![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/09143945\/2-5-26-bowls-0-188741-shbaqovb-168558-I6wmbDxn.jpg\")
<\/a>Julieta Ponce uses a drill with help from Lindsay Smith, co-owner of Sowing Seeds of Change, as they fix a fence after a break-in at the nonprofit garden in Long Beach on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\nThey\u2019ve tried to get help from the city of Long Beach, from whom they rent, to better secure the lot, but their lease spells out<\/a> that Sowing Seeds of Change is responsible for the \u201csole cost\u201d of security.<\/p>\n This means that, while managing a vibrant garden<\/a> with raw honey, leafy greens, herbs and edible flowers, Smith has also had to install razor wire, a steel gate and wooden pallets as a reinforced barrier around the property.<\/p>\n She would rather be working with the youth who tend to the farm.<\/p>\n She left her career as a special education teacher to found the nonprofit because she saw gardening as a hands-on way for young adults on the spectrum to build life skills and confidence by interacting with her and other volunteers on the urban farm.<\/p>\n Throughout the years, young adults have built planter boxes, run irrigation lines and spread countless pounds of mulch.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really been incredible to see them just bloom outside,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n So far, Smith says, none of her efforts have managed to thwart the break-ins.<\/p>\n After making repeated pleas for help to District 1 Councilmember Mary Zendejas\u2019 office, Smith said the city has offered a few solutions: pay to install a new fence or coordinate with city staff to access a nearby storage facility where they could keep tools that aren\u2019t needed regularly.<\/p>\n The first option \u201cwould cost tens of thousands of dollars,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re kind of stuck,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe fundraising that we do and the grants we receive are meant for youth programming.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Zendejas said she\u2019s personally met with some of the students and \u201cheard firsthand\u201d the impact the break-ins have had.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is why I\u2019m committed to helping them in any and every way possible,\u201d Zendejas said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear, though, what comes next.<\/p>\n Sowing Seeds of Change has two years left on its lease at the current site, but Smith said she\u2019s not sure if she\u2019ll stay for the full term if the break-ins keep happening.<\/p>\n She\u2019s hoping to get another farm space soon through Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n The farm\u2019s current site was never meant to be the organization\u2019s permanent home.<\/p>\n When Smith signed the lease for the vacant city parking lot in 2021, it was with the promise of a space in an expanded park that connects Chavez Park with Drake Park.<\/a><\/p>\n In the years since, that project has struggled to get fully funded. Current plans call for a design of the project to be finished this summer. There\u2019s not yet a construction timeline.<\/p>\n<\/a>Lindsay Smith, co-owner of Sowing Seeds of Change, joins Bryon Flores, center and Julieta Ponce, right, as they work together to fix a fence after a break-in at the nonprofit garden in Long Beach on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\n