The organizers behind Sowing Seeds of Change, a sustainable urban farm and vocational training nonprofit is kicking off a new monthly food distribution at its farm Wednesday, March 16, one that allows people to pick their own groceries.
The free food market from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 16 is designed to mimic the experience of a farmers market where visitors experiencing food insecurity can peruse tents at their leisure and select the produce they’d like to take home.
“The idea is to create an elevated experience and to have folks who are food insecure feel like they’re entitled to be able to go to a farmers market and get the food that they need,” said Sowing Seeds of Change co-founder Dina Feldman. “Food is a right, not a privilege.”
Feldman also noted that orienting their distribution in this fashion minimizes the potential for food waste since people who receive food they’re not accustomed to cooking with, as is the case with many pre-packaged donations, often go unused.
“I’m a behavior analyst, that’s what I did for 20 years. [People] are going to eat thing things you’re most familiar with. That’s just basic human behavior,” she said. “If someone who’s never eaten eggplant gets a pound of eggplant, it’s very unlikely that they’ll figure out what to do with that.”
To help introduce people to cooking with new foods, organizers plan to gather data and metrics, likely through a survey, about what kinds of produce their visitors are unfamiliar with. Then, they will work with local chefs and people of color to create “culturally sensitive recipes” using the foods that don’t go home with people to create dishes that visitors can sample and learn how to make themselves.
Sowing Seeds of Change has partnered with the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion (LBCEI) and its Long Beach Food Support Network, which is a collection of nine food pantries and three neighborhood groups in Long Beach that work together to bring fresh produce and other food to those in need within Long Beach.
The LBCEI will be donating a variety of produce to the inaugural event. The nonprofit said they don’t know yet what produce will be available, but anticipates there will be tomatoes, onions, cauliflower, and other vegetables that are frequently donated by food banks. Sowing Seeds of Change said they plan to also donate their grown produce in the future, though they’re still working on getting their garden running in full force.
Getting their hands on donations has been a struggle, Feldman said, and most of their work has been largely self-funded. Not to mention the nonprofit has run into a variety of setbacks, including their site being broken into and vandalized, since they began their efforts in March 2021.
Feldman said the new food market will also align with their nonprofit’s mission to nurture young adults with disabilities and at-risk youth through employment and vocational training by having their students help the staff lead and run the markets.
“A lot of the times folks with disabilities and at-risk youth get stigmatized and so we want to kind of break down those barriers by having them run the market and having them be in charge and being like a facilitator of something good for the community,” Feldman explained.
Wednesday’s event will open with an introduction of the nonprofit to guests that will touch on the value and importance of being connected to one’s food system. And, Feldman anticipates one of their students will lead a breathing and stretching exercise with attendees. Then, it’s grocery shopping time.
Sowing Seeds of Change will have paper bags for people to use, but they highly request that attendees bring their own bags.
The Sowing Seeds of Change urban farm is at 620 San Francisco Ave., underneath the 710 freeway overpass adjacent to Cesar E. Chavez Park. If you’d like to learn more about Sowing Seeds of Change or to donate, click here.
Sowing Seeds of Change brings sustainability and vocational skills to Long Beach