Press
Civil rights leader Ignacio Lopez advocated for Latinos. In Pomona, Lopez Urban Farm continues his legacy
March 17, 2026
Silvia Vega, left, and Sandra Sopon, of Fontana, harvest vegetables and herbal plants at Lopez Urban Farm March 6 in Pomona. (Gary Coronado / For De Los)
Less than a mile from the historic buildings that line Pomona’s downtown square, three acres of land are populated by trees, chickens roam free among vegetable sprouts and butterflies hover over blooming flowers.
Since opening in 2020, Lopez Urban Farm has used the space to grow fruits and vegetables, which are given out for free to Pomona residents. In doing so, it has helped address food insecurity in the area, which especially affects low-income residents, undocumented immigrants, seniors and unhoused community members.
WesternU College of Graduate Nursing unveils outdoor community kitchen at Lopez Urban Farm
December 3, 2025
By Rodney Tanaka| WesternU News
The College of Graduate Nursing, in collaboration with Lopez Urban Farm, launched Pomona’s first Outdoor Community Kitchen, bringing together students, leaders, and community partners to advance food access, food security and health equity. (Jeff Malet, WesternU)
Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Graduate Nursing, in collaboration with Lopez Urban Farm and the Pomona Unified School District, celebrated the opening of the Urban Kitchen, an outdoor community kitchen designed to bring community, education and wellness together.
The Outdoor Community Kitchen is a shared space at Lopez Urban Farm in Pomona, California, where students, faculty and community partners can collaborate, address public health challenges, and co-create solutions through innovation and partnership. The ribbon cutting took place Nov. 20, 2025, with several community partners in attendance, including Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval and Pomona City Councilman Victor Preciado.
Pomona salutes local civil rights hero
March 21, 2024
By Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com
Raquel Salazar-Castillo speaks during Monday’s Pomona City Council meeting, at which the body designated March 19 as Ignacio Lopez Day. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
The Pomona City Council passed a proclamation Monday designating March 19 as Ignacio Lopez Day in honor of the late civil rights activist and longtime Pomona resident. Mayor Tim Sandoval presented staff from Lopez Urban Farm a certificate to mark the day, and Raquel Salazar-Castillo, a communications intern at the farm, thanked the city council for its special designation.
“The proclamation of Ignacio Lopez, it just comes as a demonstration that anything is possible despite your background, or despite where you come from,” Salazar-Castillo said. “You can always make a change in your community, even though you’re not from the community.”
Starting a conversation: urban farm aims to educate, change lives
November 16, 2023
By Lisa Butterworth
Farmer Stephen Yorba hopes Lopez Urban Farm can educate kids about the earth, farming, and life. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger
On a recent Saturday morning at Lopez Urban Farm in Pomona, a group of kids and their caregivers gathered around Stephen Yorba (better known as “farmer Stephen”), sharing their favorite insects. “Butterflies!” called one. “Bees!” yelled another. “Ladybugs! And lizards!” said an enthusiastic 6-year-old before they sat down to make butterfly feeders out of cut fruit.
The hour-and-a-half session about nature’s pollinators was part of the ongoing Junior Urban Farmers training program, just one of the many ways Lopez Urban Farm is serving the local community.
Pomona farm is a space for children to grow their own food
August 26, 2021
Diego Torres, 2, of Pomona, picks a few cherry tomatoes to eat at Lopez Urban Farm in Pomona, California, Sunday, August 15, 2021. (Contributing Photographer/John Valenzuela)
This month, Pomona children ages 2 to 12 are learning how to cultivate their own food and run a farm through Urban Farmer Training for Kids. Located at 1034 W. Mission Blvd., the 2 ½ acre lot near Lopez Elementary School each Sunday is one of eight public green spaces in city where children can get their hands dirty, plant seeds and eat what they grow.
“We heard from parents that they wanted their kids out of the house, off the computers and into nature,” said Stephen Yorba-Patten, who oversees the farm as director of community wellness at Pomona-based Community Partners 4 Innovation. “This is that space for parents and children to work the dirt with their hands and to be able to experience outdoors together.