Family Harvest Farm

Welcome to Family Harvest Farm, a program of the John Muir Land Trust. Once a vacant lot in a densely populated neighborhood, this 3.5-acre parcel in Pittsburg, California is being repurposed into a thriving organic farm. The farm broke ground in Summer 2020. Its mission: to empower youth and adults to discover and participate in a local food system that encourages healthy living, nurtures the environment, and feeds the community.

Family Harvest Farm employs transition-age foster youth in a hands-on job-readiness program, teaching marketable skills and preparing them for life outside the foster care system. Volunteers work alongside our apprentices in an outdoor and collaborative setting. In addition to growing organic produce, the farm hosts educational workshops for the greater community.

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Young woman shoveling soil in an open field, preparing for planting.

No-till farming minimizes soil disturbance, which keeps organic material in the soil while enriching biodiversity and reducing the need for greenhouse emitting chemical fertilizers. Photo: Adam Weidenbach

Young man preparing field rows for planting

Apprentices do it all. They perform farm work, propagate seeds, plant and harvest crops, and prepare and deliver food. Photo: Adam Weidenbach

FOSTERING RESILIENCE AND GOOD HEALTH

Family Harvest Farm specializes in local and regeneratively farmed vegetables and flowers grown by transition-age-foster youth. Fresh seasonal produce is distributed to local neighborhoods, school cafeterias, foster youth, resource families, and others. FHF organically grown flower and vegetable plant seedings are sold and distributed to the public at FHF’s annual Spring Plant Sales. These plants are perfect for starting home gardens as they are adapted to the local climate in Pittsburg.

Since its inception in 2020, the farm has strengthened its reciprocity with the neighboring community by expanding infrastructure and partnerships to enhance our ability to offer produce, especially to those in need.

Our farm is actively supported by individuals, institutional partners, and community groups to build and install farm infrastructure and open more youth employment positions. Your gift supports state-of-the-art farming practices. Regenerative agriculture reduces carbon emissions, increases biodiversity, and improves soil quality while building water resilience and nutrient density. The farm’s approach envisions everything—people, animals, plants, compost and the surrounding environment—working together.