A handful of local cultivators, kitchens and chefs are ushering in the next generation of urban farmers through a free, intensive six-month program across Long Beach farms.
The Future Urban Farmers Academy is kicking off its second cohort on Dec. 7, where it will teach 30 young agriculture enthusiasts how to gain employment and thrive in the urban agriculture industry.
Nearly every Saturday from December to May, students will learn a wide range of topics within regenerative urban growing methods, as well as units covering floriculture, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping, native plants and more.
“We want them to take away a better idea of what path they want to take in urban agriculture,” said Erin Harris, farm and garden program director with Grow2Zero, the organization leading the academy. “We’re covering so much in these units so they’ll be able to come away feeling inspired.”
This six-month academy is a culmination of years of workshops and smaller programs from Grow2Zero, the west Long Beach quarter-acre urban farm founded in the midst of COVID. The farm focuses on sustainable methods of making healthy foods accessible and affordable in underserved communities.
Utilizing grants and community buy-in, Grow2Zero has been providing regular workshops on sustainable food preparation where residents can exchange recipes and try new foods with the goal of low-to-no-waste. The organization has also been hosting a weekly grocery giveaway since 2020, and has run several similar programs to help young prospective urban farmers find their way.
Grow2Zero is one of many organizations that have sprouted during the urban farm boom in recent years. As communities in largely populated cities strive for healthy and sustainable food sources, the number of neighborhood gardens, crop swaps and hydroponic farms have substantially grown.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that urban agriculture contributes 15 to 20% of the global food supply. Long Beach has nearly 20 community gardens in parks and neighborhoods, according to Long Beach Fresh’s online map, not including larger urban farms such as The Maye Center and Farm Lot 59.
With a quarter-acre of land and help from friends, Grow2Zero has been hosting hybrid online and in-person workshops and garden workdays for the past four years using grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Future Urban Farmers Academy was launched using grants from LA County, with “a lot more” funding, Harris said, to craft a program with “more expertise and more locations.”
While Grow2Zero has invited local farmers to speak through their online program and partnered with other farms for in-person workshops, the Future Urban Farmers Academy is their most expansive and collaborative project. Farm Lot 59, Sowing Seeds of Change, Feel Good Kitchen, The Farmer Ken, Long Beach Mushrooms, Mireya Arizmendi and Michael Sherman Landscaping will all delve into different specifics for potential future farmers.
Farm Lot 59’s unit will kick off with a lesson on land acquisition, teaching future farmers how to acquire land they can garden on within an urban environment. Farm Lot 59 has over a decade of experience in using its .6-acre farm to teach residents about the power they have over their food choices. The nonprofit acquired an abandoned lot, remnants of an illegal dump, and advocated with the City to get clean soil placed. Since then, they’ve been using the grounds to teach best practices on sustainable farming while also growing and selling seasonal flowers.
“I think a lot of times you have this farm dream or vision in mind, but because we’re in this urban environment, you have to get more creative or scale it, thinking beyond the five acres of land,” said Sasha Kanno, founder of Farm Lot 59.
Right before spring begins, Kanno will teach a whole month on floriculture. Her lessons include seed starting and soil needs, flower bed setup and maintenance, and bouquet and centerpiece arrangements.
Other units are equally specific, such as Grow2Zero’s lessons on crop planning or building healthy soil, Feel Good Kitchen’s workshops about how to prepare food zero waste-style, or Sowing Seeds of Change’s deep dive on harvest handling, packing and storage. The goal, Harris said, is for participants to find their niche within the urban farming world and ideally, leave with job prospects in hand.
“As employers we have a very limited labor pool,” Kanno said. “I think the realistic expectations and what people think urban farming is is very different. It’s a job and you should come ready to work.”
The Future Urban Farmers Academy will conclude with a graduation and job fair, and participants will have the chance to attend job counseling sessions in order to narrow down what they want to pursue in the field.
The next round of the Future Urban Farmers Academy will begin in summer 2025. For questions about the academy or the online program, visit grow2zero.org/programs/the-academy/.