Pomona farming is a place for children to grow their own food – Daily Bulletin – California News Times

While his father, Diego Torres, is doing his best to catch a senior, he is happy that Diego Torres ran into the tomato fields.

When a 2-year-old picks up a red prune, he kneels down and holds it in his hand to check the size. A smile comes out as you raise your head.

“Can you give me a tomato?” The boy asks when his father catches him.

“He recently loved tomatoes,” says 36-year-old Torres Senior. Lopez City Farm in Popena. My mother grows tomatoes in her house, but after sowing seeds last week, she talked about returning here every day. This is what I want him to grow. it is. ”

After years of declining distance learning and social interaction, families like Torres want more than just raising their children. They want their children to be immersed in the basics of nature, especially the experience of raising their own food and the benefits that come with it.

This month, Pomona children from 2 to 12 years old will learn how to grow their own food and how to farm for children in urban farmer training. Every Sunday, the 2½ acre station near Lopez Elementary School is located at 1034 W. Mission Blvd. , In a city where children defile their hands, sow seeds and eat adults. It is one of the greenest areas of the country.

“This is a place where parents and children can move the soil by hand and practice it outdoors,” said Stephen Yoruba Patton, director of agriculture at Pomona-based Community Safety.

“We want them to come here and know that there is a place for them in their community,” he said.

The classroom currently has around 12 people, making the sessions more intimate and hands-on. According to Yorba-Patten, the checklist has already been created and it is expected that this program will be a timely event for families.

Using an environment-based curriculum developed by Humboldt State University, Yorba-Paten and volunteer Lisa Christie want young people to take an interest in urban gardening and understand the power of agriculture. Add.

According to Yoruba Patton, there are often interruptions in the diet of children, mainly about how it grew and where it came from. He tells program participants that many people do not have gardens or places to grow their produce.

“Many are inexperienced in food production. They do not know where it came from. They don’t even know which plant to eat until they come here. ” They said. We are trying to teach our children that we can learn to eat ourselves.