Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project
Based in Oakland, CA, ANV centers youth in their approach to food sovereignty and community care, offering education, child care, and access to green, safe spaces in a community where these resources are sorely lacking. They respond to the direct needs of the Oakland community in their work, as Oakland faces a serious problems of food apartheid, high crime rates and policing + surveillance, and heavy pollution. All of these realities prevent youth from being able to interact with the natural world, safely engage with their community, and exist as children. They offer summer camps, after-school programs, and monthly farm days that provide agricultural and land education to children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to play and learn outside.
ANV has three farms: the flagship location in Tassafaronga park, A’s farm on the south end of the Eastside Club, and the WOW farm in west Oakland. They have both CSA shares and the DEEP Grocery Co-op as regular, paid food sources that center accessibility for Oakland residents. Once a month, they also open their free food pantry to the public.