By Nancy Powell
From Dumping Ground to Refreshing Oasis
Within the Carmelitos Housing Development in north Long Beach lies an urban farm that supplies its low-income residents with fresh, sustainable produce. The farm also serves as a starting point for youths seeking their first jobs, and offers on-the-job training programs supporting green initiatives. Before 1996, the property existed as a neglected lot overrun by weeds and debris, a magnet for gangs and a place you’d bypass at night. That is, until the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) and the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) joined together in 1996 to clean up the space and begin the Growing Experience.
As a center for community-supported agriculture, the Growing Experience provides members—Long Beach residents and businesses—with weekly, biweekly or monthly allotments of seasonally-available produce. These can include heirloom and unique varieties not easily found at the friendly neighborhood Ralphs or Albertsons Supermarkets (unless you’re willing to pay top dollar for such a luxury). A small box of produce will cost $15 and provide enough veggies to sustain a couple. A large box at $23 will support a family of four. Each box will carry at least four to six kinds of just-plucked produce, all grown and harvested at the farm.
Besides being a cash cow (which, by the way, benefits the greater community and local restaurants like McKenna’s on the Bay, The Factory and Beachgreens), the garden also provides the community with a unique gathering spot in which to relax, unwind and enjoy the fruits of their labors. It’s a far cry from its seedy past, occupied now by a greenhouse, potting sheds, drinking fountains, an amphitheater, orchards of fruit trees, environmentally-friendly landscaping, exotic plants and even a hen coop. Local chefs, such as David Coleman of Michael’s on Naples and Primal Alchemy’s Paul Buchanan, converge here each October to celebrate the bounty with an autumn farm-to-table feast. The proceeds from the feast funnel back to the seeds of that harvest to create a greener bounty for future generations.
The Growing Experience, 750 Via Carmelitos, (562) 984-2917; www.growingexperiencelb.org.
