The Pierce College Farm Center, which operates a vegetable stand and other attractions, will close by end of the year, according to a Friday media report. The center at De Soto Avenue and Victory Boulevard will shut down after the college decided to terminate the lease of the privately owned center, which operates on Pierce land, according to a story in the Los Angeles Daily News. The article cited college budget constraints for the termination, though center owner Robert McBroom maintains the operation makes money for Pierce. He also said it employs 21 people and almost 200 seasonal staff, with many of them students. The college reportedly plans to explore options for better monetizing the 30-acre property where various crops are grown. The center’s final Halloween Harvest Festival will begin today and run until Nov. 2. The two-year community college is located on 426 acres and has a student body of 21,000.
