Farm Lot 59

Farm Lot 59 is a woman-founded and led nonprofit urban farm has been a community staple in Long Beach since 2010. With the help of the Office of Sustainability, Beach Maintenance, Park and Rec, and what was then the 7th District we were able to clean up the site and now have a thriving urban farm. We host thousands of community members to teach them about organic gardening and living a healthier lifestyle. 

We welcome community members to join us for our low or no-cost education programming, we also welcome visitors to our on-f Farmstand Flower Shop, where we sell our cut flowers that helps support our Farm to Food Bank Program. We provide jobs and training in agriculture, marketing, and the art of floral design. 

Our farm grows year-round fruits and vegetables that are distributed through our partners at Food Finders.  Each week, with the help of interns, and volunteers we harvest, wash, pack, and replant our seasonal vegetables. The seasonal produce includes organically grown salad mixes, bok choi, squashes, pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, kale, eggplant, okra, oranges, guava, pomegranates, rosemary, basil, thyme, lemongrass, mint and other crops. 

Our Farm to Food Bank Program focuses on the food-insecure residents of Long Beach. Beneficiaries of our Program range from low-income and fixed-income elderly, multi-generational families, and veterans and students with limited ability to purchase organic produce. These include the residents of the American Gold Star Manor senior housing facility, formerly unhoused veterans served by U.S. Vets, students from LBCC and the broader community. Our Program allows for nutritional food to reach these underserved populations that would not otherwise have access to it, either because of availability or cost.

The City of Long Beach identified West, Central, and North Long Beach food deserts, which means they are low-income communities with limited access to fresh food. These communities are our target audience. We estimate that the Farm to Food Bank Program will impact approximately 4,000 people over two years.

We are also currently serving a weekly Community Food Hub in partnership with Food Finders.  In August 2024 this partnership served over 825 households with over 5,000 members.  Many of the residents we have worked with directly within our Community Food Hub were ecstatic when we were able to supply them with culturally significant seeds, plants, and flowers. These items are often seen as a luxury. By providing others with basic supplies and teaching them how to grow their own food they are helping to eliminate food insecurity and creating their own local food system. Our 0.06 acre farm will not be able to feed the 500,000 people that live in Long Beach but we can feed as many as we can and educate and empower so many others.

Thank you for supporting our farm for so many years and employing women in agriculture and bring value to creating these jobs here in Long Beach.