Boeing volunteers picked tomatoes at The Growing Experience last year.
Elisa Vasquez believes urban farming connects people of different communities; children who may not know where their food comes from, adults who may not be able to afford fresh food, and corporations who volunteer to help bring this food to fruition.
One of those helpful corporations is The Boeing Company, who is volunteering for the second year in a row to plant fruit trees on Saturday, said Vasquez, spokeswoman of The Growing Experience Urban Farm in North Long Beach.
“I believe it’s fantastic having corporations such as Boeing come in and provide us with much needed help,” Vasquez said. “With Boeing being a household name in Southern CA and particularly in Long Beach, it definitely helps to bring awareness to a larger cross section of the community than we normally would be able to access. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with them.”
Vasquez said urban farming is important to benefit low-income neighborhoods that have multiple fast food restaurants and convenience stores, but limited access to healthy food choices.
Paul Geery, vice president of C3 Solutions and Boeing, said he is an advocate for urban farming because it also helps with environmental issues and teaches people about water conservation and reducing greenhouse gas by eliminating transportation.
“Boeing and its employees – both through its Global Corporate Citizenship organization and Employees Community Fund – invest time and money in programs that educate and engage communities about the importance of taking action to reduce their impact on the environment,” Geery said. “When we come across an organization like The Growing Experience in our backyard of Long Beach, we knew we wanted to be a part of it. On Saturday, we get to help make that change, and we will be doing some fruit tree pruning, summer crop planting, harvesting and even canning in the community kitchen.”
Vasquez said about 100 Boeing employees volunteered to help Saturday, making the event larger than last year’s.
Geery said the company’s involvement last year inspired more employees to sign up.
“Our Boeing employees, with their family and friends, had such a great time last summer that this year the event filled up very quickly,” he said. “We have a great number of employees who live and work in Long Beach who like to volunteer and spend time in their own community. Being at The Growing Experience was so much fun last year that a lot of people wanted to come back.”
The Boeing employees will assist in the planting of trees at The Growing Experience, 750 Via Carmelitos, from 9AM to 12PM Saturday.
Click here if you are interested in volunteering with or learning more about The Growing Experience.
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