICIPANTS: PI/Executive Director: The PI helps to supervise the Community Food Village projects in addition to regularly leading the Garden Gateway workshops and working at the EXPO farm with the AD. Associate Director (AD): The AD splits the tasks of the Farm Manager and the Marketing Manager. She is co-responsible with the PI for food production at the EXPO farm as well as extending CSU's outreach efforts to volunteers and corner stores. Financial and Administrative Manager: The Financial Manager splits the tasks of the Marketing Manager with the AD, focusing on the financial elements of marketing and outreach. Youth Coordinator: He leads the From the Ground Up (FGU) youth training program and the development of the FGU curriculum with support from CSU's ED and is responsible for outreach to potential FGU interns and apprentices. Farm Assistant: The Farm Assistant works with the PI, AD and YC to manage the EXPO farm. All VMP activities are supported by interns and apprentices in the FGU program. Interns and apprentices are paid stipends that are funded through private and public grants. This program, while instilling important skills and job readiness among local youth allows CSU to grow and offer local, beyond organic produce at an affordable cost to local community members. John Muir Middle School & Normandie Avenue Elementary School: Partners since 2003, the schools served as research and survey sites during the assessment and are delivery sites for the Growing Healthy program. The schools partner with CSU to outreach to children and parents, and host gardening workshops in their mini-farms. The mini-farms also provide produce for the GH and VMP programs. Southern California Small Farmers: CSU purchases produce from farmers to combine with produce from CSU's urban farm to ensure that the VMP offers a consistent and diverse supply of fresh produce year-round and to build a market for small regional farmers. As our produce bag subscription program continues to expand and our produce sales climb, we have also purchased more produce from small, local farmers to supplement the produce from the EXPO Farm. Between Sept. 2011 and Aug. 2012, we bought 31,200 pounds of "beyond organic" produce at $26,653 from 16 small, local farmers. These purchases not only increase the amount of healthy, affordable produce available to the South L.A. community, they also support the local economy. In addition, they build real connections between local farmers and the South L.A. community as we constantly talk about our small farm suppliers to our customers. Yam's Catering & other Small Neighborhood Businesses: CSU has expanded its wholesale distribution with neighborhood businesses like Yam's Catering, FlowerMaid and A&J Market. Our wholesale distribution to corner stores and other neighborhood businesses has risen to $6,449, totaling 70,000 pounds of produce. Additional partners include EXPO Center, South LA Healthy Eating Active Communities, ToMarket consulting firm, California Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA), Coalition for Responsible Community Development and Prehm and Associates consulting agency. TARGET AUDIENCES: The South Central Los Angeles (SCLA) community suffers from significant environmental, social and economic inequities that impact the health and well being of residents. The community is 64% Mexican/Central American, 32% African American, 2% white, and 2% Asian/PI/Native American/Other. SCLA has the highest rate of poverty in the county. 38% of households live at or below the federal poverty level and 47% of children under five live in poverty. More than 70% of students qualify for free or reduced price school meals. The high school graduation rate is the lowest in the city (35%) and the unemployment rate is the highest (14%). Many of our young people who do find work are limited to minimum wage jobs because of lack of education, training and encouragement. Only 63% of adults in SCLA surveyed by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (DPH) felt that there were safe places for their children to play in their community, compared to 88% in West Los Angeles (the wealthiest and healthiest part of the city). Only 28% of adults in SCLA surveyed by the DPH reported that the fresh fruits and vegetables where they shop are high quality, and only 13% consume 5+ servings of fruits and vegetables a day (both the lowest in the county). As a result, residents of SCLA have the highest rates of obesity in adults 35.5% and children 28.9%. Adults have the highest rate of diabetes 12% and hypertension 29%, and are three times more likely to die from diabetes than those living in the wealthiest area of the city. As mentioned in other sections, our youth interns and apprentices are critical to our day-to-day workings and to the success of our VMP and CFV programs. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Through our free monthly classes, Garden Gateway participants learned 10 gardening skills. The participants took home garden materials related to the workshop theme, and produce used in the cooking demonstration. Two of the workshops that were particularly exciting and well-attended were the tree care and raised bed sessions. As part of the tree care session, we showed residents how to plant and care for fruit trees and gave out hundreds of fruit trees to community residents to plant in their own gardens. In another session, we built a raised bed as a group and then gave 24 attendees the lumber and hardware to build their own at home. Raised beds are particularly important in South L.A., where lead-contaminated soil is often an issue for growing healthy crops. After analysis of the pre/post essays of our youth interns, an increase in knowledge in all program areas was shown. More than 30 percent of participants expressed interest in continuing to grow food, pursue food-based entrepreneurship, and participate in food system change. Seventy percent (exceeding our goal of 20%) expressed interest in working with CSU as apprentices. Additionally, interns demonstrated acquisition of new skills and knowledge related to food production and community food systems through leading a minimum of 3 nutrition education demonstrations, garden trainings or presentations on other food system/food justice related topics for their peers, other youth, and community residents of all ages. CSU has stayed connected to graduating interns through the FGU alumni network officially launched in early 2010 to help alumni stay engaged with food system work and to track the long-term impact of the program. After our intensive outreach campaign for our social enterprise, community members and businesses showed their support for local, "beyond organic" produce and their understanding of its importance by buying our weekly produce bags. Sales for our produce bags have increased to $29,250 this reporting cycle up from $17,323 in 2010-2011 and produce stand sales have gone up to $20,500 in this reporting cycles up from $12,200 in 2010-2011.