(calm music) - I see us as just a team of passionate community members, really trying to make a change here in Richmond.

- [Presenter] Marcos Floriano got his start farming in cornfield in Mexico, working alongside his father.

Marcos, who goes by Chito says the pandemic led him to think about the security of our food systems.

That led him down a career path to becoming the director of farms and gardens at Urban Tilth in Richmond, California.

- So, Richmond is in the Bay Area, maybe about 20 minutes away from San Francisco.

And during World War II, it was really kind of a war boomtown city.

A lot of folks migrated from the south to come work at the shipyards here in Richmond.

And as soon as World War II was over, there was no more work.

And so, folks ended up getting displaced or just ended up not having work and really impacted Brown and Black communities here in Richmond.

So with that said, here in North Richmond where we're at, it's still very heavily industrial.

We're in the area surrounded by refinery, hazard waste facilities, as well as dump facilities and very vacant open lots that are gonna be occupied by warehouses.

And we're here with our farm, showing them a different way of taking over land and occupying it with the intention of community benefit.

People are grateful and blessed, and just super excited to just be able to have access to fresh produce.

- [Narrator] Urban Tilth not only nurtures plants, but people as well.

It provides employment and training to locals.

- Most of the people that you saw here out on the farm are mostly local residents and grew up here in San Pablo in Richmond who are out here harvesting, washing, packing, and bundling all of our greens and making sure that that gets in the cooler.

It's all by hand, so we don't have any tractors, no machines to do that work.

And it goes with our farming models and practices as well.

We try to do minimal soil disturbance.

We believe in preserving the soil ecology and the microorganisms in the soil.

We're putting in the intention of taking care of it because it's taking care of us.

- [Narrator] Urban Tilth has five green spaces in Richmond, including local school gardens.

This farm here in North Richmond is the largest of the five with plans to expand even further.

- So, right behind us you'll see some permanent infrastructure.

We have a permanent greenhouse being built out, we're gonna have a permanent tool shed and a farm staff break room.

And it's all a part of our bigger vision of creating this space, this three acres here into a community hub.

We currently have about an acre and a half in production, broccoli in the ground.

We have a lot of different varieties of kale.

We also have the Richmond crop, which is called the purple tree collard.

We also have a orchard.

Apricots, pears, apples, as well as persimmon.

So really just sticking to what grows best in our climate.

(soft chiming) - [Presenter] Those crops go out to people who have subscribed to their CSA boxes or community supported agriculture.

Subscribers can pay a little extra to help send a free food box to a family in need.

Urban Tilth also hosts free farm stands as part of its mission.

Chito says all of this is possible thanks to partnerships with other like-minded farms within a hundred miles.

- We really believe strongly in creating our own food system.

And so, we partner with other small, local, Black, indigenous, people of color, family farmers to help kind of supplement our produce bags and our free farm stand.

They're able to get their produce for free.

- Recognizing that food is medicine to people with certain health conditions, Urban Tilth also partners with government agencies to provide veggie prescriptions.

A bag of fresh produce that doctors at a local clinic can prescribe to their patients.

- What we put into our bodies in terms of food is very important in healing our bodies.

And so, we're talking about a lot of serious conditions that are very much food related, like high blood pressure or diabetes, are able to get prescribed veggie box, and then take classes on how to cook the veggies in hopes that it will support them in lowering their risks of food related diseases.

The feeling for me is very close to home.

You know, my father deals with kidney failure and I know what it's like for someone to suffer from food-related diseases and which is why, another reason why I got involved in this work is 'cause I wanted to be that change.

We're all very mission-driven and it's very hard work, but at the end of the day it is rewarding.

I'm just so grateful.

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