Nina, Farm Manager

New year brings good news to Common Roots

With record rains in our area, we are literally saturated — not just with wet soil but with many ideas and plans for the coming season and beyond. Thanks to our wonderful donors, many of these plans will come alive this season! We are so grateful for this support as every gift matters and we could not do it without you.

Also at year’s end, Patagonia awarded Common Roots Farm a $15,000 grant! We could not be more pleased to be recognized by this amazing company. Patagonia is a strong leader in the global environmental movement and local store employees have been wonderfully supportive of our vision, too. This partnership means Common Roots can continue giving people with disabilities opportunities to care for our land and make healthful connections to the natural world.

Just this week, we received more good news! The American Farmland Trust awarded our Farm Manager, Nina, a Brighter Future Fund award! Nina received $3,500 to spend on new tools, garden carts, wheelbarrows, totes and gorilla tubs (really!). ATF “works across the country, supporting the land, practices, and people that feed our future.” We salute Nina and the work they do every day engaging people with disabilities on our farm.

Heartfelt thanks to each one of our donors. Without you, we could not realize our mission. We are honored to bring farm-based experiences to those with disabilities in our community.

 

Introducing Lily, our newest team member

Lily with Farm Manager Nina

If you came to the farm last season, you might have met Lily Lucero, who is our new Volunteer Coordinator.

Growing up in San Diego, she gardened with her family and says, “My Common Roots traineeship was a great experience and what I learned, and the growth I witnessed, have made me so excited for what is to come.” Lily is most looking forward to getting her hands dirty with our volunteers and crew, and expanding access to our inclusive space.

On both sides of Lily’s family were farmers and farm workers. She began working with people with disabilities while in high school. “Working with this community and playing in the dirt were some of my most joyful moments before college. I immediately was drawn to CRF’s social mission, rooted in accommodating and building community for people of all different abilities.” Lily recently graduated from UC Berkeley where she studied Latin American History and Spanish Literature and was focused on immigration advocacy and human rights work.

Lily’s already working on improving our processes for involving volunteers of all abilities and making their experience fulfilling. She's also enthusiastically compiling books on food justice, sovereignty, and systems; sustainable agriculture; and accessibility to add to our small Common Roots library.

Another goal is to get the farm EBT and SNAP certified so that our sustainably grown organic produce can be accessible regardless of price. “With our proximity to Salinas and Watsonville, some of the most significant areas for ‘big ag,’ I am also hoping to develop a relationship with farm worker family advocacy organizations to make our accommodating space and resources more accessible to those who may benefit from it. Oh! And I would love to develop a CRF cookbook!”

Please join us in warmly welcoming Lily to our CRF farm community!

What’s ahead for the farm?

With most of our planned infrastructure now in place, and four CSA seasons behind us, Common Roots is turning our attention to improving how we involve people with disabilities in this farming endeavor. If you didn’t get a chance to view it yet, our latest video tells our origin story and describes our purpose.

Our ambitions are pretty straightforward, really: to create a place where people with and without disabilities can work together growing healthy produce and beautiful flowers in a sustainable way. Young adults with disabilities who’ve completed high school often “fall off a cliff” when school-based services end. There are just not enough options for those whose life path won’t include college or a career. For those with more significant disabilities, the problem is even more challenging.

Here at Common Roots, we are keenly interested in finding ways for these individuals to continue to grow their skills and self-confidence. By collaborating with other volunteers, mutual understanding and friendships have a chance to form. Purposeful work elevates the spirit. People discover they can do things they didn’t think they could.

Our farm is becoming the centerpiece of a “natural campus” where many more activities and opportunities for those with disabilities can take root. We think it’s an exciting time and we invite you to follow us here or on Instagram, Facebook, and our website as we share more of our plans for 2023 and beyond.