In neighborhoods where it has been hard to find fresh produce, a new organization, La Mesa Verde, helps put raised-bed vegetable gardens within reach – just outside their backdoor.
“Nobody was going into the homes,” said Raul Lozano, 55, the son of farm workers, whose passion for gardening inspired him to form La Mesa Verde after 15 years as executive director of a Latino theater company. “You can get beer in the neighborhood. But not vegetables.”