Letter to the Editor: Changing the Future of Aliso Viejo with an Organic Farm

When I was a child, I was blessed to belong to a family that included two parents and four children.  My mother was a stay-at-home mom who adored her children, supported their education and made all the right choices for her growing family.  Each evening, she tucked us into bed early and every morning made sure we got off to school on time, with our homework, supplies and lunch.  My little brown bag contained a hand-packed lunch consisting of a sandwich, fruit and snack.  On most days, that included a slice of bologna tucked between soft, white Wonder bread, an apple or box of raisins and a Hostess Twinkie.  My mom thought it was a healthy lunch.  I thought it was a healthy lunch.  It was anything but.

Over the years since I was an elementary age student, we have learned so much more than we knew then.  We now know that a diet rich in healthy fruits, vegetables and whole grains has tremendous benefits over white flour and processed foods.  Organic is better than chemicals.  Education is better than ignorance.

The evening of Feb. 17, 2011, could have marked a significant event for the city of Aliso Viejo.  It could have changed the future for our families and for our children.  It could have, but it did not.  On that evening, delegates who represent the homeowners and business owners of our communities were instructed to meet for a vote regarding property that is owned by the city, owned by its people.  The property cannot be utilized for just anything.  Like most land, it is ruled by geography and zoning laws that indicate how it might be used.   

The property in question is zoned as farmland.  The Aliso Viejo Community Association (AVCA) delegates were slated to vote on whether or not an organic ranch could be created by a nonprofit agency that would lease the land and provide our community with a resource every member of our community could benefit from.  Our citizens eat, and if we eat organic fruits and vegetables, we would be the recipients of proven benefits.  If we were able to participate in growing our own crops or buy them at a fair price locally, it could only be a positive. 

Savannah’s Organic Ranch is the organization that hopes to lease the land.  SOR was created when an 8-year-old resident of our city asked her parents if they would help her to start a ranch that would grow organic produce.  The little girl was Savannah Sachen, and she was suffering from a rare and dangerous cancer near her heart.  Months later, as Savannah lay dying in her home,  her friends and family gathered in the kitchen to discuss the mission and ideals that could become the threshold of our future and of our children’s future.

On Feb. 17, representatives from 107 delegate districts, which represent homeowners and business owners in our city, could have gone to the meeting to vote in favor of one solution that would have provided access to organic farming for all of us.  Of the delegates who were eligible to vote, merely 26 (25 percent of the voting power) took the time to show up.  To have a vote 33 percent was needed.

If you happen to be a business owner or a homeowner in our city, call AVCA or your respective management companies to find out who your delegate representative or board president is. AVCA will be able to tell you if there is a delegate elected.  Next, contact that delegate and ask them to do two simple things: Attend the next scheduled AVCA meeting and vote in favor of leasing the land to Savannah’s Organic Ranch.  The future of our children is in your hands.

—Lori Walker