It might be a bit premature to announce a full blown partnership, but we’re excited to let you know that talks are taking place, to schedule monthly visits for Manual Arts High School students at McGrath Family Farms this year!
(Read more about the farm below.)
The ultra amazing Phil McGrath (note he’s a surfer AND a farmer) invited us to visit the farm earlier this spring, to hear his thoughts about building a more formal educational program at the farm. When we arrived, we were excited to find a small posse of his family, friends and neighbors, who gave us an early indication of what a supportive community exists there.
The McGrath Family Farm community also includes a hard working and devoted crew of laborers who, when asked to consider the possibility of sharing work days with our students, were enthusiastic to share their time, skills and knowledge of the farming profession.
Phil often has school groups visit, but we clarified with him, we don’t want be idle tourists on the farm. We want to come and build a working relationship. We want to get to the know the cycles of the farm and the food, and prepare our own healthy lunches while we are there. We hope to make McGrath family farms the rural arm to our healthy food community in South Los Angeles.
And hey, because we’re the kind of people who to shoot for the moon – we’re already talking about a sustainable food systems/surfing tour for Farmer Phil and our youth – to Costa Rica!
Crazier things have happened.
McGrath Family Farms is an organic vegetable farm, established in 1871 by and Irish immigrant named Dominick. On the farms 300 acres on the ranch, Phil MGrath (Farmer Phil) grows an extensive array of seasonal vegetables. Year round vegetables grow on 24 acres with an additional 4 acres of strawberries and 17 acres of lemons.
McGrath Farms is located in Camarillo, CA just off Hwy101 and Central Avenue.
megan,
how great to hear about what you are doing!!! i wish i could steal you away to south jersey and channel some of your ideas and energy here! i would love to know some more specifics about what you are doing….i’ve found the website hard to garner all the info i want.
we are in the midst of growing 2 acres of veggies and herbs (and some flowers for cutting)with salem kids. things are getting off to a great start if only we could get the rain we need. we are in a drought pocket of the state. slowly but surely kids are becoming interested in what we are doing. the other day we had 16 out at once, and other days it’s just a few.
within the next week i need to write up a garden project proposal of sorts to give to a grant writer. i am wanting to incorporate the cooking and nutrition side of it all, but not quite sure how i want to go about it. maybe i could get some more good ideas from you. i enjoyed reading about your trip to south central…
anyhow, do you have anything written up that i might read to help me get more focused on this grant-writing business? any advice you’d throw out there in getting the cooking started? i have done some informal cooking classed with some teenage girls (pasta from scratch, sauce, baked goods, etc…), but am not sure how i want to proceed. i am wondering about including/offering something to parents of the children involved in the garden as well…??? there is so much here to do that it seems overwhelming at times, and the worst part is that my ideas never stop coming, and then once they appear in my mind i am forever burdened by them until i make them happen!
keep up the great work– i am inspired by what you are doing. isn’t it interesting how similiarly our work and interests have settled?!?! i’m proud of you!
xoxxo
chanda