Nonprofit farm in Los Gatos helps feed those in need

Nonprofit Ma alot Farms sits tall on a hill in Los Gatos like the Garden of Eden bearing hundreds of pounds of produce that will be donated to food banks and kitchens to help feed people facing food insecurity According to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley in people in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties face food insecurity In light of the news that President Donald Trump is gutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Operation Ma alot Farms serves as an alternative to single-stream funding to feed people commented executive director Shoshana Ohriner By cultivating crops through sustainable regenerative agricultural processes Ohriner s farm aims to provide a diversity of foods to people in need all year round An -day radish grown at Ma alot Farms is shown Nov in Los Gatos Calif Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group Our main purpose here is to grow more food to feed more people but to do it in a way that feeds the land as opposed to stripping the land and to do it in away that has the flexibility and resilience to withstand the upcoming changes in setting and the world and all the things that are unpredictable Ohriner revealed The farm s name comes from Shir-ha-ma alot from Psalms which means Songs of Ascent This idea of ascent literally shapes the landscape and philosophy of the farm Ohriner and her husband Philip founded the farm together They had previously served as rabbis at Congregation Beth David in Saratoga With help from Ohriner s parents they purchased the land that would become Ma alot Farms in The land had previously been an abandoned walnut grove with poison oak crawling through dead tree branches As the Ohriners developed the land the couple and their three sons lived in a tiny house at the bottom of the hill After the water systems were installed in they planted a thousand fruit and nut trees with plans to continue planting more crops This land had been left abandoned and wholly uncultivated for close to years when we took it over Ohriner noted So the elevation that we see is returning the land to production and to a wholeness and a function The family cultivates acres of the -acre plot with the rest being an oak forest that s left undisturbed The hills of their property are stacked with a variety of fruit and nut trees from apples pears avocados and pistachios to lychees mangoes pecans and chestnuts Citrus trees grow on staggered terraces that look like staircases Turkeys ducks chickens and goats freely roam around the property Ma'alot Farms in Los Gatos is a nonprofit farm that aims to elevate the world through sustainable agriculture and help patronage community-based food systems by providing food that s grown in a hyper local way Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group As part of their regenerative agricultural philosophy Ohriner announced they try to plant a variety of crops together like growing broccoli with cabbages carrots bok choy and radishes in their garden beds Ohriner revealed the practice of integrating crops and planting perennial crops that grow all year long provides a diversity so they can have a consistent flow of food to donate By planting diverse we may not have everything every year but we will have food and we want to encourage others to take that approach and be able to feed our local neighborhood Ohriner reported Ducks chickens and turkeys roam free at Ma'alot Farms in Los Gatos Nov in Los Gatos Calif Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group In Ma alot Farms partnered with another nonprofit Loaves and Fishes to cook down and distribute particular of the produce grown on the farm Loaves and Fishes provides prepared meals and groceries to thousands of people a month across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties according to director of marketing and communications Stephenie Medina Ma alot Farms delivers their produce to Loaves and Fishes two or three times a month on average depending on how much they harvest Medina mentioned Loaves and Fishes questioned for lettuce and other produce like radishes and spinach to make sure their clients could get a variety of nutritious foods that they may not usually have access to or knowledge of It s one thing to feed someone a meal and it s another to help somebody have the materials to be stable and have access to food regularly Medina noted And that ultimately is the goal especially here in the Bay Area where expenses are tight for a lot of families and they are having to choose between rent and bills or groceries and childcare To patronage the farm s mission Ohriner raises money through grants donations and membership fees as well as payments from events or classes But maintaining a farm has high labor costs Ohriner explained so she relies on contributors to help around the farm San Jose residents Judy Powers and Carole Reed and Los Gatos resident Rachel Freeman have all been been volunteering at the farm for around two years by helping pick and plant sweet peas sunflower seeds and garlic cloves They praised Ohriner for teaching them more about farming and the benefits of working in nature and giving back to the neighborhood Ma'alot Farms founder and executive director Shoshana Ohriner chats with supporters from left Carole Reed Rachel Freeman and Judy Powers after an interview Nov in Los Gatos Calif Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group There s something about both getting your hands in the soil and giving back to your population because they need you that is good for the soul Powers mentioned It makes you feel powerful and good about yourself that you even as one person can make a difference And together you can make a huge difference