Founders of community gardens in Norther California came together at a food justice panel in Oakland to advocate for cause. Sigourney B. Nuñez/EL NUEVO SOL

Sigourney B. Nuñez
EL NUEVO SOL

Versión en español

Several cities across Northern California are implementing urban farms to increase food security and access to healthy food in low-income communities. According to community gardeners, urban farms create awareness about the importance of fresh and local food. They connect communities to how their food is produced. Urban farms also have potential to better reflect and serve the food justice cause through strength in diversity.

Veggielution- San Jose, Calif.

Over five decades ago, Emma Prusch was born and raised in a large dairy farm that was maintained by her family for generations. By 1962, Prusch was the only living heir of the 86-acre land. She bequeathed the farm to the city of San Jose under the condition that it would keep its original rural-country atmosphere; Emma Prusch Farm Park was erected.

Within the park, 10 acres belong to Veggielution, an urban community garden program that was founded in the spring of 2008 by college students Mark Anthony Medeiros and Amie Frisch. Veggielution was created with hopes to build community, embrace diversity, empower the youth and create food sustainability.

Medeiros and Frisch said they were involved in different forms of activism during their undergraduate career at San Jose State University, where the two met. They wanted to grow their own food; they started with several small gardens in the community and incorporated the help of their college peers.

“At some point, local food and urban farming, educating people about sustainable agriculture, just sort of materialized as a good solution for all these problems,” Medeiros said. “We thought, ‘Maybe we should train ‘hella’ people to do some gardening and try to get a large diversity of people.’”

Around 10 a.m. every Saturday, about 80 Veggielution volunteers gather at Emma Prusch Farm Park to cultivate vegetables. The cohort of farmers is made up of youth, college students and elderly community members, all from a diverse ethnic background and age.

“They are all working together and managing a farm together,” Medeiros said. “They are taking home what they grow and are creating a little community economic system where people can grow food and provide a resource for themselves.”

Medeiros, the farm manager of the Veggielution said he appreciates the range in cultural background in his volunteers because they each offer different aspects to the food growing process. He also sees the program as a vehicle to grow a strong community. “There are a lot of immigrant folks who are from all over the place and bring lots of cool gardening practices to our garden,” he said.  “Just getting all these different folks to interact together and learn skills that are inherent to all cultures and communities and share farming together and then sit down and break bread together and grow together as a community is really cool to me.

Last year, Veggielution grew over 15,000 pounds of produce, they anticipate successful farming season again and expect to grow 25,000 pounds of fresh food this year. “It’s a farm, so we want to provide low cost food to lots of people.” Medeiros said. Veggielution offers the grown crops to the San Jose community at inexpensive rates, said Medeiros.

Veggielution’s community garden grows collard greens, peas, cactus, corn, taro root, tomatoes, peppers among other seasonal vegetables when deemed appropriate. The program will continue efforts to pass on traditional farming techniques, now known as organic farming. “We want to reinitiate the transfer of knowledge to our community,” Medeiros said.

City Slicker Farms- West Oakland, Calif.

Ten years ago, Barbara Finnin, a Philadelphia native settled in West Oakland to address food justice, primarily for the low-income community of color.

Finnin describes the city of West Oakland as a food desert; she says corner liquor stores or other markets that do not promote healthy food surround the neighborhood. Most of the edible items sold are caloric based food rather than nutrient dense food, according to Finnin.

“You might get a potato, you might get an onion and maybe an apple, but you don’t have access to a lot of produce,” Finnin said.  “If when in your own neighborhood you can’t get the food that you need to live a healthy life, that’s what we call a human rights issue.”

The city of West Oakland is notorious for their diesel emissions; gas discharge is 90 times higher than anywhere in California, Finnin said. She said around town, people could find an old industry that is still polluting the neighborhoods, as well as abandoned buildings that were once striving businesses.

These realities lead Finnin to take part in advocacy by joining City Slicker Farms, where she currently serves as director. By starting backyard gardens and urban farms around the community, the program was created to empower the community members of West Oakland to meet immediate basic needs for healthy and organic food.

“We want the community to grow their own food and get nutrition and get what they need to be healthy in their lives,” Finnin said.

Since the start of City Slicker Farms in 2001, the program consists of seven Community Market Farm Stands, a greenhouse in conjunction with the Oakland Unified School District and Urban Farming Education programs.

