Earthworks Farm | El Monte →

Earthworks Farm is a 4.9-acre work-training and educational urban farm located in the beautiful Whittier Narrows Recreational Area, next to South El Monte, and east of downtown Los Angeles. Earthworks Farm facilitates multiple education programs benefitting the surrounding communities.

These programs include workshops in organic farming, farm-to-school education, Harvest Tours, CSA, Farm-to-Table and volunteer opportunities. Earthworks Farm uses organic farming practices and grows a diverse array of crops.

Earthworks Farm is a San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps (SGVCC) program, and provides to local, disadvantaged youth through the Healthy Harvesters program hands-on work skills and job training in organic farming. Furthermore, Earthworks Farm strives to reach out to local schools and community places to teach on-site organic farming practices.

The mission of Earthworks Farm is to grow organic produce, promote local and sustainable agriculture, teach organic farming to community members and support a lifestyle of healthy eating and active living.

Earthworks Farm encourages healthy relationships between people, their food supply, and the land from which it grows. Hence, ongoing educational programs and volunteer opportunities are provided to fellow gardeners to learn more about basic organic farming practices.

Food Forward →

Food Forward rescues fresh local produce that would otherwise go to waste, connecting this abundance with people in need, and inspiring others to do the same.

How We Do It:

We collect fresh fruits and vegetables that would normally go to waste from backyard fruit trees, public orchards, farmers markets, and the downtown Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market. 100% of the produce we recover is donated to hunger relief agencies across 8 counties in Southern California.

Why We Do It:

According to the NRDC, up to 40% of food in the United States is wasted. At the same time, 1 in 6 individuals lack adequate access to food. Food Forward presents a simple solution to this disparity by connecting surplus produce with the food insecure people in our communities.

UC Cooperative Extension - Master Gardener Hotline →

Since 1981, the University of California Master Gardener Program has been extending UC research-based information about home horticulture and pest management to the public. The UC Master Gardener Program is a public service and outreach program under the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, administered locally by participating UC Cooperative Extension county offices.

The UC Master Gardener Program is an example of an effective partnership between the University of California and passionate volunteers. In exchange for training from the University, UC Master Gardeners offer volunteer services and outreach to the general public in more than 50 California counties. Last year 6,116 active UC Master Gardener volunteers donated 398,265 hours, and 5.4+ million hours have been donated since the program's inception.

Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA) →

SEE-LA’s mission is to build sustainable food systems and promote social and cultural activities that benefit both low-to-moderate income residents of Los Angeles while also supporting California small- and mid-sized farms and local small businesses

Besides our incredible Farmers Markets, SEE-LA keeps Los Angeles healthy by offering and coordinating many programs that enrich lifestyles, help the community and enhance our mission. We are dedicated to improving access to fresh, healthy foods by way of CalFresh EBT, the WIC program and Market Match. Children across Los Angeles benefit from our Bring the Farmer to Your Schoolprogram, in which local California farmers have provided engaging sessions to schools for over 15 years.  Our commitment to community enrichment is extended through our Pompea Smith Good Cooking Buena Cocina Nutrition Education Program, where we offer nutrition education, cooking demonstrations and much more.  For a complete overview and more details, please visit our Programs Page.

LA Compost →

L.A. Compost began in 2013 with the collective efforts of volunteers, friends and family. In the beginning, we were a food waste diversion service. Food scraps, leaves, paper, and almost any organic material were collected from 4 different cities. Our collection crew rode bikes with trailers that allowed them the ability to haul this material from restaurants, homes, schools, and apartments, to local created compost centers.

These compost centers were often found in the back yards of community-supporters’ homes. Within a span of 5 months our 15 plus riders diverted over 30,000 pounds of organic material from landfills and converted it into usable compost. The compost was sold and given away at local farmers markets. With the generated income from sales, we built an edible garden in one of the cities where we were collecting. Our work was featured in the LA Times as well as other local publications.

In 2014 LA Compost shifted its focus from bike-collections to creating local compost hubs. We wanted communities to see how far their organic material was traveling and the harmful effects it had on the environment. By keeping organic material in the same zip code where the food was originally consumed, the finished compost stayed within the community and supported their growing efforts.

We now have 8 community compost hubs all throughout L.A. County. These hubs range from schools, museums, and community gardens. Each hub reflects the community in which it’s located but they all serve the same purpose. They keep organics in the community and they create a shared space where individuals can come together to learn and ultimately be a part of something bigger than their individual self.

