ALMA Backyard Farms and Compton: An oasis in a food desert

California supplies over half of the nation’s produce, yet one in five of its residents grapple with food insecurity.

***

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning at the local farm stand. It smells like freshly cut flowers and warm baked goods. The tables here are full of brightly colored fruits and veggies; Key limes and cara caras; Chinese eggplants and Collard Greens…

It’s an idyllic place to spend your Sunday morning grocery shopping for locally harvested produce.

This is ALMA Backyard Farms in Compton, a city considered a food desert. That means the neighborhood has limited access to affordable, nutritious food. Compton and other low-income neighborhoods have fewer grocery stores than wealthier neighborhoods.

It’s deeper than just good food for the folks at ALMA. Erika Cuellar, one of the co-founders of ALMA Backyard Farms, says their group believes that building a healthy community starts from the ground up.

ERIKA CUELLAR: We really believe that we satisfy a deeper hunger, not one of just the stomach, but of the soul, the longing for a community.

But the fact remains: There aren’t enough grocery stores here. Try thinking about it this way; There are 1.2 million people in the greater Southern Los Angeles area, and roughly 60 full-service grocery stores. In comparison, the West Los Angeles Area has about the same number of grocery stores, but half as many people.

Food insecurity disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic communities. According to Feeding America, Black and Hispanic families experience food insecurity at nearly three times the rate of white families.

Tracie Kirkland is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing at the University of Southern California school of social work.

TRACIE KIRKLAND: When individuals, families and communities are food insecure, there’s a potential increased risk in chronic disease.

In West L.A., you can find Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or Erewhon, providing — quite literally — the cream of the crop. But you’re not going to find anything like that down in Compton. Here, your options are Food 4 Less, Smart & Final, or the Grocery Outlet.

But since 2013, ALMA Farms has been working to make farm to table produce more accessible to the residents of Compton.

Journey Presley runs the bakery stand. She’s been working at ALMA Farms for over three years. Like a lot of people who work at ALMA, she grew up in this community, and now helps provide an oasis for this food desert.

ALMA’s mission is to provide those who have been recently released from incarceration an opportunity to “give back” to their community by teaching them hands-on skills in urban agriculture, carpentry and landscaping, all while working to help bridge the gap of nutritional inequality.

CUELLAR: So in the process of gathering your oranges and your carrots and your kale, you’re also being deeply nourished in a different way.

Erika Cuellar talks about how there is something special about this land, and you can feel it when you’re here. The fresh air, the smell of dirt, and the excitement of being able to see where your food comes from.

CUELLAR: It’s not just the food that they’re gathering in that process. You’re building community and you’re building friendships. You’re building support.

Community farms like ALMA Backyard Farms are starting to pop up across the country. A lack of a support system is a common factor among those experiencing food insecurity, and the pandemic has only made it harder to build these crucial connections. Farms like this do far more than simply provide healthier produce, they provide an opportunity to create connections and build support systems.

Every other Sunday, ALMA comes alive during its rush of customers, eager to cross their favorite goodies off their grocery list. Cuellar says supporting neighborhood farms like ALMA fuels the spirit of the community.

CUELLAR: You’re not just buying a bundle of collard greens on Sundays. You’re you’re supporting this neighborhood farm, you’re supporting this effort, you’re supporting this local movement that will continue to feed not just Linda who who, who gets her collards and okra, but like Linda’s grandkids, who also partake in the classes that we offer for the kids. And feeding that mind and creating an appetite for change in the children is part of the process.

The ALMA Backyard Farm stand is open every other Sunday from 8-1 in Compton. You can find more information at almabackyardfarms.com.