Growing Dignity in Compton: The ALMA Backyard Farms Story
- Compton Chamber Admin
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
ALMA Backyard Farms, a nonprofit rooted in South Los Angeles and co-founded by Richard Garcia and Erika Cuellar, stands as a powerful model of community regeneration. On land once covered in asphalt, ALMA grows far more than produce—it grows peace, purpose, and the possibility of renewal. The farm operates as a sanctuary where individuals returning home from incarceration learn new skills, neighbors gather in fellowship, and families reconnect with the land that sustains them.
Garcia, ALMA’s Executive Director, describes the farm as a “built environment for healing.” His earlier work bringing music into prisons revealed how creativity can carve moments of freedom even in the harshest environments. Farming, he believes, expands that liberation, using soil and seasons as teachers. For him, food is sacred—not merely sustenance but a dignifying force that brings people together and affirms their worth. As he often says, “The urban farm is where the gospel meets the streets.”
Cuellar echoes this sentiment, noting that although we live in an age of abundance, people still hunger for connection, compassion, and belonging. The name “Alma”—Spanish for soul—captures the organization’s deeper purpose: to restore dignity and help people feel seen. A Sunday walk through the Compton farm reveals this truth. The weekly farm stand has become a cherished ritual for the local community, offering not only nourishment but a kind of mental health intervention for those seeking calm and connection.
One of ALMA’s most transformative impacts lies in its reentry workforce program. Through hands-on training in planting, harvesting, and carpentry, individuals once labeled by their past learn to build again—both physically and metaphorically. Teaching someone to safely wield a power saw is more than technical training; it is an act of trust that reinforces their capacity to create and contribute.
ALMA’s vision extends far into the future. Garcia and Cuellar are working to secure permanent land so the farm can serve generations to come—creating a place where the community can remember its nobility through the land itself. They are also expanding through mobile “farm-to-community” trailers designed to deliver food, flowers, and preserved goods directly into neighborhoods, while supporting micro-enterprise opportunities for program graduates.
Ultimately, ALMA invites individuals and mission-aligned partners to join in cultivating a future rooted in dignity, connection, and healing. As Cuellar says, ALMA is creating places where “generations can gather, grow, and rediscover their dignity alongside the land”—an effort already visible in the small, soul-nourishing moments unfolding every day on the farm.
A Message of Support from the Compton Chamber
The Compton Chamber of Commerce congratulates ALMA Backyard Farms for the extraordinary work they are doing to cultivate food, opportunity, and dignity in our community. Their leadership sets a powerful example of what true neighborhood transformation can look like. We hope ALMA’s success inspires more residents, organizations, and partners to join in similar efforts, so that together we can ensure Compton is no longer a food desert and becomes a place where healthy, fresh, locally grown food is accessible to all.
Explore ALMA Backyard Farms at almabackyardfarms.com.
Video credit: Wild Free Studios
Read about this story on Forbes