Farm LA →

Farm LA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing underutilized lots in Los Angeles communities for solar and agricultural farms. With your help, we can acquire vacant properties and turn them into farms that grow food for community distribution, or solar farms to help Los Angeles generate its water and energy from renewable sources. We want to create a cultural awareness and appreciation for community gardening, healthy eating and sustainable energy.

LA Green Grounds →

LA Green Grounds is a grassroots organization of volunteers dedicated to working with residents of South Los Angeles, California to convert their front lawns and parkways into edible landscapes and urban farms. 

Residents host a garden "Dig-in" when this work happens.  Inviting family, friends, neighbors, and volunteers to participate, creates a sense of community.  Everyone learns how to convert lawns into edible landscapes that encourage and inspire neighborhoods to" grow their own". 

We work closely with our garden recipients to guide them through each growing season and provide ongoing support through teaching sustainable practices and offering wellness activities. 

We like to think of LA Green Grounds as a way of life.  Our mission is to empower South LA's communities and beyond, one garden at a time. 

Started in 2010 by Florence Nishida, Vanessa Voblis and Ron Finley who has since moved to pursue the Ron Finley Project.

As of the end of 2013, 27 edible gardens have been installed.

Farmscape →

Farmscape is the largest urban farming venture in California. Our mission is to connect city dwellers with fresh, organic produce through a network of urban farms, while creating living wage jobs for the new generation of farmers.

To date, we have installed over 700 urban farms and currently maintain more than 300 of those plots.

Interested in joining the team? You can apply here.

HoneyLove →

HoneyLove is a Los Angeles based 501(c)3 non-profit conservation organization with a mission to protect the honeybees by educating our communities and inspiring new urban beekeepers.

Why “Urban” Beekeeping?

We at HoneyLove believe that the city is the last refuge of the honeybee. Our home gardens are free of pesticides, and in cities like Los Angeles, there is year-round availability of pollen and nectar.

GrowGood | Bell, CA →

Founded in 2011, GrowGood, Inc., is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, creating urban agricultural programs to empower people and transform communities. GrowGood provides fresh produce and opportunities through our 1.5-acre farm in Bell, Calif., just a few miles from downtown Los Angeles. We grow thousands of pounds of vegetables and fruit that become part of more than 6,000 meals served each week at the Salvation Army's Bell Shelter. Working with the shelter's staff, we operate a paid job training program for residents and a "Food for Life" skills series of classes. Shelter clients also have access to the peace and healing aspects of being in the garden and among our hundreds of California native plants.

LA Food Policy Council →

MISSION

The Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC) is a collective impact initiative, working to make Southern California a Good Food region for everyone—where food is healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable.

Through policy creation and cooperative relationships, our goals are to reduce hunger, improve public health, increase equity in our communities, create good jobs, stimulate local economic activity, and foster environmental stewardship.  In particular, the LAFPC aims to connect environmental sustainability and local agriculture with efforts to expand access to healthy food in historically disenfranchised communities.

The Los Angeles Food Policy Council, a project of Community Partners, was created in January 2011 by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to advance the mission of building a Good Food system for all of Los Angeles.  We bring together leaders and experts from across sectors, geographies, and socio-economic communities to strengthen connections throughout the food system, and to facilitate and coordinate systemic change.

LAFPC leverages its unique structure and placement as an independent multi-stakeholder initiative to advance innovative food policies.  The 40-member Food Policy Council and its staff serve as the “backbone” organization for the initiative. Additionally, 1,000 individual stakeholders and over 300 organizations from the public, private, nonprofit and academic sectors extend the reach of LAFPC in the greater Los Angeles community.

Catalyze, Coordinate, Connect

LAFPC operates as a network to build connections, catalyze opportunities, and coordinate activities toward building a sustainable and equitable regional food system for all Angelenos.

Our Role:

  • Identify and develop best practices through research and policy analysis;
  • Provide a forum for discussing food-related problems and opportunities;
  • Engage key stakeholders through working groups and other civic engagement strategies;
  • Serve as an information resource;
  • Provide recommendations to policy makers and key food system stakeholders;
  • Provide support for the ongoing work of its members and partners;
  • Facilitate collaboration in the development of more coherent, systemic change;
  • Incubate projects and programs, which are strategically identified through our stakeholder process as needed;
  • Build individual and collective food systems’ leadership capacity.

OUR STRUCTURE

Leadership Board

The Los Angeles Food Policy Council is guided by a 40-member Leadership Board. Comprised of a diversity of seasoned experts representing every sector of the food system, the Leadership Board determines the priorities of the LAFPC, provides leadership in our network and works collaboratively to create systemic change.

