LOOMIS, California — While many kids spend their summer vacation in front of a screen, 9-year-old Richard Andino is spending his days in the garden.
The young entrepreneur carefully checks what’s ready to harvest before preparing for another day of selling fresh vegetables to customers.
“These are ready to be picked,” Richard said while harvesting his latest crop. What started as a simple school lesson about growing plants has blossomed into a successful small business.
Richard began with just two planter boxes, a handful of vegetables and plenty of curiosity.
“I always loved vegetables. Then I thought … I wanted to sell them,” he said. Three years later, those two planter boxes have expanded into a garden nearly three times the original size.
“Every year the garden just got bigger,” Richard said.
Richard first sold his produce from a stand in front of his home. Today, he’s a regular vendor at the Loomis Farmers Market after his family formed an LLC and completed the county approval process required to sell there.
The money he earns helps pay for summer activities like Sky Zone and Sunsplash. Once he reaches his savings goal, he donates the rest of his harvest to members of the community.
For Richard, however, the biggest reward isn’t the money. It’s spending time outdoors.
“Screens I’m not a big fan of. I’d rather just — I don’t know — play outside,” he said.
His mother, Kabryna Andino, says that preference developed after Richard experienced frequent migraines as a young child.
“In kindergarten he started having really bad migraines from being inside and watching too many screens,” she said.
Richard’s story comes as pediatricians continue to study how increased screen time affects children’s health.
Dr. Amanda Mitchell, a pediatrician with Kaiser Roseville, says excessive screen time can impact children’s sleep, mood and behavior.
“We’re finding that it changes children’s sleep quality, which then can change their mood and change their behaviors,” Mitchell said.
Still, she says technology doesn’t have to define today’s generation.
“Children have developed in this era, and they’re overcoming and becoming who they’re supposed to be. Technology is there, and it helps them, but it does not define them,” Mitchell said.
For Richard, that’s clear every day he spends tending his garden, talking with customers and growing something he built himself.
He also has advice for other young people who dream of starting a business.
“When you want to run a business, you’re going to have to go through challenges. Don’t give up on them. Just do them, and you’ll succeed,” Richard said.
At just 9 years old, Richard’s biggest harvest isn’t just vegetables, it’s inspiration.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