In the Community Market program, the groups go to former vacant lots and transform them into produce growing areas. Before they can dub the area suitable for farming, they test the soil- a process that needs to take place in an urban area where most of their soil problems lead to issues with lead.

The soil, if contaminated puts children at hight risk for side effects like developmental issues, Finnin said. “Lead can affect the growth of a child’s brain and body and prohibit them from getting nutrients into the system,” she said.  “We want to make sure that people are gardening safely, it’s a great educational moment.”

If a former industrialized space gets renovated as sustainable, then lettuce, tomatoes, squash and all seasonal vegetables are grown. Chickens, eggs and when available honey, are also distributed in the West Oakland. “No one get’s turned away for lack of funds,” Finnin said.

In the greenhouse, City Slickers were able to grow over 26,000 plants last year and were able to allocate profit for their flora.

As of 2005, City Slickers also planted backyard gardens with over 170 families in the West Oakland area. According to Finnin, City Slickers started this because of community members approached the group for help.

“They said they wanted to learn the food traditions that have been in their families. We are partnering with folks that grow their own food and put it on their own table,” Finnin said. “This is nothing new, this is something that people stopped doing decades ago.”

For Finnin, this was important to implement because she said over half the population in West Oakland does not own a car. “Getting to a grocery store outside your community takes a lot of time,” Finnin said. “If you are doing that only once or twice a month, getting fresh produce is hard.”

City Slicker Farms work toward creating a long-term sustainable impact in underutilized urban areas in West Oakland.  “There’s a long legacy of people saying we don’t have access to food, lets do something about it,” Finnin said.

Fundadores de los jardines comunitarios de la región del norte California se reunieron para descutir el tema de justicia alimentaria. El evento se efecto en Oakland, CA. Sigourney B. Núñez / El Nuevo Sol.

Sigourney Núñez
EL NUEVO SOL

Diversas ciudades en el norte de California están fomentando los cultivos urbanos para incrementar la seguridad en la comida y poder proveer comida saludable en comunidades de bajos recursos. Los cultivos urbanos benefician a la comunidad al demostrar cómo son producidos los alimentos. Estos proyectos locales tienen el potencial de hacer reflejar y servir a la causa de la justicia alimentaria por medio de la fuerza y la diversidad.

Veggielution- San José, California.

Hace más de cinco décadas, Emma Prusch nació y se crió en una granja de productos lácteos que mantuvo su familia por generaciones. En 1962, Prusch era la única heredera sobreviviente de los 86 acres de tierra del legado. En su afán por mantener la tradición familiar, decidió donar la granja a la ciudad de San José con la condición de que se mantuviera sus atmósfera rural. Éstos fueron los términos bajo los que se construyó el Emma Prusch Farm Park.

Dentro de los límites de la granja, 10 acres le pertenecen a Veggielution, un huerto comunitario urbano que fue fundado en la primavera del 2008 por los estudiantes universitarios Mark Anthony Medeiros y Amie Frisch. Veggielution fue fundado con la ilusión de construir una comunidad que aceptara la diversidad, empodere a la juventud y cree sostenibilidad alimentaria.

Medeiros y Frisch afirman que se involucraron en diferentes formas de activismo mientras hacían su carrera en la Universidad Estatal de San José donde se conocieron. Ellos querían cultivar sus propios alimentos y empezaron con varios pequeños jardines en la comunidad e incorporaron la colaboración de sus compañeros universitarios.

Medeiros afirma que los proyectos de fundar huertos urbanos y educar a la gente sobre agricultura sostenible surge como una buena alternativa para la comida local. “ Nosotros pensamos deberíamos de entrenar a mucha gente para cultivar y intentar atraer una gran diversidad de gente”, recuerda.

Todos los sábados a las 10 de la mañana, alrededor de unos 80 voluntarios de Veggielution se reúnen en Emma Prusch Farm Park para cultivar vegetales. El batallón de granjeros está compuesto por jóvenes, estudiantes universitarios y gente mayor de la comunidad. El mozaico de etnias y generaciones es variado; sin embargo, los une una misma ilusión.“Todos trabajan juntos y administran la granja juntos”, comenta Medeiros. “Ellos se llevan a sus hogares lo que hayan cultivado y están creando un pequeño sistema económico comunitario, en el cual la gente cultiva su comida y proveen los recursos para ellos mismos”.