Working Groups

The Los Angeles Food Policy Council facilitates six to eight Working Groups which act as participatory policy collaboratives.  The Working Groups meet at least every other month to discuss current issues and develop new projects, events and policy recommendations.  Each Working Group elects a chair to facilitate the process, and Leadership Board members also participate in the Working Groups.

To learn more about the LAFPC Working Groups, please click here.

Network

The LA Food Policy Council hosts “Network” meetings on a quarterly basis to convene change makers for networking, leadership development and movement building. Combining dynamic presentations, collaborative activities and networking, the Network connects the larger community of advocates, entrepreneurs, community members, and policy makers to help coordinate the activities and policy initiatives of LA’s Good Food movement.

Cottonwood Urban Farm | Panorama City →

In the winter of 2012, educator and LA native Elliott Kuhn began converting a dusty, vacant plot in Panorama City into a highly productive urban farm. Nestled in the basin of the Tujunga Wash, Cottonwood Urban Farm (CUF) uses creative growing techniques (season extension, intercropping, succession planting) to cultivate a variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs without the use of any large scale commercial farming equipment.

CUF is currently in a transformational phase of becoming a boutique agricultural enterprise that provides a reliable source of locally grown produce to serve the needs of restaurants, chefs and community members concerned with sustainability. With a deep connection to community, education, and ecology, CUF places social responsibility first and has an ongoing contract with a local substance abuse program for youth. The program provides participants with a 10-week ecology course and horticulture therapy through work at the farm. 

LA Community Garden Council →

Mission

Our mission is to strengthen communities by building and supporting community gardens where every person in Los Angeles County can grow healthy food in their neighborhood.

Vision

We envision a garden network for Los Angeles where people of all ages and backgrounds live healthy, active lives in a clean environment by growing fresh food.

This network fosters the meeting of people from diverse backgrounds to share experience and knowledge, promote urban agriculture and economic justice, provide leadership and job training, and grow more beautiful and sustainable communities.

Programs

The Los Angeles Community Garden Council manages 40 community gardens and offers advice, workshops, and community organizing assistance to more than 125 community gardens in Los Angeles County, serving more than 6,000 families.

Seeds of Hope →

Our Mission

The mission of Seeds of Hope is to promote physical and spiritual wellness among individuals and communities throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles by coordinating a diocese-wide approach to food production and distribution for the benefit of the hungry and undernourished among us while providing health and nutrition education within this context for those suffering from food-related ailments.

Who We Are

Seeds of Hope is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles which seeks to help congregations, communities, and schools turn unused land into productive gardens and orchards to provide healthy and fresh food in areas of need across the county.

We look to create and sustain gardens and garden-based programs throughout the Diocese of Los Angeles to promote physical and spiritual wellness for individuals and communities. In coordinating this diocese-wide approach to food production and distribution, we are able to benefit the hungry and undernourished in our churches and also within our broader communities.  

Through garden workshops, nutrition education, and with creative collaboration with Churches, we are working to Cultivate Wellness in Los Angeles to create stronger, healthier churches and communities!

Farmers Market Coalition →

The Farmers Market Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to strengthening farmers markets across the United States so that they can serve as community assets while providing real income opportunities for farmers.

The Farmers Market Coalition is driven by three complimentary goals. We call it our triple bottom line. Farmers earn fair prices for the fruits of their labor by selling directly to consumers. Consumers gain access to fresh, nutritious, local produce. Communities regain a figurative “town square,” experiencing the many positive outcomes of foot traffic and animated public space. Throughout the USA, farmers markets are achieving these goals. Some are doing it better than others. While we too are dazzled by the bigger markets which assemble hundreds of vendors and thousands of shoppers, size is not our only measure of success. Sometimes, it is the smaller farmers market operating in a challenging neighborhood that achieves this triple bottom line.

The mission of FMC is “to strengthen farmers markets for the benefit of farmers, consumers, and communities.”

Toward that end, the priorities of FMC are:

  • To serve as an information center for farmers markets.
  • To be a voice for North American farmers market advocacy.
  • To foster strong state and regional farmers market associations.
  • To bring private and public support to the table to sustain farmers markets in the long term, for the benefit of farmers, consumers, and communities.
  • To promote farmers markets to the public.
  • To develop and provide educational programming and networking opportunities for farmers market managers and farmers market vendors.

Many agencies and groups support farmers markets – cooperative extension, food security advocates, departments of agriculture, and a host of nongovernmental organizations. The FMC supports these efforts in serving as a central hub from which to locate allies, identify and share best practices, and positively impact public policy pertaining to farmers markets.