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Under our first outcome, CSU focused on engaging 200 youth and community volunteers and transforming our garden into a productive urban farm. Between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011, CSU organized sixty-four volunteer opportunities (exceeding our goal of 10) where community residents of all ages participated in growing food and learned about opportunities to be a part of building the local food system. Prior to the volunteer events, outreach materials were created and staff conducted volunteer outreach targeted at all community residents, especially low-income families with children, teens and young adults, and seniors. Volunteers went home with seeds to start their own gardens. The farm also hosted 11 visits for students in CSU's Growing Healthy program and groups from local schools. Additionally, 12 Garden Gateway (gardening workshop) series classes were hosted, exceeding our goal of two 4-week sessions, where 185 community residents learned skills for home food production. Again, staff created materials and conducted outreach for these workshops. Other outputs included an increase in our urban farm production, which allowed for an increase in the sale of our local, affordable, "beyond organic" produce to community members. As predicted, we have grown from using approximately 25% of the urban farm to 75% of it in the first year of reporting. Though we were unable to specifically hire an individual as farm manager, we were able to use the funds from NIFA for this position to share the work between four of our staff and so as a result our "beyond organic" urban mini-farm in South Central LA has dramatically increased its yield: 745 pounds of produce (Sept. 2010-March 2011) to 1,822 pounds of produce (April 2011-Aug. 2011). We continue to search for the right candidate to take on the dedicated role of farm manager. Under our second outcome, CSU engaged 15 young people ages 17 to 25 in this first reporting cycle in our From the Ground Up (FGU) youth training program. The youth gained skills in organic food production, farm/land management, healthy cooking and nutrition promotion, and produce marketing; and developed food system awareness through participation in the 3-month, 8 hours per week FGU program. At the culmination of the program, a ceremony was held to honor their accomplishment and contribution to the community. Under the third outcome, the VMP preliminary business plan was revised and finalized with input from small business owners and economic development professionals. Next, new outreach materials were created and outreach was conducted to 33 food-based businesses in the community who could potentially be supplied by the VMP; 50% expressed interest and received additional follow-up; and 50% (16 stores) began receiving deliveries. The VMP increased the number of households purchasing local produce through the weekly produce stand and bag program, by more than 50% in this first year of reporting. Additionally, to deliver our produce to community members in an environmentally friendly way, we have engaged six regular volunteers to make local bike deliveries of our produce bags. PARTICIPANTS: PI/Executive Director: She helps to supervise the Community Food Village projects in addition to regularly leading the Garden Gateway workshops and working at the EXPO farm with the AD. Associate Director (AD): She splits the tasks of the Farm Manager and the Marketing Manager. She is co-responsible with the PI for food production at the EXPO farm as well as extending CSU's outreach efforts to volunteers and corner stores. Financial and Administrative Manager: He splits the tasks of the Marketing Manager with the AD, focusing on the financial elements of marketing and outreach. Youth Coordinator (YC): He leads the From the Ground Up (FGU) youth training program and the development of the FGU curriculum with support from CSU's ED and is responsible for outreach to potential FGU interns and apprentices. All VMP activities are supported by interns and apprentices in the From the FGU program. Interns and apprentices are paid stipends that are funded through private and public grants. This subsidized labor while instilling important skills and job readiness among local youth reduces operation costs for the VMP, which allows CSU to offer local, beyond organic produce at a low cost. John Muir Middle School & Normandie Avenue Elementary School: Partners since 2003, the schools served as research and survey sites during the assessment and are delivery sites for the Growing Healthy program. The schools partner with CSU to outreach to children and parents, and host gardening workshops in their mini-farms. The mini-farms also provide produce for the GH and VMP program. Southern California Small Farmers: CSU purchases produce from farmers to combine with produce from CSU's urban farm to ensure that the VMP offers a consistent and diverse supply of fresh produce year-round. As our produce bag subscription program continues to expand and our produce sales climb, we have also purchased more produce from small, local farmers to supplement the produce from the EXPO Farm. Between Sept. 2010 and March 2011, we bought 6,000 pounds at $5,300 from 7 small, local