From Front Yards To Food Sovereignty: How One Man Is Turning LA Into A Garden City

How One Man Is Turning LA Into A Garden City | Crop Swap LA

In a quiet South Los Angeles neighborhood, something extraordinary is growing.

It’s not just kale or carrots or passion fruit.

It’s a new vision for the community, for climate resilience, and for capitalism itself.

At the center of it all is Jamiah Hargins, a former trader turned urban farming visionary, and the founder of Crop Swap LA, a nonprofit that’s doing something radically simple: turning people’s front yards into regenerative microfarms that feed the neighborhood.

A Trader Plants a Seed

“I started off as a trader in the markets… but eventually, I was finding myself always looking outside of the window, trying to find community gardens,” Jamiah tells me as we walk through one of the lush properties he’s transformed—once a patchy lawn, now overflowing with edible greens, flowering herbs, and vertical towers of lettuce.

It was the birth of his daughter that made everything click.

“When my daughter was born… I finally felt like I was a man,” he says. “Something inside me grew up. I figured growing food would make sure that if I lost my job or if grocery stores closed… then all of a sudden, I have my own source.”

And just like that, Wall Street gave way to worm bins. Financial futures were replaced by literal ones, rooted in the soil of his own yard.

Jamiah Hargins, Founder & Executive Director | Crop Swap LA

The Birth of a Movement

What started as informal food swaps among neighbors soon grew into something bigger.

“We saw all the yard space and said, what if we grew food? We’d share it, create jobs, and be more sustainable as a community.”

That vision caught fire. With early support from the Goldhirsh Foundation, Jamiah installed his first microfarm—complete with solar power, rainwater capture, and a biofiltration system made from pond plants. Today, that system stores 10,000 gallons of rainwater, half of which is potable. The rest feeds the crops.

“All our microfarms are water recycling, rainwater capturing, and solar powered,” he says. “We even drink the rainwater. It’s the only thing I drink.”

Food as Infrastructure

Crop Swap LA is now growing food at three microfarms and seven nanofarms—from schoolyards to churches, apartment rooftops to private homes. There’s even a waitlist of hundreds of Angelenos who want to donate their yards for the cause.

The impact is as local as it gets. “We only sell within one mile of where the food is grown,” Jamiah explains. “That makes our resilience more sturdy and ensures the food is appreciated where it’s needed most.”

Each week, 80 families receive Crop Swap CSA bags—and 10% of them pay using EBT, allowing lower-income residents to access nutrient-rich produce for as little as $10 a week.

Beyond the Garden Gate

But Jamiah’s vision isn’t just about healthy food.

It’s about systemic resilience—rainwater capture for fire protection, food security during crises, and retraining community members to lead.

“We’re transforming Los Angeles to be a garden city.”

And the reach is growing. A recent Instagram video showcasing their model racked up over a million views in just two days. His children’s book Captain Plant It—about a superhero carrot teaching others to grow food—is already changing the way young Angelenos see their neighborhoods.

“One dad told me his kid pointed to me and said, ‘That’s Captain Plant It.’ That means his life has changed.”

This is more than a nonprofit. “It’s a peace effort,” Jamiah says. “A way for us to no longer rely on harmful systems that have cannibalized our wallets and our health.”

Good Money in Action

Crop Swap LA also redefines how small, values-driven organizations can build durable business models.

“About half our budget comes from grants and donations, and the other half comes from earned income—like garden installations, CSA memberships, and school workshops.”

That’s real economic resilience: the kind that grows jobs, not just kale.

And he’s not stopping there.

“We’re launching an Endowment for Urban Farming to help us purchase land and protect it long-term. I want to inspire leaders elsewhere to do what they can. In ten years, I think we can be at 100 farms—serving 100,000 people.”

Call to Action: Grow With Us

Here’s where brands, donors, and community-minded businesses come in.

Jamiah isn’t asking for charity—he’s offering a chance to co-create a future where food, water, and resilience are built right into our neighborhoods. Crop Swap LA needs partners who can help sponsor trucks, equipment, fertilizer, or microfarm installations. Companies like Kellogg’s and GreenCoast Hydro have already stepped up, but the need is growing faster than the budget.

“I’d love for someone like Honda—or Rivian—to step forward,” he says. “They’ve honored us as a community hero. Now let’s make that recognition mean something.”

If your company is looking for a way to show that purpose and profit can align—this is it. Invest in Crop Swap LA. Sponsor a microfarm. Donate a truck. Fund a rainwater system. Help bring this garden city to life.

Because in a world where so much feels extractive and broken, Jamiah Hargins is proving that the future can be delicious, dignified—and just outside your door.