WOODLAND HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Pierce College’s Farm Center is a green oasis in Woodland Hills’ landscape of office parks and towers. But it will not be there much longer.
The farm center, known for its Halloween Harvest Festival and corn maze, is being shut down Dec. 26 after 10 years of providing fresh fruit and vegetables to the community.
The Pierce College Farm Center, which occupies 34 acres on the northeast part of the campus, has been operated by Robert and Cathy McBroom. Robert McBroom says the college envisioned a community service agricultural program, and it believes it has accomplished that mission.
“It’s really why you’ve seen something in 10 years that’s gone from a fallow field to a just great operation,” McBroom said.
The farm center has employed scores of Pierce College students over the years in part-time, full-time and seasonal jobs. As of Dec. 26, they will all be unemployed.
“And you know what, I think that’s what hurts more than anything else,” McBroom said.
There is an online petition circulating to save the farm, but if that doesn’t work, McBroom says, they will try to set up farm again nearby, but that could take at least two years.
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