farmers; between April 2011 and Aug. 2011, we bought 7,615 pounds at $5,982 from 8 small farmers. These purchases not only increase the amount of healthy affordable produce available to the South L.A. community, they also support the local economy. In addition, they build real connections between local farmers and the south LA community as we constantly talk about our small farm suppliers to our customers. Mama's Chicken & other Small Food-based Business Owners: CSU has built relationships with local food-based businesses, like Mama's Chicken. A unique feature of the VMP is that it offers businesses small quantities of produce, CSU's wholesale distribution to corner stores and other neighborhood businesses has been slowly but steadily improving with sales up from $242 (Sept. 2010-March 2011) to $335 (April 2011-Aug. 2011). Additional partners include EXPO Center, South LA Healthy Eating Active Communities, To Market consulting firm, California Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA), Coalition for Responsible Community Development and Prehm and Associates consulting agency. TARGET AUDIENCES: The South Central Los Angeles (SCLA) community suffers from significant environmental, social and economic inequities that impact the health and well being of residents. The community is 64% Mexican/Central American, 32% African American, 2% white, and 2% Asian/PI/Native American/Other. SCLA has the highest rate of poverty in the county. 38% of households live at or below the federal poverty level and 47% of children under five live in poverty. More than 70% of students qualify for free or reduced price school meals. The high school graduation rate is the lowest in the city (35%) and the unemployment rate is the highest (14%). Many of our young people who do find work are limited to minimum wage jobs because of lack of education, training and encouragement. Only 63% of adults in SCLA surveyed by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (DPH) felt that there were safe places for their children to play in their community, compared to 88% in West Los Angeles (the wealthiest and healthiest part of the city). Only 28% of adults in SCLA surveyed by the DPH reported that the fresh fruits and vegetables where they shop are high quality, and only 13% consume 5+ servings of fruits and vegetables a day (both the lowest in the county). As a result, residents of SCLA have the highest rates of obesity in adults 35.5% and children 28.9%. Adults have the highest rate of diabetes 12% and hypertension 29%, and are three times more likely to die from diabetes than those living in the wealthiest area of the city. CSU's Youth Coordinator (YC) led the development of the curriculum for the FGU youth training program with support from CSU's ED. Our curriculum combines CSU's model of using young people's cultural food histories as a starting point (which awakens a sense of pride in who they are and a new respect for their peers), and emphasizes the development of critical thinking skills (to challenge them to imagine a different reality and what it would take to actualize that), with tools from existing curriculums focused on urban farming; sustainable food systems; and food, environmental and racial justice issues. The curriculum also addresses life skills training in areas such as public speaking, conflict resolution and financial and time management. As mentioned in other sections, our youth interns and apprentices are critical to our day-to-day workings and to the success of our VMP and CFV programs. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Through our free monthly classes, Garden Gateway participants learned testing, building and preparing soil, composting, seed selection, planting and harvesting, natural pest and weed management, and water conservation. The participants took home garden materials related to the workshop theme, and produce used in the cooking demonstration. Taking home these items allowed participants to immediately put their new skills to use, reinforcing what they had learned, and increasing the likelihood that they will use these new skills in their garden, or cook these new dishes again in the future. The participants used these skills to improve or create their own gardens at their homes. After analysis of the pre/post essays of our youth interns, an increase in knowledge in all program areas was shown. More than fifty percent of participants expressed interest in continuing to grow food, pursue food-based entrepreneurship, and participate in food system change. Thirty percent (exceeding our goal of 20%) expressed interest in working with CSU as apprentices. Additionally, interns demonstrated acquisition of new skills and knowledge related to food production and community food systems through leading a minimum of two nutrition education demonstrations, garden trainings or presentations on other food system/food justice related topics for their peers, other youth, and community residents of all ages. Between June and August 2011, we piloted our newly created curriculum with the first group of interns under this grant. The youth learned about marketing and food preparation through working with the Village Market Place program and about growing and farming by participating in various work days at CSU urban farm sites. CSU has stayed connected to graduating interns through the FGU alumni network officially launched in early 2010 to help alumni stay engaged with food system work and to track the long-term impact of the program. After our intensive outreach campaign for our social enterprise, community members and businesses showed their support for local, "beyond organic" produce and their understanding of its importance by buying our weekly produce bags. Sales for our produce bags have increased to $17,323 this reporting cycle up from $12,000 in 2009-2010; produce stand sales have gone up to $12,200 in this reporting cycles from $4,700 in 2009-2010 and our value-added products have generated $3,124 in this reporting cycle up from $80 in 2009-2010.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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