Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Historically, Watts' working-class neighborhood offered low-priced land where laborers could supplement their incomes with truck gardens but that changed with greater density in the mid-20th century. Now Watts is a food desert with four large developments that collectively account for 37% of all public housing in the City of Los Angeles, CA; most residents are low-income and have low access to food. Within a half-mile radius of our MudTown Farms site, the median household income is about half of the county average, and 41% of the 14,432 residents live below the poverty line. These Watts residents--about 2/3 Latinx and 1/3 Black, primarily limited-resource, socially disadvantaged individuals--compose our target audience. Changes/Problems:Our project was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a loss of the PD of the project. We requested and were approved for a no-cost extension for 2023 where we completed the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The focus of this program was to provide training for disadvantaged community members to receive access to urban farm training. The course itself consisted of the following 2-3 hour modules: Introduction to Urban Agriculture in Watts, horticulture 101, garden design, soil sciences, composting, seeds and planting, container planting, integrated pest management, weeds, insects, plant diseases, and regulatory considerations to starting an urban farm in Los Angeles County. The courses were taught live in a classroom setting with slideshows as well as with outdoor lab components on the MudTown Farms site. All classes were also taught at the same time in Spanish with the help of a MudTown Farms intern to translate the material as well as to facilitate conversation and communication between the instructor and students alike. We are staying in contact with trainees for upcoming opportunities provided by WLCAC, the Advisory Council, and other organizations. We are also developing more opportunities through our MudTown Farms Kitchen Incubator project to connect urban farmers, food producers, and retail locations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
With 37% of all public housing in the City of LA and only 2 supermarkets, Watts is a food desert where residents (about 2/3 Latinx, 1/3 Black, and nearly ½ immigrants) have low access to food, employment, and education. Within a ½ mile radius of MudTown Farms, the median household income is half the county average, and 41% of residents live in poverty. Earlier community meetings revealed residents' desires to learn more about urban farming, and our cohort of students aspire to go deeper with additional training in business, sustainable food systems, and best practices for maximizing food production. To address food insecurity, food quality, and unemployment, Watts residents need skills, knowledge, supports, and connections. To be viable, career pathways should include education, built-in business connections, subsidized launchpads, and social safety net supports. Options for both employment and entrepreneurship can offer self-determination and community business opportunities. Projects like this address barriers to access to agriculture for low-income communities of color. This project has impacted the community positively in the following ways: Changes in knowledge: Trainees learned urban agriculture techniques and regulatory considerations to starting urban farming ventures in Los Angeles. Increased knowledge of historic conditions and barriers to entry for our communities and discussions on how to overcome these barriers. Knowledge of integrated pest management techniques to problem-solve inevitable issues that arise on farms. Changes in action: Application of agricultural knowledge in practical labs at MudTown Farms, use of knowledge in their own beds at the farm. Increase in home gardening and healthy food consumption. Increased volunteering and apprenticeship at the farm. Increase in sharing of knowledge and farmed produce between community members. Increased engagement in the business of farming and farming opportunities. Changes in condition: Formed an advisory council to begin developing a network of employment opportunities, information, and infrastructure resources for beginning farmers who come through MudTown Farms. Increased partnerships with neighboring schools and youth programs to increase outdoor and agricultural experiences for youth who would not otherwise have access to such opportunities. Participants who went through the program and grew food in their own garden beds had increased food quality and increased physical activity. Increased food security and food access through farm harvesting activities and free produce distributions at the farm. Goal Accomplishments 1. We completed the development and implementation of a 12-week introductory course in urban agriculture. We aimed to create a course that reached the needs of our target audience of Watts and surrounding residents. We recruited participants through canvassing, distributing flyers, social media marketing on Instagram, and word-of-mouth. 57 participants signed up to take the class, 32 participants attended the classes and 15 completed the course. The level of experience of the participants ranged from zero to home gardening and family ancestry in farming. The course itself consisted of the following 2-3 hour modules: Introduction to Urban Agriculture in Watts, horticulture 101, garden design, soil sciences, composting, seeds and planting, container planting, integrated pest management, weeds, insects, plant diseases, and regulatory considerations to starting an urban farm in Los Angeles County. The classes each had an outdoor lab experience outdoors on our farm site. We additionally worked with California State College Corps interns to create a Spanish language version of the classes, as well as to teach the class live in both English and Spanish to meet the Spanish-speaking needs of the community while encouraging dialog between speakers who would normally not be able to understand each other's comments and perspectives. Of these participants, 27 self-identified as women, 4 men, and 1 non-binary. 9 self-identified as Black/African American, 20 Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin, 1 as White, and 8 identified as multiple ethnicities. 100% of the participants were within our target demographic of disadvantaged beginning farmers, and are representative of the Watts community as well. The ages of participants ranged from early 20s to seniors, and a few mothers of young children. We had addressed the language barrier, but as the classes went on, it became more difficult for the mothers to attend the classes without adequate childcare. The mothers had to bring their often very young children to the classes, and in the spirit of increasing access we had to pivot and accommodate. We had a few staff and interns able to entertain and watch the children outside while their parents were attending the class indoors at the farm, but this childcare aspect of access to programming for minority women became apparent throughout the offering of the course. We plan to incorporate these considerations into future projects to allow more women/mothers/caregivers to be able to focus on the courses without having to worry about leaving early, disruptions, etc. Subsidized garden plots 16 garden lots were offered free of charge on site to course participants for the year at MudTown Farms. 7 beds were occupied by training participants during the course as a lab garden. As of December 2023, 2 have renewed their agreements for the year of 2024. Establish 4-8 apprenticeships 4 ongoing apprenticeships at MudTown Farms established that provide day-to-day operations experiences at the farm site. These apprenticeships include crop planning, seeding, nursery management, crop care, farm maintenance, drip irrigation experience, and the harvest and distribution of grown food. ??2. Development of a 5-7 member Advisory Council of community stakeholders to inform the establishment of the food hub. 8 member Advisory Council developed and held its first meeting 5/10/2023. Members included: Connor Fitzpatrick - Fig Earth Supply, retail nursery in Highland Park Dr. Jenney Hall - CSUDH Sherrod Session - SOS Coalition - Tackle food insecurity and contribute to weekly food distribution, bring UCLA students out to Watts. Qamaall Pham - SOS Coalition, volunteers at MTF. Jonathan Fajardo - Compton Community Garden Lilly Garcia - Tree People Aaron Thomas - Northeast Trees Lynnette Astaire - Plant based chef - Superfoods school The results of the meeting included discussions of short-term goals of formalizing relationships, learning more about land conservation and space as an important asset, and to provide pathways to permanent positions for community members who go through agriculture trainings such as within this project. Long term goals included garnering further network support and promoting symbiotic relationships to help eachother grow in food equity and greenspaces. The meeting also discussed the need to work together on searching for upcoming grants and funding to support these upcoming efforts. Focus needed on integrating the adjacent Jordan Downs public housing community and local schools as well as what makes spaces accessible to them such as incorporating hot meals after school to address food insecurity needs of the low-income population of the surrounding neighborhood. Further investigation needed on how to integrate aspects of agriculture into finished food products and how to work with food entrepreneurs and empower everyone with as many options as possible. 46 Prospective partners identified and contacted.
Publications
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