Seeking Solutions : There are thousands of individuals and groups working against hunger in Southern California. Here are three approaches that stand out. : Vacant Lots Bloom Into Urban Gardens

On vacant plots of land that once were sites for illegal dumping and drug sales, urban gardens are blossoming, providing food for the hungry.

More than 90 urban gardens now dot Los Angeles’ landscape, providing more than sustenance: They create a sense of community, beautify neighborhoods and give parents in crowded homes a safe place to bring their children, said Brenda Funches, board president of the nonprofit L.A. Harvest. In Los Angeles’ Mediterranean climate, a 64-square-foot plot can yield a family up to $600 worth of food a year.

The crowning jewel of urban gardens has emerged from 7 1/2 rubble-strewn acres surrounded by warehouses in South-Central Los Angeles, land the city owns but has not developed. The garden was begun last year by the Los Angeles Conservation Corps and the Common Ground Gardening Program with funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Water costs are paid by the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank and the city. The garden’s 138 plots were claimed within days. Once blighted, the land is now a vibrant oasis. Walking amid its lush cornstalks, garden coordinator Norma Reyes says Latinos--many of whom tilled the soil in Central America--often plant corn and chilies. African Americans--many of whom learned to farm in the South--cultivate collard greens.

“This helps feed my family,” says Alfredo Ledezma, a 40-year-old concrete worker and bricklayer with three children, as he gently weeds his plot of chilies, squash and tomatoes. Ledezma says he can usually get bricklayer work only three days a week, earning $125. He swaps vegetables with his garden neighbors. “I know a lot of people who go hungry in this neighborhood,” he says.

Several plots away, Marta Garcia, 33, who has four children, agrees. “I grow everything,” she says, pointing to rows of cucumbers, tomatoes and radishes. Half her husband’s $1,000 monthly pay goes for rent. “If it weren’t for the garden, my children would do without,” says the unemployed garment worker. “I couldn’t buy these vegetables. They are too expensive,” she says, adding that her children can consume eight cucumbers a day. “They love this food.”

The biggest barriers to urban gardens are liability concerns, lack of access to land, toxic soils and water costs. There are at least 2,600 vacant lots in Los Angeles south of the Santa Monica Freeway that could be used as gardens until they are developed, Funches says. Under AmeriCorps, President Clinton’s national service program, some of the 40 recruits assigned to combat hunger in Los Angeles this year will work to plant the seeds of three more urban gardens.

GARDEN WORKSHOPS

* TO GET INFORMATION: Common Ground Gardening Program operates gardens and has workshops on gardening, food preservation and setting up plots on Los Angeles County school grounds , (213) 744-4341.

* L.A. Harvest, (213) 742-0429

* L.A. Conservation Corps, (213) 749-3601

* PACE Neighborhood Garden Program, (213) 389-2373