There’s a reason most farmland is flat in America, says Eric Tomassini, who runs a tiny, hillside urban agriculture operation called Avenue 33 Farm in Lincoln Heights.
“It's a lot of work,” he says. “We can't really get any machinery up there because of the slope of the hillsides. So everything's by hand, mostly using a broad fork, carrying buckets of compost up and down the hill.”
Those challenges didn’t stop Tomassini and his wife Ali Greer from transforming the formerly weedy, rough, and rugged slope behind their Lincoln Heights home into a bountiful source of produce for their neighborhood.
The couple began farming the land when they moved there in 2018, and today, the 1.2-acre plot teems with fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers — much of which is offered at affordable prices to the surrounding community.
“We have a free food distribution every week,” says Tomassini. “And then we have a farm stand that's open to EBT users where we get market match funding to make that produce affordable.”
For just $10, EBT users can get a box filled with produce, milk, eggs, and bread at the farm’s weekly Community Farm Stand. They also offer sliding scale boxes to non-EBT users.
Volunteers at Avenue 33 Farm can help grow and harvest plants or pass out produce at weekly food distributions. Photo courtesy of Penelope Uribe-Abee.
The farm’s overall mission, says Tomassini, is to create a holistic farming practice that also serves as a hub for community well-being.
“It's really about looking at creating soil health, ecosystem health, plant health, and most importantly, community health,” says Tomassini.
As for ecosystem health, Tomassini and Greer address that by focusing on regenerative farming practices that help stabilize the hillside while enhancing the long-term soil health. Collaborating with Compostable LA, they reuse food waste to make a nutrient-dense compost that soaks up moisture and helps their plants thrive.
“We make a really rich compost, feed it through our worm bin, and then use that to spread nutrients and microorganisms all over the farm,” says Tomassini.
They also teach local students about these composting practices through a program set up with Los Angeles Leadership Academy, a nearby school. Students help grow plants, run the free produce distribution from their campus, and take field trips to the farm that relate to what they’re learning.
“We work with the faculty to connect projects on the farm to their school curriculum,” says Tomassini.
Other volunteers are also welcome to help on the farm year-round too. And with summer vacation coming up for students, Tomassini says a few extra hands will definitely be needed in the coming months.