HTLA Episode 43: Food Insecurity Has Increased in LA... Microfarms Can Help

Jamiah Hargins  00:00

[outdoor/street ambi] My first example of abundance in this movement was observing a lettuce plant. The lettuce plant has these beautiful little lavender colored flowers. Of course, it puts out hundreds of them, if not thousands of them. Now, if each flower produces [music in] seeds, and each seed pod is ten seeds, then you're suddenly sitting on 10,000 seeds. It really was amazing to me to think if we harvested carefully what nature is offering us, we could really solve our food crisis.

Brian De Los Santos  00:34

This is How To LA, and I'm your host, Brian De Los Santos. And today we're talking about food. But as fun as it is, we're not just going out and eating for this episode.

Jamiah Hargins  00:45

[outdoor ambi] I'll reach down here now, and I'll grab some of our rainbow Swiss chard, which is my favorite.

Brian De Los Santos  00:52

It tastes salty. [people laughing and responding in background] All right, not a lot of eating at least. Instead, we're exploring food access in our city and how one organization is trying to change things up.

Jamiah Hargins  01:04

It is exciting to see something like this happen. I remember what the goal is and what the potential of nature's abundance is, and it's much greater than what we even see today.

Brian De Los Santos  01:14

This is Jamiah Hargins. [music out] He's the founder and executive director of Crop Swap LA.

Jamiah Hargins  01:19

[outdoor ambi] We grow food on front yards using water recycling methods that create jobs, distribute it hyper-locally, and recycle water.

Brian De Los Santos  01:26

Jamiah founded Crop Swap in 2018. It does a whole lot of things for the environment and the community in South LA. But mainly, it's a response to the food insecurity crisis that we currently face. They build microfarms, which are kind of a cross between a food co-op and a community garden. Homeowners can offer up their lawns to be transformed into a mini farm that feeds Crop Swap participants in the community. The goal is to focus on Black and Latino neighborhoods, those that have been hardest hit by food insecurity.

Jamiah Hargins  01:56

This food apartheid is a system that's intentionally designed by means of geographic isolation and food supply chain distribution that can limit access to many communities. We figure we'll solve all that by growing the food right here on the spot.

Brian De Los Santos  02:10

We went to visit Jamiah at one of these farms in View Park. But first, to give us some background on the issue, we brought back our climate emergency reporter for LAist, Erin Stone.

Erin Stone  02:20

Hey, Brian.

Brian De Los Santos  02:20

Hey, how you doing? So what are we really dealing with here?

Erin Stone  02:24

Yeah, so basically, food insecurity increased in Los Angeles in 2022. [music in] A study from the University of Southern California shows that the percentage of households who experienced food insecurity over the past 12 months went from 16% in 2021 to more than 23% in 2022.

Brian De Los Santos  02:42

Damn. Can you define what food insecurity really means?

Erin Stone  02:46

So it basically means a disruption in regular eating because of limited resources. And a food desert would mean no fresh produce, like from a market, within one mile of where you live. And it's really a cause for alarm, Brian, because food insecurity is more than just the stress of hunger. It's linked to poor nutrition, mental health challenges, heightened risk for chronic disease and a whole bunch of other health problems.

Brian De Los Santos  03:10

All right, but then why is this problem getting worse in LA?

Erin Stone  03:13

There's really not just one answer. Basically, inflation has caused food prices to skyrocket. And a lot of this is left over from the pandemic. And it's really gonna take a lot of coordinated effort to get us going on a different path. [music out]

Brian De Los Santos  03:28

[outdoor ambi] So we're in View Park, standing in the corner of Angeles Vista and Olympiad. And we're at this really cute home. Cars are zooming by. You're taking us on adventure sort of today, right?

Erin Stone  03:38

Yeah, a little, little adventure. We're gonna see a, a microfarm.

Brian De Los Santos  03:41

I see the sign right there. Asante Microfarm.

Jamiah Hargins  03:43

Asante means 'thank you' in Swahili, so we wanted this to show as a thank you to the community for having us. A thank you to the homeowners for experimenting in this project with us. And a thank you to our organization from the community as we work hard to provide food regularly.

Brian De Los Santos  03:58

So tell me how you got started with all of this.

Jamiah Hargins  04:00

I started Crop Swap LA because as a parent, we needed more options. We need a greater supply of nutrient dense hyperlocal organic and fresh fruits and vegetables. I had my own garden in my backyard realizing that I produced way more than I needed, and eventually got together with other gardeners to create crop swaps. But through the pandemic, we put our heads together and said let's actually find ways to grow food intentionally.

Brian De Los Santos  04:23

Were you a gardener before, or this is all new for you?

Jamiah Hargins  04:26

[laughs] Before 2018, I had done a little community gardening but certainly not with the intention of selling or creating a system of food supply. Creating a market garden is a different profession. And that's why I believe in this movement that folks need to be incentivized by jobs that pay well and that have benefits and vacations so that they can really commit their minds and energies toward growing food consistently.

Brian De Los Santos  04:49

One of the core principles of Crop Swap LA is this idea of hyperlocal distribution, which is basically the opposite of how we typically get food. You know, shipping in things from all over the place.

Jamiah Hargins  05:00

Our distribution system is only within one mile of any microfarm. It's not only important because in food, of course, time matters. That something is fresh, ready to be harvested, ready to be planted, but also, it's what's right. There are local nutrients under your feet. You have the right to have that transfer to you in your life. It's also a local employment system. Most of our staff live within these two miles of the microfarm or are from the area somehow. And we want to show that there's value in everyone working. Not only the homeowners who we also partner with in employment, but also folks who live in the community.

Brian De Los Santos  05:34

Asante is one of three microfarms in South LA that Crop Swap has built and now manages.

