While serving a broad clientele, the Growing Roots project emphasis on small and minority farmers and urban farmers especially is important. Although the acreage of immigrant and minority farms is relatively small…
- their sheer numbers (more than 20% of all California farms),
- their contribution to California’s crop diversity,
- their value in terms of specialty commodities grown,
- their role in the provision of culturally relevant foods for California’s diverse population, and
- their role in preserving green space around the periphery of expanding California cities…
…all render the small farmers we work with an important part of California agriculture.