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| Farmers plant fresh roots south of Half Moon Bay By Greg Thomas [ greg@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 2:15 PM PST Potrero Nuevo Farm is one of the latest additions to a growing collection of Coastside agriculture operations that cater to underprivileged urban dwellers, and co-owner Bill Laven hopes to dig a little deeper. Laven and his partner, Christine Pielenz, run a family foundation out of San Francisco called the Potrero Nuevo Fund that, among other things, offers grants to grow gardens and green curriculum at urban elementary schools. About a year ago, after learning of similar environmental education programs backed by farms on the Coastside, the couple purchased a 300-acre chunk of farmland on Tunitas Creek Road. The property had been “in and out of organic production for about 10 years before,” Laven said. At the moment, the pair divides time between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay, renovating rusted infrastructure on the farm and prepping the land for its first spring plantings. But instead of cropping for cash, the duo is cultivating a new model of community agriculture – one they hope bolsters safety net services on the Coastside. “We’ll be growing organic vegetables and selling them at affordable prices to low-income families on the Coastside,” Laven said. “So many Latino families on the Coastside are doing work for agriculture and they can’t afford food. Some go all the way to the markets in San Jose to buy food there.” Potrero Nuevo loosely translates to “new meadows,” Laven said, an apt characterization of the farm’s fresh direction in targeting low-income Latinos on the Coastside. To that end, Laven says the farm will produce traditional Hispanic cooking ingredients like tomatillos and chili peppers. The couple is still working out the mechanics of distribution; they’re even contemplating “having our own farmers’ market or something where people can pick up however much (food) they need, on demand, at reduced prices,” Pielenz said. In the meantime, the two have been bringing urban students to the farm to learn the basics of organic agriculture through a partnership with Vida Verde, a nonprofit group in San Gregorio. “Kids come here (twice a week); they milk goats, they make cheeses … and they tour the farm and pick vegetables,” Laven said. Most recently, keeping with their eco-friendly ethos, Laven and Pielenz sprouted a roadside oasis for cyclists called the Bike Hut. Its grand opening was the day of the Tour of California. Stationed on Tunitas Creek Road about two kilometers from the beginning of the ascent toward Skyline Boulevard, the Hut was once a foaling stable where horses were born. Now it serves as a watering hole and cozy refuge for cyclists to stop and regroup. One part living room and one part picnic area, it operates on the honor system, housing coffee, tea, water, snacks, tools, couches and picnic tables to cyclists seven days a week. “The bike traffic up this road, especially in the summer weekends, is really busy,” Laven said, recalling swarms of cyclists pedaling by on sunny days last year. “We thought, ‘Let’s do something.’” Even before its official opening, a few avid cyclists found their way to the Hut and chatted with Laven over cookies and cocoa. Pacifica resident Jim Sullivan frequently pedals his hybrid bike along Tunitas Creek Road on his way up and over the hill to other backcountry trails. Riding solo on a cloudy weekday a few days before the Tour, Sullivan found himself in a cyclist’s no-man’s land as raindrops “started to really shake loose from above.” “When the rain started dancing I knew I had to get off the floor,” Sullivan said. Serendipitously, he was within yards of the Bike Hut, and was able to rest his legs under a dry roof with a warm cup of comfort until the shower subsided. “I think it’ll provide a real excellent resource,” Sullivan added. “It’s like having a fire extinguisher on the wall. You usually don’t need it, but when you do, it sure is nice.” Now that the Hut is primed to receive visitors, Laven and Pielenz are fine-tuning the rest of the facility – buying seeds, routing irrigation and preparing an apple and pear orchard. Once things are up and running on the growing side, Laven said he and Pielenz will focus on networking with nearby growers to build a foundation for food education on the Coastside. “The more we’re here, the less we want to go back to the city,” Laven said. “It’s kind of a running joke with all the people on the farm. I tell them I have to go to the city and they say, ‘Why?’” |