Core Site

Farm + Food Lab

A public-facing urban agriculture site in Irvine that connects community education, demonstration growing, and hands-on engagement with food production.

A volunteer harvesting ripe blackberries in the sun at the Farm + Food Lab Community members gathered at an educational booth during an event at the Farm + Food Lab A butterfly resting on wildflowers in bloom at the Farm + Food Lab A smiling volunteer holding a large homegrown gourd at the Farm + Food Lab Chickens roaming the yard beside the coop at the Farm + Food Lab A smiling volunteer holding a large squash grown at the Farm + Food Lab A hand offering feed to chickens at the Farm + Food Lab A hand resting on a giant bottle gourd growing on the vine at the Farm + Food Lab A volunteer tending seedlings inside the greenhouse at the Farm + Food Lab A dragon fruit cactus blooming at the Farm + Food Lab A smiling volunteer holding gourds beneath a vine trellis at the Farm + Food Lab A row of harvested gourds laid out on a bench at the Farm + Food Lab A caterpillar feeding on plants in the gardens at the Farm + Food Lab Chickens gathered around a feeder at the Farm + Food Lab Visitors walking the garden paths during an event at the Farm + Food Lab A banana plant in bloom with community members gathered behind it at the Farm + Food Lab
About the Site

Overview

Farm + Food Lab is one of SFUA's core sites and serves as a public-facing entry point into its work. Located in Irvine, the site is designed to make urban agriculture visible, approachable, and practical for community members, students, and partner organizations.

Unlike a production-first farm, Farm + Food Lab functions as a place of demonstration, education, and engagement. It shows how food can be grown within a built environment while creating opportunities for people to learn directly from the space around them.

Growing beds and educational displays at Farm + Food Lab
Context

Why this site exists

In urban environments, many people are disconnected from how food is grown and what agriculture can look like within a city. Farm + Food Lab exists to close that distance by creating a site where growing food is visible, accessible, and tied directly to learning.

The site makes urban agriculture tangible. It creates space for workshops, public engagement, and hands-on education while demonstrating that food production can be integrated into everyday community life.

Person engaging with animals at an urban farm education site
Operations

How it works

Demonstration Growing

Farm + Food Lab shows how food can be grown in an urban setting, using the site itself as a visible example of practical agriculture within a built environment.

Public Education

The site supports workshops, school visits, and community learning experiences that help people engage directly with how food is grown.

Community Access Point

As a public-facing site, Farm + Food Lab creates an accessible entry point into SFUA's broader work, connecting community members to agriculture in a direct and approachable way.

Our Network

Key partners

Farm + Food Lab operates through partnerships that connect public space, community learning, and urban agriculture.

City of Irvine logo

City of Irvine

Host municipality and partner in operating the Farm + Food Lab site as a public resource.

UC Master Gardeners of Orange County logo

UC Master Gardeners of Orange County

Education partner supporting community growing programs and public engagement at the site.

California Rare Fruit Growers logo

California Rare Fruit Growers

Community partner supporting public education events and demonstrations at the site.

On the Ground

What happens here

Community Education

Visitors engage with urban agriculture through workshops, demonstrations, and public programs that make growing food visible and understandable.

School and Youth Engagement

The site creates opportunities for students and youth groups to experience agriculture directly in a public, urban setting.

Demonstration and Access

Farm + Food Lab demonstrates what is possible when food production, education, and public access are brought together in one place.

Impact

Why this site matters

Farm + Food Lab shows that agriculture can be visible, local, and integrated into community life. It is a place where people can see food growing, engage with it directly, and better understand what urban agriculture can make possible.

Get Involved

Engage with Farm + Food Lab

Whether through a visit, a partnership, or community participation, there are multiple ways to engage with the work happening at Farm + Food Lab.
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