COMMUNITY • Community Roots Farm

Community

THE OSIDER NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022

Sustaining What Sustains Us with Community Roots Farm

WORDS: CIARA DOMINIQUE

KEVIN MIJARES

Bianca Bonilla and her daughter Maya.

We’re lucky to live so close to the beach and with the price of rent toecho that sentiment, we acknowledge the value in living alongside a selfsustaining geographical landmark. If you were to think about what makes Oceanside, ‘Oceanside,’ you may argue it’s the people, but who would we be without our environment reflected back to us?

With heightened talk surrounding buzzwords like ‘sustainability,’ it’s worth rethinking our actions and how we honor the living and breathing landscapes we have no qualms profiting off. While we have the benefit of particular tools and mechanisms to make taking care of the land easier, we got most of our practices and knowledge from the ones who did the work before us. Unlike the question of who came first: the chicken or the egg—we know that the land Oceanside stands on once belonged to the native Kumeyaay and Payomakawichum people. This fact is key when we consider the scientific advancements and labor it took to sustain such large plots of land.

If we fast-forward to today, we see we have every reason to be successful, but applicable knowledge and tools are no substitute for a grand reverence of the land. It’s hard work, but it’s meaningful.

Most importantly, someone has always done it so even if the agents of sustenance were invisible to you, now is the time to get acquainted.

Located off North River Road behind Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church stands the Community Roots Farm.

While the farm space was once owned under the North County Community Services (NCCS), it was through the risk of losing that green space that Bianca Bonilla, a former worker through NCCS, salvaged it in 2018 under a newly founded non-profit: Botanical Community Development Initiatives.

While the goal of connecting people to plants and a sense of community seemed easy enough, the work was just starting. Bianca reaffirms it was and will always be a communal effort to maintain the vegetables, fruits, and space in general, but it was she who was tasked with the heavy lifting of getting said food out into the world.

She details times of throwing whatever produce she could onto the back of her red pickup truck just to sell and bring the farm some money; however, it wasn’t until the owners of Wrench & Rodent came through in a big way that her efforts were rewarded.

Bonilla speaks in high regard of Davin and Jessica Waite who not only took the chance, but put their money where their mouth is by purchasing produce through the farm. The Plot is now the second restaurant to follow suit and with the addition of their Community Roots Farm assisted produce bed, it’s the freshness in our local food that gives the flavors of Oceanside a whole new meaning.

The push for clean food that’s not just affordable but accessible is another reason to support. Through their own home delivery service, a box of locally grown produce is yours for $30—and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home. If you’re on EBT, that price is slashed in half going for a mere $15 for that same big box.

There’s the Plants for Justice program that distributes seedlings to school gardens and food justice programs, and the Seed to Preschool project that grants preschoolers access to the delicious produce on the farm. With the ongoing community composting bin, you can see the commitment from the farm extends beyond just words. Apart from the nutritional benefits of these programs existing, the farm is much more than a plot of land that yields produce.

The Community Roots Farm also hosts community events spanning from educational exhibits, a Dia De Los Muertos event this past October, and even weekly volunteer time slots every Sunday and Wednesday.

As Bianca proudly asserts, “This is a place for Oceanside, for the valley, for the youth, for everyone in our communities. It’s a space where people can come and be people, express themselves and have access to an outdoor green space.”

As much as these programs help keep the lights on, the goal is much bigger than turning a profit. Bianca and fellow farm tenders speak to the significance of a space like this in the city not just for ourselves, but especially for the children in the neighborhood. Local family co-op founder Ana Maria of Empower Oceanside spoke to the farm’s mission stating, “Bianca welcomed our family co-op [Empower Oceanside] into Community Roots Farm with open arms to facilitate joy and nurture the kids in a safe place where they and the gardens could grow together.” While marketing is a pain for anyone, something as overwhelmingly valuable as local green space has been, surprisingly, much harder to sell. Despite the scientific and social benefits, we have shown our loyalties with our choices. They can be as subtle as going vegan or as telling as our city plans but, like all marketing, it comes down to the value we assign.

Values can be argued until the end of time. What can’t be refuted is the fact that Oceanside would suffer far more without green spaces and produce than it would without additional tourist attractions.

I ask what it means to honor the land around us and it is through this topic Bianca lights up. Direct action is at the top of the list but as we search for the single most impactful element, we land on our collective mindset.

Pouring into the ecosystems that sustain you isn’t the foolish choice, it’s the only one that reaffirms our humanity. From the reward of a bountiful harvest to the epiphany-inducing realization that like humans, plants all require different things to grow—you can see in real time why scientists have concluded that those who garden and work with plants are the happiest.

At the end of our conversation, Bianca shares one of the greatest lessons the farm has taught her, “to know the name of each plant is to start the process of loving.”