Riverside's Finest

WORDS: ELIZABETH SCHWARTZE PHOTO: ZACH CORDNER

Take one empty lot, a community initiative, and a heart for service, and that’s all Fred Stover needed to transform land and lives in his beloved Riverside. As Riverside’s Finest, Fred Stover is the Founder of Overflow Farms—a non-profit accomplishing its mission to get wholesome and healthy foods to the community of Riverside. As a newly-formed non-profit, Overflow Farms has cultivated the land near Riverside Community Church, forged collaborations throughout the county, created a safe space to volunteer, and donated thousands of pounds of fresh produce. It’s a beautiful oasis of community love and light in the heart of Riverside, and Fred Stover is dedicated to its continued growth and success. A California native, Stover was born in Long Beach, and grew up in Santa Ana. He moved to Riverside in 1993. He started as a truck driver, then spent 30 years in landscape construction. “In 2008, work slowed down, so I built my first home. Ten years later, I retired from construction, but I run my own management company, and I still help out good friends with their construction projects these days,” he explained. Stover is very proud of his family. His wife Michelle is a chemistry teacher, and his daughter Julianna is an accomplished swimmer and student at Citrus Valley High School. Both Michelle and Julianna are regular volunteers at Overflow Farms, making it a family initiative. The partnerships forged include approximately 50 different community organizations receiving deserved attention including: I Love Riverside, California State Assembly, and Office of the Mayor. Overflow Farms biggest sponsors and supporters are Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), and AETNA. Every Monday, IEHP donates 20,000-pounds of fresh produce that gets distributed throughout the community via Overflow Farms. Riverside Community Church picks up the water bill. The programming includes Healthy Habits, and Teen Wellness. Overflow Farms is run on 100-percent volunteer power, and Stover is so proud that Overflow Farms is 100-percent natural farming, due almost exclusively to the fact that volunteers show up, and do the work! The volunteers come from churches, high schools, colleges, elementary schools, baseball teams, boy & girl scout troops—anyone and everyone is welcome. The day-to-day operations of Overflow Farms flows from Stover’s passion. The number listed on the website is Stover’s direct cell phone. He oversees everything—volunteers, classes, donations, food delivery—and it all flows from one man that knows he’s doing exactly what he’s been called to do. The happiness emanates from him with a friendly smile, and a handshake to greet each person he meets. “This is a place for the whole community to visit. This land is for everybody. We’re so proud that we recently received the 2021 Riverside Neighborhood Partnership Neighborhood Spirit Award, recognizing that this farm is to bring our community together,” Stover boasted. There are so many plans and dreams for the farm including a mushroom house, Farm-to-Table dinners and classes, and Harvest Your Own Box. For the near future, Stover has three attainable goals: Take the healthy habits class to low income communities; grow the field trip programming; and be able to prepare produce so it’s useable for soup kitchens. Stover has never really asked for donations, but as programming continues, he elaborated that donations are always welcome—and tax-deductible. And what do they grow at Overflow Farms? “Kale, leeks, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, and beets. We grow whatever gets donated, and we always get the newest seeds, but planting seedlings is best, but we grow it all,” said Stover. Fred Stover took a dream, and a clay-packed plot of land in the heart of Riverside to make a community garden—a true labor of love. This dedication to his community’s health and well-being makes Stover one of Riverside’s Finest.

For more information on Overflow Farms and how to volunteer, please go to overflowfarms.org or follow them on Instagram @overflowfarms