Organizers to plow federal grant into small farm incubator in southwest Fresno
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- Yo’Ville received $500,000 from USDA to boost access to healthy foods.
- Grant funds will expand the incubator and help farmers sell at Yo’Ville Market.
- There are currently six farming businesses on the 7-acre Yo’Ville property.
In the scheme of things, half a million dollars may not seem like a lot of money to some, but to the small farmers and community gardeners toiling under the sun of a 7-acre patch in southwest Fresno, it means hope and resilience.
Recently, the Yo’Ville Community Garden, a joint project of Metro Ministries and Fresno Housing, was awarded a $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to boost access to healthy foods through a gardening program, farmer’s market and farm incubator.
“I know how important it is to have even just a little piece of land to help you get started,” said Miguel Avendaño Reyes, a part of the incubator program and owner of Siembra y Cosecha Farm.
The grant will fund the expansion of the incubator program and help sustain the community garden project, a series of small plots, ranging from about 100 to 200 square feet.
For a small fee, anyone from the neighborhood can use a small patch of ground to grow what they like. In the garden these days are vegetables, tomatoes, chiles, onions and cactus. Each gardener has a code to locked gate so they can come and go as they please between sun up and sun down.
Aaron De La Cerda, the farm & garden program director for Metro Ministries, said neighbors are grateful for having the chance to grow their own food. Many of the gardeners live in the nearby Yosemite Village Apartments, hence the name Yo’Ville.
Metro Ministries provides the plot, irrigation, compost and any technical help they might need, although many are already seasoned gardeners.
“There are a lot of folks who have their own seeds and their own starts and they just come and transplant it here,” De La Cerda said. “They just need some extra space to grow.”
Launched in 2014, under former director Chris DeLeon, the community garden, at 872 W. Atchison Court, is one of several in the city. There is one in the Lowell neighborhood under the Freeway 41 overpass; Al Radka Park on Belmont Avenue; and at Peach and Butler avenues.
Each of the gardens tends to reflect the diversity of the neighborhood where it’s located. In southeast Fresno, there are plenty of southeast Asian vegetables being harvested, while other gardens in predominately Latino neighborhoods are loaded with cactus or blooming with marigolds, a flower used to decorate altars for the dead.
“It is pretty cool to see what is harvested every year from these gardens,” De La Cerda said.
One the back end of the seven-acre Yo’Ville property lies larger plots of land reserved for the small farm incubator program.
There are currently six farming businesses growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. A portion of the USDA grant will be used to expand the program with more farmers, increase staffing and to assist farmers to sell their products at the newly created Yo’Ville Farmers Market.
The market will be open the first and third Sundays of each month from 8 a.m. to noon at 709 W. California Ave.
De La Cerda said the market will also be certified, meaning only qualified farmers are allowed to sell.
Previous state grants have allowed the program to build wash stations, install two large shipping containers, one to store harvested produce, the other to store tools and supplies.
One of the longest tenants in the incubator is Miguel Avendaño Reyes, a native of Oaxaca, who farms on two acres but who dreams of finding a larger plot to continue growing his business.
“I’ve been all over California, Oregon and Washington working for other people’s farms, but I want to have my own plot of land,” Reyes said, standing in the shade of a shed. “Even from a young age, I’ve always loved working the land. It’s what I know best, it’s what I do best.”
As he continues his search for farm of his own, Reyes will continue to work his parcel of land at Yo’Ville.
This season, he is growing several types of onions, cabbage, cilantro, epazote, strawberries, kale, chard, beets, and carrots. He also plans to add corn, beans, squash, melons and amaranth, an ancient grain that is nutrient dense.
Reyes is growing amaranth for his Oaxacan customers, who eat it as a leafy green, or made into flour for tortillas. It’s popped seeds are also combined with honey and sugar to make a candy called alegrias.
“It is very high in protein and high in minerals and vitamins,” he said.
Reyes sells his produce throughout the Fresno and Madera areas. He’s also become an avid user of social media. You can find him on TikTok, @misiembraycosecha; Facebook @MiguelReyes24/7 and Youtube @MiguelReyesmisiembraycosecha.
