(gentle pleasant guitar music) - The ALBA training program in Salinas, California is offering a group of aspiring farmers a chance to achieve their dreams.

Historically, many of these trainees have trouble accessing bank loans and technical support and land, which makes them underrepresented as farmers and farm owners.

In California, over 80% of the folks who are working in the fields are Latino, but only 3% of farm owners are Latino.

ALBA is helping change this statistic.

So the big question is how does creating opportunities for these socially disadvantaged farmers help benefit all of us and enrich our food system?

ALBA supports farmers who wanna farm without harmful herbicides and pesticides, ones that have been associated with lung disease, cancer, and even birth defects.

ALBA's farmland is certified organic, and they're teaching their graduates to use these methods as well.

That means that they're using cover crops and crop rotations instead of harmful pesticides and fertilizers.

These methods protect our drinking water, our soil, and our air, and they also fight climate change.

Some of the farmers also supply their fruits and vegetables to local schools and community clinics.

Others form a network and are able to collectively sell to larger retailers like Whole Foods.

Many have their own farm stands.

Studies show that this full cycle of growing local foods in local farms translates into better health outcomes for everyone.

Many of these ALBA supported startups are increasing the availability of fresh, culturally relevant foods in their local communities.

These are some of the examples of the crops which the ALBA graduates produce.

We have tomatillos and peppers.

There's an antioxidant within peppers called capsaicin, which is what gives it all its pizazz but also has healing properties.

It fights cancer and helps with healthy blood vessels and nerves.

People not only eat it but put on their joints and painful feet.

It actually can help with diabetic neuropathy.

Tomatillos, which are a cousin of tomatoes but have that much more vitamin C and interesting flavor and work well in so many local dishes.

While each one of these farms might be small, the efforts add up, and ALBA farmers represent over 30% of the farmers in the Salinas Valley.

ALBA farmers are showing us how supporting a diverse group of farmers grows community health and community wealth.

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