Raised by strawberries.
It is Wednesday evening, and Anay Arias is offering her baby daughter Gabriela a strawberry. The East Hollywood Community Garden opened in June 2019, and Gabriela was born soon after. Anay’s entire family have been residents of the neighborhood for generations. They tend the plot where that strawberry came from. Her grandfather, a lifelong farmworker, is arriving any day now from Mexico to offer gardening lessons to her children. Her husband Toribio, her brother Eddie, and Gabriela’s older brother, David, are there every week weeding and harvesting until he arrives. Gabriela and David are the next generation marking the seasons with the land.
Anay Arias & Gabriela
Sherry Avella & Lauren
It’s Saturday morning, and Sherry Avila is kneeling as she weeds the community plot. She calls over to her daughter Lauren. Sherry Avella discovered the garden walking by the park one day. There was a small sign on the curb and she wandered in. Sherry is continually amazed at what she is learning from her neighbors and from the earth. She smiles as Lauren picks up a shovel to help out. She is growing up raising her own food, witnessing the cycles of life.
Alejandro Pesquera & Luna
Jake Mumm & Lee
Matt Gildner
Alejandro Pesquera catches up with his daughter Luna after chasing her from the playground through the rows of raised garden beds. In 2019, Alejandro and his wife were looking to move out of the neighborhood in search of a place for their baby daughter to one day play. When the garden opened up, Alejandro jumped right in, volunteering with neighbors, busting up the dirt, and adding compost to create plots where something would one day grow. Luna fell in love with the place, and the family decided to stay.
In walks Jake with his bag of vegetable and fruit scraps in one hand and his son Lee strapped to his chest. Their family lives around the corner. Like many of their neighbors, they discovered the garden when the adjacent park opened up. Jake’s not ready to work the community plot yet, but he is grateful that he can contribute to the effort just by tossing his scraps into the next round of compost. He feels like he is investing in the soil and in another year or so, when Lee is old enough, he is looking forward to teaching him to plant.
A few yards away, Matt Gildner smiles at all this happy family life around him. He kneels next to the community plot he built along the garden wall. Matt is about to harvest some strawberries, but not for himself. He says, “There is never a need to rush to the grocery store to make something delicious and nutritious to share with your family.” He doesn’t have children himself, but he and his wife are headed across town to babysit for his niece. “I love sharing these strawberries with her. She loves them. One day, I’ll bring her here too.”