La Mesa Verde visited De Anza April 29 to address the fight against food insecurities by building organic backyard gardens for low-income families. Mary Jo Lomax and Maristella Huerta, both of the De Anza Women’s History Committee, worked to bring the group to De Anza. The presentation marked the end of Women’s History Month, which focused on the link between women and food. La Mesa Verde founder Raul Lozano and Marsha Habib of Bronco Urban Gardens discussed the importance of addressing poverty and empowering people about food. “We want people to deal with food insecurities, become lifelong gardeners and empower themselves in the community,” said Lozano. La Mesa Verde, translated “the green table,” takes low-income families and teaches them about sustainable agriculture by building vegetable gardens in their backyards. The families are paired with master gardeners, who check on their vegetables to ensure success. La Mesa Verde wants to make the families self sufficient in the long run. Current families attend classes so that one-day they can be hired as the master gardeners for future families. To join the La Mesa Verde family, families must be low income, and have a 10×15 space that receives at least six hours of sunlight a day. They are then required to attend classes on how to eat, live and shop healthy, followed by three organic gardening classes that teach families how to sustain their gardens. Once completed, the water efficient flowerbeds are built and seeds are planted. On the first day of service, 120 people came out to help plant vegetable gardens for the 97 families participating this year. Each garden costs $225, which is covered by La Mesa Verde, and will grow between $7 to $1,000 worth of crops this year, Lozano said. Summer crops include chilis, tomatoes, peas, zucchini and a variety of other vegetables. “In 10 years, we want 10 percent of the population to grow their own vegetables,” Lozano said. “Most lower income neighborhoods do not have grocery stores with affordable and fresh vegetables,” Lozano said. Marsha Habib joined the urban agricultural movement after volunteering at local farms and community gardens. “I saw that people don’t have a connection to the land anymore,” said Habib. “I wanted to learn about gardening as an outlet and to stay involved in the community,” said prospective volunteer and sociology major Valentino Ramirez. Lozano described the effects that La Mesa Verde is having on everyone involved. “It gives parents a chance to teach their kids a new view on gardening, and for people to learn from each other. It’s low tech, but powerful.” Interested volunteers can contact Raul Lozano through the La Mesa Verde section of the Sacred Heart Community Service web page, www.shcstheheart.org.