Armando Escobar

Armando was first introduced to Planting Justice back in 2011 when he was only 13 years old. Planting Justice installed three raised vegetable beds in his family’s front yard and supported Armando’s family in growing their own organic food right at home! With those beds, Armando and his family have been able to continuously grow a variety of different vegetables throughout the years and continue to enjoy planting and growing organic vegetables.

Armando grew up watching his mother tend to the garden and nurture the vegetables that would feed him and his family for years. He also saw how much joy the garden brought to his mother, who grew hundreds of pounds of food each year. As Armando got older, he was able to understand how impactful that garden was for him and his family and how it had transformed the way he saw food.

As Armando got older, he ventured into different jobs and ultimately found himself working with Planting Justice, planting fruit trees and educating residents of Deep East Oakland about the benefits of growing their own food. Planting Justice’s work is important to Armando because it allows him to help out and give back to his community, where he has lived his entire life, and attempt to give a similar experience to others whose lives could be transformed by growing their own food at home.