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Pomona farm is a space for children to grow

Amorelle Becerra, 3, and her mother Juanita Preciado-Becerra of Pomona pick an apple to use for their butterfly feeder at Lopez Urban Farm in Pomona, California, Sunday, August 15, 2021. (Contributing Photographer/John Valenzuela)

Using an environment-focused curriculum developed at Humboldt State University, Yorba-Patten and volunteer Lisa Christie hope to interest youth in urban gardening and understanding the power of agriculture.

By Javier Rojas
Daily Bulletin
August 26, 2021

Excerpt:

This month, Pomona children ages 2 to 12 are learning how to cultivate their own food and run a farm through Urban Farmer Training for Kids. Located at 1034 W. Mission Blvd., the 2 ½ acre lot near Lopez Elementary School each Sunday is one of eight public green spaces in city where children can get their hands dirty, plant seeds and eat what they grow.

“We heard from parents that they wanted their kids out of the house, off the computers and into nature,” said Stephen Yorba-Patten, who oversees the farm as director of community wellness at Pomona-based Community Partners 4 Innovation. “This is that space for parents and children to work the dirt with their hands and to be able to experience outdoors together.

“We want them to come here to know that the space exists for them in their own community,” he said.

Currently, classes are capped at about a dozen children, making sessions more intimate and allowing for hands-on learning. With a waitlist established already, the hope is make the program a seasonal event for families, according to Yorba-Patten.

Often, there is a disconnect for children when it comes to the food they eat, primarily how it’s grown and where it comes from, said Yorba-Patten. Many don’t have access to a garden or an area where they can grow produce, he says of program participants.

Read the complete article here.