Los Angeles: South Central Farm

The South Central Farm is a 14-acre urban farm and community garden in South Central Los Angeles; it is considered to be the largest urban farm in the United States. After the Los Angeles Riots of 1992, the City gave the abandoned and trash-filled land to the families of the community. 350 families banded together and cleaned up the land, and turned it into fertile gardens, where they grow food to sustain their families, food to donate to the Food Bank, and food to sell at the Sunday Farmer's Market. Most of the families who live at the Farm or grow food there are not able to buy the same food on their own, so the Farm helps them to be self-sufficient. All kinds of food crops, Mesoamerican crops, and medicinal herbs are grown at the Farm. It's a very lively and interesting place, and in a location one would least expect to see a farm. It's set in a neighborhood full of warehouses, shipping container loading docks, and rail tracks; it's an agricultural oasis in a concrete desert. The farmers are happy to let visitors explore their plots and answer any questions they have about the plants being grown. A farmer named Manuel picked some calla lilies for me, and gave me fistfuls of fresh herbs; epazote, mint, cilantro, and lemongrass. Another farmer named Jenny gave me some fresh sugarcane, and three bags of cabbage, beets, and chard - I made a lovely borscht out of this. The farmers set up hot food stalls and served up all manner of native Latin American foods which they sold for a small donation; I enjoyed mushroom quesadillas and a fried plantain. The fruit vendor gave me a peeled prickly pear and let me sample it.

Recently, the City sold the property to a developer who plans to tear down the Farm and build a warehouse. There has been a grassroots mobilization against this; the residents of the Farm have been camping at the Farm, and non-Farm residents have been camping to show solidarity with the farmers. There have been protests at City Hall, articles written about this, film screenings, music concerts, and other community events at the Farm. Despite these efforts, LA County sheriffs posted an eviction notice on the gate of the Farm yesterday, March 1st. Everyone is to evict the Farm by Monday, March 6th. I am very saddened by this action, and I hope that the last-minute protests this weekend can help to overturn this decision.

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This girl and her brother have been camping out at the Farm.

The largest radishes I've ever seen! About a foot long.

A shrine to the Virgin

Pathway between plots

I don't know the name of these, but you peel the pods and eat the green beans inside. Does anyone know what these are? Let me know.

There are lots of banana trees at the Farm.

Roasting whole ears of corn over coals.

Fresh vegetables growing

Frying sweet plantains in oil

Taquitos

Jenny selects a sugar cane for us.

Jenny took the sugar cane to the fruit vendor, who sliced off the tough outer layers and then chopped the cane up in bite-sized pieces, which we snacked on. Very good!

Carnitas

Fresh prickly pear cactus fruit.

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All photos are ©2005-06 Kathryn Hill Photography.