El administrador de Veggielution, afirmó que agradece la diversidad de culturas en sus voluntarios porque cada uno de ellos atribuye un aspecto diferente al proceso de crecer sus propios alimentos. Medeiros ve el programa como un medio para hacer crecer una comunidad fuerte. “Hay muchos colegas inmigrantes que vienen de todos lados y aportan diferentes maneras muy interesantes de cultivar en nuestro huerto”, explica. “Me parece sensacional el simple hecho de unir a toda esta gente y verlos convivir y aprender las habilidades que son natas de sus culturas y comunidades, sobre todo, de compartir las técnicas de cultivo y después sentarnos a partir el pan juntos además de cultivar juntos como una comunidad”.

El año pasado, Veggielution cultivó más de 15 mil libras de frutas y verduras. Esta vez, ellos anticipan otra buena temporada de cultivos y esperan cosechar 25 mil libras de productos frescos este año. “Es una granja y queremos aprovechar para producir comida a bajo costo para mucha gente”, recalca Medeiros.

Veggielution ofrece sus frutos a la comunidad de San José a precios baratos. En sus  huertos comunitarios cultivan col verde, chícharos, nopales, maíz, raíz de taro, tomates, chiles y otros vegetales temporales cuando sea apropiado. El programa continuará haciendo su mejor esfuerzo para heredar las técnicas tradicionales de cultivo, ahora conocido como cultivo orgánico. “Queremos reiniciar la herencia de la sabiduría a nuestra comunidad”, comenta Medeiros.

City Slicker Farms- West Oakland, California

Hace 10 años, Barbara Finnin, nativa de Filadelfia, se cambió a la ciudad del Oeste de Oakland para resolver los problemas de justicia alimentaria, principalmente en las comunidades de color y de bajos recursos.

Finnin describe la ciudad como un desierto alimentario e insiste en que las tiendas de licores u otras tiendas que no promueven la comida saludable rodean los vecindarios. La mayoría de los alimentos comestibles están basados en calorías en vez de alimentos con nutrientes, explica.

“Tal vez tengas una papa, tal vez una cebolla o una manzana, pero no vas a tener mucho acceso a frutas y verduras”, afirma Finnin. “Cuando en tu propio vecindario no puedes conseguir la comida que necesitas para vivir una vida saludable, eso es lo que llamamos un problema de derechos humanos”.

La ciudad del Oeste de Oakland es conocida por sus emisiones de diesel; las descargas de gas son 90 veces más altas que en ningún otro lugar de California. Finnin asegura que pueden encontrar alguna vieja industria que esté contaminando los vecindarios, también edificios abandonados que en algún tiempo tenías la esperanza de que fuera algún negocio.

Estas realidades han llevado a Finnin a hacerse parte de la defensa al unirse al City Slicker Farms, donde actualmente sirve como directora. Esta mujer de empuje empezó haciendo cultivos en patios y cultivos urbanos alrededor de su comunidad. El programa fue creado para empoderar a los miembros de la comunidad del Oeste de Oakland: para alcanzar necesidades básicas y tener alimentos saludables y orgánicos. “Queremos que la comunidad cultive sus propios alimentos y que obtengan nutrición y tengas lo que necesitan para vivir una vida saludable”, afirma.

Desde su origen en 2001, City Slicker Farms se organizó con de siete puestos en el Mercado Comunitario de Agricultores, un invernadero en colaboración con el Distrito Escolar Unificado de Oakland y los programas de Educación Urbana de Agricultura.

En el programa del Mercado Comunitario, los grupos van a lotes baldíos y los transforman en áreas de cultivo. Antes de hacer la tierra apta para cultivar, operan algunos exámenes en la tierra, el cual es parte del proceso que se necesita para una localidad urbana donde el mayor problema es la contaminación de plomo.

Si la tierra se encuentra contaminada expone a los niños a tener problemas. “El plomo puede afectar el desarrollo en el cuerpo y cerebro de un niño y les prohíbe conseguir nutrientes en su sistema”, afirma Finnin. “Queremos asegurarnos que la gente esté cultivando de la manera más segura, es un gran momento educativo”.

Si algún espacio industrializado es renovado como sustentable entonces lograremos que las lechugas, los tomates, las calabazas y todas las verduras de temporada sean cultivadas. Pollos, huevos y cuando se puede también miel, son distribuidos en el Oeste de Oakland. “Nadie es negado del producto por falta de fondos”, insiste Finnin.

