Monday, May 29, 2006

south central farmers feeding families

mini documentary on south central farmers

i'm always a little intrigued when i hear stories about julia butterfly hill sitting up in trees to raise awareness. probably because i'm afraid of heights. anyway, she's back at it along with joan baez. they're trying to save a 14-acre urban garden in L.A. (or hell.A. as it's referred to around our home). this land consists of 360 plots and is used by low income families in the area to grow fresh food. there is a great story with this land and these folks have worked hard to have this privilege. unfortunately, the developer (who bought this land for about 5 million and wants to sell it for 3 times that much) is planning on destroying the garden and putting up a warehouse. the farmers have raised about 6 million dollars so far. not enough.

the farm families only have a few days left before they may have to say goodbye to their land. my heart goes out to them even though they live on the other side of our nation. i'd like to encourage folks to give a call to the mayor's office-if anything to let them know that the farmers have sympathizers around the nation. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (213) 978-0600.

urban gardens can be important fixtures of a large city, especially in community building and for helping to feed children and families in low income communities. fresh food is just healthier than a 2.99 big mac meal deal.

thanks for reading this post. i don't usually get hyped about much, but it pumps me up that the south central farmers have such a strong desire to eat closer to home and have fought for that right. i don't have to fight for that right.

link: south central farmers story

1 comment:

maria said...

Jodi, Thanks for bringing our attention to this. Why can't we leave this bit of Eden alone? (Because of money, dummy.) I know. but it's still depressing. It makes me feel convicted about how I take my little garden plot for granted, and makes me want to go home and weed and water.