Farm to Food Bank

I am proud to serve on the Board of Farm Lot 59, a community staple since 2010 and will continue to serve the community for the long term. Our varied funding sources include individual donors, sales of flowers and produce, and other grants. Our Farm to Food Bank Program focuses on the food-insecure residents of the west side of Long Beach who are mostly Filipino, African American, and Latino. Beneficiaries of our Program are primarily low-income and fixed-income elderly, multi-generational families, and veterans with limited ability to purchase organic produce. These include the residents of the American Gold Star Manor senior housing facility, formerly unhoused veterans served by U.S. Vets, and the broader community. Our Program allows for nutritional food to reach these underserved populations that would not otherwise have access to it, either because of availability or cost. Please consider making a donation to help us continue this good work, a donation of any size makes a difference!

The City of Long Beach identified West, Central, and North Long Beach food deserts, which means they are low-income communities with limited access to fresh food. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, areas with higher levels of poverty and where people of color make up the majority of residents are more likely to be food deserts. These statements hold true for the food deserts in Long Beach, whose populations are largely low-income and people of color. These communities are our target audience. We estimate that the Farm to Food Bank Program will impact approximately 4,000 people over two years.

With the help of volunteers and paid staff each week we harvest seasonal produce including organically grown salad mixes, bok choi, squashes, pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, kale, eggplant, okra, oranges, guava, pomegranates, rosemary, basil, thyme, lemongrass, mint and other crops to be distributed to our community through our distribution partners. Our weekly harvest can end up at US Vets, LBCC, senior housing facilities, food pantries, or school weekend meal boxes. We are also currently serving a weekly Community Food Hub in partnership with Food Finders and with support from our donors. We would like to increase our production to serve another food hub that will be opening in 2024. The current Hub opened in April of 2022 and as of August 2023 has served over 733 households with 3,338 members.

Many of the residents we have worked with directly within our Community Food Hub were ecstatic when we were able to supply them with culturally significant seeds, plants, and flowers. These items are often seen as a luxury. By providing others with basic supplies and teaching them how to grow their own food they are helping to eliminate food insecurity and creating their own local food system. Our .06 acre farm will not be able to feed the 500,000 people that live in Long Beach but we can educate and empower others.