By Wyatt Miller
Erika Cuellar and Richard Garcia founded ALMA Backyard Farms in 2013 with the goal of repurposing land in Los Angeles into urban farms, according to their website. Their objective is to "reimagine community as a place for people and plants to thrive."
Since then, they've expanded their farms throughout the Los Angeles area and created programs for youth education and community engagement.
"I pursued a community-centered path because I had been placed at the center of my community, my family, my neighborhood," Cuellar said. "The people around me showed me an example that life is worth living when we see ourselves as connected."
At a recent event, the Rams surprised Cuellar and Garcia with a $5,000 check made out to their organization and honored them as the eighth Rams "pLAymakers" of 2025.
"A playmaker makes things happen, especially for the people around them," Cuellar said. "I believe that my playmaker role is to encourage those I work with and those I serve to become the better versions of themselves."
500-plus families source local, affordable, organic produce from the Farm Stand in Compton twice a month, according to the website. ALMA Backyard Farms grows and distributes 125,000-plus pounds of high-quality, seasonal vegetables annually.
They have also developed their urban agriculture job training program over the past several years. 500-plus formerly incarcerated people have received job training in agriculture, carpentry, landscaping and entrepreneurship since 2013.
Their youth education program has given 500-plus young people the opportunity to receive hands-on education in environmental stewardship and agriculture throughout the year. 100-plus youth have also gotten access to summer farm camps at low to no cost.
One moment that stood out to Cuellar happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were distributing 250-plus grocery kits filled with fresh produce and pantry staples to community members when one thanked her and said that, "We weren't just giving away produce, but we were distributing dignity in a bag," Cuellar recalled.
That put their work into perspective in a dark time for everyone and reminded them the power that inspiring change can bring to a community.
"Inspire change to me means remaining committed and passionate about becoming the better version of myself in the hope that others around me can choose to also become their better selves with me as an example," Cuellar said. "If I can strive to be the better version of myself, then anyone can, really.
"Change happens when we believe that it is possible. Our history, our ancestry is filled with stories of people having overcome. We can lean into our history of having achieved, accomplished, aspired to know that we can make a future where change is not only possible. We hold a responsibility to make good things happen in the world."