Jamiah Hargins  05:39

[street ambi] This is a thousand square foot front yard that used to have a lot of grass and had a dog that the owners enjoy having out here. But now the puppy enjoys the backyard because the front is committed to growing food for the neighbors.

Brian De Los Santos  05:52

Besides all of the community environmental and health benefits, aesthetically, this farm is beautiful. It's lush, green. It smells so fresh. It really enhances urban spaces in that way too.

Jamiah Hargins  06:05

So I'm standing next to some beautiful red and green and yellow Swiss chard. They call it rainbow Swiss chard; there's no better name for that. There's also some five foot tall okra plants next to some dinosaur kale, some collard greens, peppers, and onions. We've got tomatoes as well as heads of romaine lettuces, herbs, and other squashes. So we're showing what can really be grown here on a front yard, over 300 plants in one location here, and the potential for thousands in other locations.

Brian De Los Santos  06:35

The crops grow from sacks of compost, and the whole farm is supported by an irrigation system. It recycles water and reduces water usage by a lot.

Jamiah Hargins  06:43

In the first month after installing this microfarm and using it for a month to water crops, we noticed a 92% reduction in water usage. So we're only using 8% of the water used for grass that was here, and now we're growing food for the community.

Brian De Los Santos  06:57

Subscribers in the community pay only $36 per month, or $43 with delivery, and they get a three pound box of veggies every week.

Jamiah Hargins  07:06

Our team comes out here multiple times per week to maintain the lettuces, maintain the herbs, make sure that pest control is properly done. And then every Sunday, our team also convenes here to wash, harvest, and bag these things, as well as fruit that we've harvested from other people's backyards throughout that week.

Brian De Los Santos  07:25

The specific types of crops grown here at this home in the neighborhood of View Park, which is about 80% Black is no accident.

Jamiah Hargins  07:32

We change the crops based on what the community asks of us in surveys. In some neighborhoods, we imagine there'll be more collard greens, okra, and then in other neighborhoods, there may be more cilantro, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and then one day we may show up to another neighborhood and have you know, bok choy and tatsoi and Asian greens like that. And that's another part that's great about this movement. It creates a confluence of culture and experience. And I think being a Black man has opened it up particularly to Black men in my circles, where we may not have felt the right or entitlement to join an urban gardening group or to spend time doing something that is like this.

Brian De Los Santos  08:12

Asante is a model for what Jamiah hopes will become at least 400 microfarms across Los Angeles.

Jamiah Hargins  08:17

I'm grateful that we have two fully functional microfarms and a third one underway. But we should have hundreds by the time my daughter goes off to college. We believe this is the beginning of the large movement. Although Crop Swap LA is taking the lead in [music in] building these infrastructures, it's the teaching and the educational aspects for our neighbors and our schools that's really going to embed deeply the roots of this transition.

Brian De Los Santos  08:44

You have a great organization, but of course [ ] you need money. Tell me there- about the hardships you face like growing this into a program or a community building organization.

Jamiah Hargins  08:54

I'm fortunate that right now, the intersection of need and opportunity are here. That is- politicians in office see this opportunity and need an answer to their problems. But at the same time, neighbors see the opportunity through their own lenses, and they need an answer to their problems. With how quickly this has grown in the past four years, I imagine that in the future communities are going to begin demanding that microfarms be built in their areas.

Brian De Los Santos  09:23

Jamiah has made such an impact in the community, it caught the attention of Adidas. [music out] They commissioned an artist to paint a mural of him in Leimert Park alongside other iconic Black activists and leaders.

Jamiah Hargins  09:34

[street ambi] You should definitely see it. Should I drive you by there? It's right, it's right over there.

Brian De Los Santos  09:38

Okay, yeah! Show me. [Jamiah and Erin responding and laughing]

Brian De Los Santos  09:39

So Jamiah took us where the mural's at, [car ambi] in this corridor of Leimert Park that's always bustling and lively. It was golden hour, and it was pretty special to see this mural of him up there, [people talking in background] and him smiling in the sun showing it to us.

Brian De Los Santos  09:42

[car door slams] [street ambi] I love it. And I love that you're- we're in Leimert Park and this is [Jamiah: Yeah.] part of the culture, right?

Jamiah Hargins  09:59

It's obviously an honor to be on the walls with others of our ancestry who've done incredible things like [music in] Lumumba and Harriet Tubman. There's Marcus Garvey around the corner. There's Nipsey Hussle right here behind us. And it's just incredible to have that as a living person. So that's my lesson in this, is to use this opportunity to inspire in ways that others did not have necessarily. [music swells]

Brian De Los Santos  10:32

All right, Erin. So how you feeling after we visited the farm? Do you feel inspired to start your own garden now?

Erin Stone  10:38

Yeah, I'm, I'm super inspired, Brian. I live where there are a lot of bears. So I probably won't be planting crops outside anytime soon. I'm really- I'm- I have no green thumb. I don't know how to grow anything. Everything I've tried to grow has died very quickly. But it definitely inspired me to learn how to you know, maybe participate more in my community garden, or just get involved with more local food sources.

Brian De Los Santos  11:00

You and me both, girl. We don't got no green thumbs. [Erin laughs] It's okay. [Brian laughs]

Erin Stone  11:04

We'll- We'll get better.

Brian De Los Santos  11:05

Yes, exactly. [Erin laughs]

Brian De Los Santos  11:09

That was Erin Stone, Climate Emergency reporter for LAist. Also, don't forget to leave us a review and subscribe to our podcast and our newsletter. You can find it all on LAist.com/HowToLA. Go check it out. That's all we have for you today, guys. Catch you tomorrow. Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live. [music out]