Local farmers, educators, and community members who believe growing food builds stability, skill, and opportunity just got a vote of support thanks to a recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) through the Black Equity Initiative.
Resources from IECF will help Soulful Soil Farms continue its efforts building gardens, cultivating farms, and uniting communities via teaching sustainable agriculture and land stewardship.
“The grant is allowing us to acquire essentials we need for the program, such as farm tools and trainings for myself and board members,” said Tina Marie Davis, founder and CEO of Soulful Soil Farms. “It’s been uplifting and allows us to grow even more.”
That bodes well for the intrepid nonprofit, which employs hands-on education and partnerships with key stakeholders to increase access to fresh food and promote overall wellness. Davis says the nonprofit likes to equip people with the tools to grow, regardless of the size of their space.
Several programs like S.A.G.E (Sustainable Agriculture and Garden Education) lean into inclusivity, particularly with youth. S.A.G.E teaches youth and other community members how to not only grow food, but to understand food systems.
To that end, participants learn everything from soil health and composting to water conservation and small-space gardening.
Davis said the program is ideal for partnerships, too, and can be brought to most sites, offering hands-on garden education. Soulful Soil Farms will install and set up a garden, customize educational programming, offer ongoing training and support, and align curriculum with sustainability and wellness.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit’s community gardens are safe spaces and allow individuals and families to grow their own fresh food and, in turn, build deeper connections.
Youth workshops and other curriculum-based classes are also offered.
It all began at home, however.
“I grew up on a farm in the city of Compton,” Davis said. “There were chickens, goats, horses—everything but cows.”
Most of her childhood was spent there, in fact, turning soil, planting seeds, and learning through trial and growth.
As an adult, Davis went into the medical industry, specifically medical care, but soon learned it “wasn’t my lane.”
“The first time a patient that I cared for passed away, I just couldn’t do it past that,” she said. “I transitioned to pharmacy work and acquired a farm tech license. I quickly learned that with Western medicine, their focus is on money, not the cure. After a couple of years in pharmacy, I got out of it because it just didn’t align with my spirit.”
Administration and claims work followed, and she eventually worked her way up to Director of Claims. But something shifted when her own ailments increased.
“I have high blood pressure, and cancer runs on my dad’s side of the family,” she said. “I’ve lost some family members to cancer. Suddenly, I realized, ‘Well, I’m in healthcare, but I’m not in healthcare.’
Davis felt drawn back to where it all began—growing up on a farm and being on the land.
“It was a full circle moment for me,” she said.
She went down the “rabbit hole” of healthy food choices, particularly juicing, and doing everything she could for herself to offset the high blood pressure and Lupus, which she had been diagnosed with in 2010.
“They [the medical industry] throw pills at you, and as long as the benefits outweigh the side effects, it’s approved for the population,” she said. “But those pills made me way sicker than just my regular ailments.
“At some point I just thought: why not grow my own food?” she added.
It was only a matter of time before Soulful Soil Farms launched.
“I’m very much about entrepreneurship and being self-sustaining,” Davis said. “So, as I learn, I teach, and I feel like the younger generation—the younger I can get to them, the better—I can really help cultivate the next generation of farmers.
“That’s one of our big goals,” she added. “Farm, feed, teach, repeat.”
This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, May, 2026.
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