[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 59 (Thursday, April 12, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E444-E445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO EMILY GLEICHER--28TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT WOMAN OF THE 
                                  YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 12, 2018

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History 
Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions made by 
our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women 
who are making a difference in my congressional district. Today I would 
like to recognize a remarkable woman, Emily Gleicher of Elysian Valley, 
a unique neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
   Growing up in Queens, New York, Emily saw the need for sustainable 
living and gardening in major cities. She would walk the streets of New 
York and see empty parcels of land filled with garbage and dead weeds 
and she saw an opportunity to enhance urban areas with sustainable 
farming.
   When Emily moved to Los Angeles in 2012, she and her husband, Arlen 
Jason Wood, decided to convert their front yard into a giant raised 
lima bean farm where they would later sell their crops to local 
farmer's markets. As

[[Page E445]]

with New York, Ms. Gleicher saw empty pieces of land around Los Angeles 
that could easily be transformed into urban sustainable farms.
   Emily and Jason decided to harness their passion for gardening and 
in 2015, they created Farm LA, a local 501(c)3 non-profit organization 
that is dedicated to transforming underutilized land in Los Angeles 
into sustainable energy projects and drought-tolerant agricultural 
farming. Since its inception, the goal of Farm LA has been to create 
food access and a cultural appreciation for sustainable living while 
enhancing the beauty of the city around us. Farm LA's programming 
includes: urban farming, fruit shares, sidewalk gardens, educating 
elementary schools and summer camps on growing food also known as 
``kindergardening,'' and selling their 9th generation lima bean seeds 
at local health fairs and farmer's markets.
   Through her passion and dedicated service, Emily has created a Farm 
LA community of over 500 volunteers in the last three years as her 
organization continues to expand. Ms. Gleicher hopes that her work will 
help to provide food access in lower income residential neighborhoods 
while giving people a better understanding of the products they consume 
in an effort to address the prevalence of childhood obesity. Emily's 
passion for sustainable farming has brightened our community and she 
continues to serve as a role model for the citizens of this district.
   I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well-
respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Emily 
Gleicher.

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