Community
Urban Farm in East Oakland Teaches Youth Healthy Living, Strengthens Community Ties
Located at 1001 83rd Ave., it is a beautiful, positive space and experience for so many families in this area who are oftentimes cut off from nature and too fearful to allow their children to play outside.
Hidden within a dirty, violent, densely populated urban food desert stands an oasis for the fearful parents and bored youth of East Oakland.
Alarmed by Oakland’s high school dropout rate and FBI ranking as the 6th most dangerous city in the U.S, Oakland mother and Navy veteran Kelly Carlisle decided to expand her urban farming from her balcony to a bigger plot of land. There she could fulfill her desire to teach children, youth and even adults about farming, food and nutrition using her skills as a Master Gardener. The added benefit would be a community whose ties became stronger.
Carlisle was connected to Tassafaronga Recreation Center in East Oakland whose leadership wanted to create a farm on the land behind the center and so Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project (ANV) was born.
Located at 1001 83rd Ave., it is a beautiful, positive space and experience for so many families in this area who are oftentimes cut off from nature and too fearful to allow their children to play outside.
Families from the surrounding neighborhoods and greater community can benefit from a myriad of programs that the organization offers such as childcare, camping, instruction on farming, cooking and nutrition.
The mission of (ANV) cannot be better summarized than by the people who have dedicated their lives to this cause, and according to their website, it is:
“Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project (ANV) elevates life in Oakland and beyond by challenging oppressive dynamics and environments through urban farming. Founded and led mainly by women of color from the surrounding neighborhood and larger community, ANV creates a safe and creative outdoor space for children, youth, and families in East Oakland, CA. ANV engages and strengthens young people’s understanding of nutrition, food production, and healthy living as well as strengthens their ties to the community.”
This program begins with the youth at the planning stage, plotting the land, planting the seeds, cultivating the produce, and ends with the youth marketing it to customers and making the sales. The children get to experience every part of the process of farm-to-table nutrition, teaching them valuable skills and lessons that will help them as they grow into adulthood.
Over the years ANV has taught hundreds of children these life skills which help make community ties with the help of sponsors, donors and volunteers. Visit the ANV website if you are interested in signing your children up for camp, childcare or any of the other programs offered.
If you are looking for a worthy organization to offer your time and/or money, please consider an investment in our urban youth through Acta Non Verba.
