Integrative Development Initiative

The ECOFARM Initiative worked across the state, Inland Empire region, and local region to support launching community composting projects and programming. We provided 500+hours of project coordination for Calrecycle's Community Composting for Green Spaces (CCGS) program as one of 3 core organizations to lead the project. We also provided nearly 6500 hours of on-the-ground regional coordination in the Inland Empire as part of launching or expanding 28 projects in the region. Our team supported composting, green space development, farming & gardening, tree planting, community engagement, infrastructure development, & educational opportunities for composters, farmers, and community members. We supported the diversion and composting of over 4,000,000 lbs (!!!) of organics to build healthy soils, grow healthy food and support healthy community building in underserved communities. We provided part-time paid employment to 20+ people, most (~75%) of whom were extremely or very low income residents of communities local to the garden sites. We also collaborated with over 50 other community organizations and supported 1000s of hours of volunteer engagement in service of improving both environmental and community health outcomes such as positve impacts to soil, air, water, green space, and biodiversity as well as supporting healthy food access, community engagement, public service, safe & beautiful gathering spaces, community education, neighborhood beautification, social support networks & safety nets, & human well-being.

Food Cycle Collective is a collaborative initiative rooted in Pomona that centers composting, bikes, food, and community-building. We come together as a collective to care for the earth and the people on it. This takes many forms. Our group collaborates weekly to collect food scraps from local restaurants, cafes, food pantries, and grocery stores and deliver them to local gardens where we help compost these materials into healthy soil (to grow more healthy food locally). In addition, we host a food scrap drop off at the PCFA's community market and rescue unsold food to prepare into a hot meal which we deliver--along with other needed supplies such as snacks, drinks, hygiene items, harm reduction supplies, and clothing--to about 60 people living in the streets every week. In 2022, we supported 15 local businesses, 13 gardens, and diverted 184,000+ lbs of food scraps through local composting. We also served 3000+ hot meals to people living in the streets, offered 50+ group rides through the community, and hosted 50+ hands on community composting workshops. Beyond this, we also offered community skill-building around welding and constructed several community DIY bike trailers, including one we donated to a traumatic brain injury survivor who launched his own community food scrap collection & composting program in collaboration with the CCGS project.

The Pomona Community Farmer Alliance (PCFA) offered 49 weeks of community programming through the pomona community market which is a collaborative between community volunteers and local and regional farmers oriented towards bringing higher quality foods into low-income communities through intentionality and relationships (as opposed to conventional market mechanisms, which we have observed do not work to bring high quality food into underserved communities). We supported 10+ local and regional farmers to distribute their organic and chemical free fresh foods directly to low income and underserved community members in Pomona. As a result of our efforts we have been able to create access at our local farmers market to a greater diversity and higher quality of food, grown using regenerative & ecological methods, including pasture raised meats, chemical free mushrooms, heirloom beans & grains, organic almonds, olives/oils, fruits, and seasonal hyper-locally grown vegetables, with these items selling 30-80% of their typical retail costs. We also supported a food access booth distributing produce at no cost as well as supported food security bag deliveries to vulnerable community members, such as those with disabilities and significant health challenges, elderly individuals & limited support networks. Our food access programming reached over 1000 people with approximately 250 individuals receiving food each week through the PCFA's community market programming.