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ALMA's mission is to help reclaim the lives of the formerly incarcerated, re-purpose urban land into productive urban farm plots, and re-imagine community as place for people and plants to thrive.
ALMA Backyard Farms [ALMA] is a BIPOC-led and run urban farming enterprise in Los Angeles creating access to healthy food for underserved food-insecure neighborhoods by employing formerly incarcerated persons to grow and share food, restoring life and land through urban agriculture. Rooted in restorative justice and grounded in environmental stewardship, ALMA creates opportunities to serve historically disadvantaged groups in South Los Angeles County, through its three core programs:
ALMA's programs alleviate stresses on low-income communities, children, and individuals who are struggling with difficulties brought on by food insecurity, lack of safe green spaces, and a broken criminal justice system. ALMA’s unique approach to education, with an emphasis on environmental stewardship, generates opportunities to transform desolate spaces and lives into stronger, safer, and healthier communities.
ALMA originated from a real-time understanding that urban agriculture creates opportunities for community members to interact with their environment in a new way, while reducing stigma and dispelling perceptions about ex-prisoners, and prioritizing health in a truly local way.
ALMA serves Compton and South L.A. County populations which are often fraught with high rates of unemployment and under-employment, and served by under-resourced support systems that are now heightened by the global pandemic. According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, 44% of adults and 50% of children in low-income households are affected by food insecurity. The primary beneficiaries of ALMA’s Farm Stand come from the City of Compton, a predominantly working-class community that is 68.2% Latinx and 29.5% Black/African American. Our families are often struggling to survive.
All proceeds will directly benefit ALMA’s programming, specifically our urban Farm Stand model. ALMA’s Farm Stand is currently open at our farm site in Compton every other week. Roughly 2,000 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables are made available to community members at little to no cost. In addition to the organic produce, the Farm Stand curates locally baked bread & pastries, pantry staples, food and beverages, and other sustainably made household essentials! Our Farm Stand is a stand for restoration. When prices seem to be soaring everywhere, we are committed to creating access. Support from our donors allows us to continue nourishing lives and landscapes.
In 2013, Erika L. Cuellar and Richard D. Garcia co-founded ALMA Backyard Farms (ALMA). As Angelenos, Erika and Rich understand on a personal level the challenges that LA's most vulnerable face — food insecurity, a lack of safe green spaces, and the reentry of previously incarcerated women and men. Their extensive work experience at Dolores Mission, Homeboy Industries, and Jesuit Restorative Justice Initiative built their capacity to effectively serve marginalized people — at-risk youth, juvenile offenders, the formerly incarcerated, and many others.
Both Erika and Rich listened carefully to the deep desire of previously incarcerated people to give back and lead productive lives. These experiences culminated in the creation of ALMA's educational programs rooted in urban agriculture that empower at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated people to become environmental stewards.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ALMA pivoted operations from a monthly Farm Stand to curbside pick-ups of FREE Grocery Kits filled with organic produce, high-quality prepared foods, locally baked bread, and pantry staples. One mother expressed to us, “It’s been hard to get any healthy food from the food bank. My son has gained so much weight and is considered extremely overweight, and he’s only seven years old. We benefit from your type of food giveaway because of all the fresh vegetables.”
Since reopening our Farm Stand, many folks have expressed their gratitude for having access to affordable, organic produce on a consistent basis. One individual’s remarks stuck with us the most. A mother told us, “I received your free Grocery Kits throughout the peak of the pandemic. Now I want to shop at your Farm Stand to help support ALMA’s mission. Shopping here is my way of giving back for all you’ve done for me and my family.”
ALMA defines success as having provided program participants with the needed knowledge, skills, and tools to rebuild better lives, become stewards of the Earth and, pursue their aspirations. At ALMA, we strongly believe that if we are able to teach children and families how things grow and how crucial soil is to our existence, then we’ll be able to develop their palate and appetite not only for healthy food, but for change. Success is measured by the number of individuals that ALMA’s programs are able to serve and the number of pounds of food distributed, as well as through feedback and testimonies from program participants.
Would you give $4 a month to support four nonprofits that are making a big difference? Join forces with other 52andChangmakers to automatically give to every Cause of the Week. Every Monday, you’ll wake up knowing you’ve already made a difference! As our community grows, so does the impact!
Together we’ve become volunteers in places we would have never expected, planted milkweed for butterflies, provided books to kids in need, helped save endangered turtles, helped turn excess food into nutrition, helped bring art to youth, educated one another about how we are connected to our delicate food systems, helped save abandoned horses and given old dogs new hope, watched foster youth shine in the spotlight of movie making, helped clean tires out of rivers… we could go on and on and on. It is an absolute joy to be a part of such an amazing network of humans making a difference.
“ALMA reconnects the lives of the formerly incarcerated back to the fabric of society. Our participants have the chance at attaining gainful employment and becoming self-sufficient. Urban Farming helps everyone involved explore the relationships between plants, animals and humans as a way of creating a profound connection to both nature and their community.” - ALMA Backyard Farms
While we’re writing this and you’re reading it, Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes is out there, finding ways to provide food to more people in need throughout Santa Cruz County, where one of three residents are reported to be food insecure.
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