En el invernadero, City Slickers se pudo cosechar más de 26 mil plantas el año pasado y pudieron recolectar fondos para su flora.

En el 2005, City Slickers cultivó huertos en los jardines familiares en más de 170 familias del Oeste de Oakland. Según Finnin, empezaron este programa porque los miembros de la comunidad se acercaron a pedirles su apoyo.

“Ellos dijeron que querían aprender las tradiciones alimentarias que han pervivido en sus familias. Estamos asociados con colegas que cosechan sus alimentos y los llevan a sus propias mesas”, explica Finnin. “Esto no es nada nuevo, esto es algo que la gente dejó de hacer hace décadas”.

Para Finnin, esto era importante de implementar porque más de la mitad de la población en el Oeste de Oakland no tiene un coche. “Llegar a un mercado fuera de la comunidad requiere demasiado tiempo”, explica. “Si haces esto una o dos veces al conseguir frutas y  verduras frescas, es todo un reto”.

City Slicker Farms trabaja para crear un impacto a largo plazo en áreas urbanas en el Oeste de Oakland que casi no son utilizadas. “Hay un gran legado de gente que dice que no tenemos acceso a comida, hay que hacer algo al respecto”, sentencia Finnin.

Hay un estimado de 12 millones de indocumentados en el país; sin embargo, una reforma migratoria justa y comprensiva aún todavía no se ha realizado. Para los indocumentados, la separación de las familias es algo muy común en la comunidad. Aunque las luchas son dolorosas, la gente indocumentada aún sigue en pie para ser escuchados.

In a Deaf household many barriers can be formed and pose as a roadblock for communication. Simple tasks as talking on the phone, to calling each others name’s, are not done the same in a Deaf household. Malihe Ghazanfari and Vania Elison describe their experience as children living in a Deaf home.

When Ghazanfari’s mother found out her daughter was Deaf, they originally did not want to learn sign language.  Different options were tried, she attempted to focus on oral speech and realized that was not successful for her  child and eventually accepted the fact that they would have communication barriers.

Ghazanfari was born in Iran in 1988 and moved to the United States at the age of  two,  even then her mother did not speak English.  Ghazanfari’s family tried to attend a local church to learn both American Sing Language and English at the same time, because then she only spoke Farsi.  Ghazanfari said, “It was a tough situation to handle, but now everything is fine.”

Elison, a coda (child of Deaf parents) says she recalls most of her childhood having to play the role of the interpreter. “Whenever they needed me, I would always go with them to the bank, doctor’s, meetings and things like that,” said Elison.  She says that a lot of her childhood she was torn between two cultures, that of the hearing and Deaf communities. Whether it was trying to maker her parents understand that she is a hearing girl trying to prove herself as a Deaf studies major at California State University Northridge, Elison will always feel like she will constantly have to show her parents that she is part of both worlds.

BY SIGOURNEY NUÑEZ

“Too Many Tamales” originally written by Gary Soto, has been adopted into a play for the last thirteen years at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts Theater.

The play, written by Lina Montalvo, who has been involved with the play since its original production, focuses on showing the Hispanic traditions that partake during the holidays. “It’s about tradition, it’s about sharing all these thing, the food, the language,” said Montalvo.

The play follows the plot of the book but has been adapted with relative Christmas songs as well as a distinct message. Montalvo, along with her cast says that the goal of the play is to teach the audience that cultural diversity does exist. “We try to encourage tolerance,” said Montalvo.

La comunicación bilingüe es habitual en las familias latinas en Los Angeles

BY SIGOURNEY NUÑEZ

Bilingualism, when a person is fluent in two languages, can happen simultaneously. According to a Linguistics and Chicano/a Studies professor at California State University Northridge, Ana Sánchez-Muñoz, “Normally when parents speaks two languages, the child can acquire those two.”

Adraina Rivera, a housekeeper, who speaks both Spanish and English emphasizes the importance of having cultural diversity and tolerance. Rivera feels like it is necessary for her children to be able to understand both languages. “We know that in this country, the more languages you know, the better off you are. You can defend yourself and help yourself, so it’s really important to know two tongues,” said Rivera.

Sánchez-Muñoz says that although English is the dominant language in the United States, there are many benefits to being a polyglot. “Acquiring two languages is really acquiring two cultures. It opens the doors to different value systems, different traditions and of course that is a richness,” said Sánchez-Muñoz.