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<\/a>About one in three Santa Clara County adults experiences food insecurity, according to the most recent County Community Health Report. And food access remains a persistent barrier \u2013 only 18 percent of food stores carry healthy options, and few of these are located in low-income neighborhoods like East San Jose.<\/p>\n
This is a pattern that organizations like La Mesa Verde and Veggielution, an urban farm tucked alongside the 680 freeway in East San Jose, are working to reverse.<\/p>\n
\u201cFood traditions are ties to all of our histories, and making this space accessible to low-income communities of color like East San Jose is the center of our mission,\u201d says Veggielution\u2019s executive director Cayce Hill. The farm\u2019s \u201cCocina\u201d program brings together residents and community chefs for Spanish-language healthy cooking classes in the farm\u2019s open-air kitchen. Hill spoke at a recent tour for reporters held on the four-acre farm located in Emma Prush Farm Park.<\/p>\n
While Silicon Valley is known for cutting-edge technology and the wealth that comes with it, poor neighborhoods like East San Jose have some of the highest inequities in the Bay Area. Low-income kids in Santa Clara County are 60 percent more likely to be overweight compared their peers. Heart disease and diabetes are also growing problems, with large disparities among the county\u2019s low-income and non-white residents.<\/p>\n Jamie Chen, organizing director with La Mesa Verde, says many families seek out their garden programs precisely because they have health issues, including diabetes, obesity and cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to bust the myth that low-income or immigrant families need to be taught what is healthy,\u201d she says, emphasizing that the barriers are more tied to access and cost.<\/p>\n The movement to grow fresh food in the city\u2019s backyards and public spaces \u2013 and improve community health in the process \u2013 is being fueled in part by 2014\u2019s Measure Q, a 15-year parcel tax that generates funding for land conservation projects. The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (SCVOSA), the independent special district responsible for implementing Measure Q, has devoted up to a quarter of funds for projects in urban areas, through an Urban Open Space grant program.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve heard from the community and residents that community gardens and urban gardens are in top demand and are a great way to connect to nature,\u201d says Marc Landgraf, external affairs director for SCVOSA, who noted that almost 90 percent of voters supported the measure.<\/p>\n The Open Space Authority made its support for urban agriculture front and center at the annual Harvest Feast, held at the Coyote Valley Preserve in Morgan Hill. Hundreds turned out to enjoy local fruits and vegetables, learn about backyard gardening, and attend cooking demonstrations by community chefs.<\/p>\n Despite the broad base of community support and growing demand for local produce and urban gardens, advocates say significant barriers exist.<\/p>\n The biggest stopgap in rapidly developing Silicon Valley? Land.<\/p>\n Last fall the County Board of Supervisors approved one powerful tool, the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone (UAIZ), which would give landowners a tax break for committing their land for food production. Neighboring cities like San Francisco and Sacramento already have similar programs in place.<\/p>\n While up to 600 sites in San Jose may be eligible for the incentive, the City Council must adopt the measure for landowners to apply. The Council is expected to vote on adopting the ordinance next month.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many parts of our county lack healthy foods. They are food deserts, and we need to encourage property owners to look at their vacant lots to see if they are a possibility for urban agriculture,\u201d says Ken Yeager, a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. \u201cOur county existed before the microchip, with agriculture, and we need to return to those roots.\u201d<\/p>\n Urban agriculture leaders agree that their movement connects people to their roots \u2013 not only those of the Santa Clara Valley, which once contained some of the most productive farmland in the county, but also those of the home countries of many immigrant residents.<\/p>\n \u201cMany families bring with them a deep tradition of agriculture and connection to the land,\u201d says Hill. \u201cWe learn from our neighbors, all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n For starters, Veggielution\u2019s largely Hispanic and Vietnamese neighboring communities influence what the farm grows: herbs like epazote and lemongrass fill the raised beds by the farm stand.<\/p>\n San Jose community members itching to grow their own produce can contact La Mesa Verde, which is recruiting new families like Susan Nguyen\u2019s to take part in their backyard program.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople ask me, \u2018How come your tomato is so good?\u2019 I say it\u2019s because I grew it with love,\u201d Nguyen says.<\/p>\n This article is part of a project in collaboration with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to raise awareness of land conservation issues in the South Bay Area.<\/i><\/p>\n Interested readers can get more information at the following links: <\/i>http:\/\/openspaceauthority.org<\/i><\/a>; <\/i>http:\/\/veggielution.org<\/i><\/a>; <\/i>http:\/\/sacredheartcs.org<\/i><\/a>; <\/i>http:\/\/garden2table.org<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pods with veggies being grown at Veggielution\u2019s San Jose, Calif., farm, just off Hwy 680. (All photos: Amar D. Gupta\/Siliconeer) \u201cWe\u2019re in Silicon Valley, and don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I love technology,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I can\u2019t eat computers. Here we have the perfect weather to grow everything. Why aren\u2019t we taking advantage? Our…<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>