Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 21:49:27 +0000 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [SCFs] Help us find the funding to buy the farm!!
The Los Angeles South Central Community Farm A unique opportunity at a critical time As the Mayor announced on Feb 8 2006, we must step up and find the funding to buy the farm! (see the following: http://www.southcentralfarmers.com video) We need all of you to reach deep and find donors, foundations, and philanthropist that can touched by this issue and can make sizeable contributions of the size of 500K and 1M. The Mayor has stated that we need to raise 15-16 Million in a very short time before Horowitz evicts the South Central Farmers. Please contact: Fernando Flores (909) 605-3136 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!!! The South Central Community Farm is located at the corner of 41st and Alameda in the vicinity of the tiny hamlet of Vernon and Watts in South Central Los Angeles. This neighborhood is severely deficient in park, recreational and community garden space. The Farm provides a too rare natural respite to the low-income families who live in this highly urbanized and semi-industrial neighborhood and serves as a hub of community, cultural and family activities. Most importantly, the South Central Farm is providing healthy, homegrown food to the families of the more than 360 farmers at the site and serves as a cultural and spiritual center built from a sense of place that only a relationship to the land can support. There recently has been significant media and social scientific attention focused on the diverse multiethnic community at South Central Farm and the unique cultural and ecological landscape they have created over the past 13 years. The farmers are in danger of being evicted. This would involve the destruction of an agro-ecological treasure to make way for more industrial warehouses. The 14-acre site is privately owned and is currently threatened with an imminent sale and development. There presently exists an opportunity to purchase this site and develop the existing community garden into a multi cultural venue for healthy living, featuring cultural, nutritional and environmental education, managed community gardening and active and passive recreation. Opportunities to acquire and use such a large site for open space and neighborhood benefit in the middle of the city are very rare. Additionally, there is significant existing social, cultural, and natural capital resulting from the grassroots initiation of the organization of the community garden, and the long struggle to preserve the garden against a variety of forces. There exists, at the Farm, significant spiritual and personal investment from many parties, and within the broader Los Angeles community, exceptional attention and support. The collective achievements of the individual farmers, the grassroots organizers, the community organizations involved in creating and sustaining the Farm can now be galvanized with the desires of the political, business and philanthropic leaders to create an emblematic project that sets a new standard for the meaning of community and neighborhood. Additionally, the Farm can serve as a new paradigm for the greening of Los Angeles, literally creating new ground for urban land use policy and planning that achieves sustainable, healthy, and culturally intact communities growing from a public/private partnership and community planning process. The neighborhood surrounding the South LA Farm is a low-income community with nearly 40% of families in the immediate census tract falling below the poverty level. Over 88% of the population is Latino and 11% African-American. There is a high percentage of young people in the community, with 43% of the population under the age of 19. Approximately 65% of the housing is renter-occupied. The immediate neighborhood of the project is underserved, with no other community gardens, safe outdoor gathering places, or green spaces for families and children. The Immediate Opportunity The Trust for Public Land its Parks for People-LA initiative, acting as a neutral third party, is working to arrange a purchase of the property and subsequent transfer to a non-profit organization (accountable to the community of farmers), to preserve the spirit of the community garden, while adding amenities and programs that capture the many opportunities presented by the 14 acre site and most importantly, meet the needs of the community residing in the surrounding neighborhoods. This will likely involve a participatory community-based planning and design process resulting in a multiple use plan incorporating farming, environmental education, the provision of recreational and cultural amenities, and a program for long-term local stewardship for the responsible and responsive management of the Farm and respecting environmental justice principles that call for ecological democracy. Regional Importance More than 1.5 million, or nearly two-thirds of all children in Los Angeles County, do not live within walking distance of a park, playground, or other safe place to play or engage with the land. Of the seven largest cities in the United States, Los Angeles offers its children and their families the least access to parks and open space. This problem is most severe in the neighborhoods of South LA. Parks, open space and community gardens are not a luxury; they are a necessity. Children and families need these resources; neighborhoods and cities require these resources for healthy communities. Exercise and nutrition is the most effective way to address the growing obesity crisis among children. Studies show that access to parks encourages exercise. Ironically, obesity related illnesses like diabetes; hypertension and heart disease are more prevalent among Hispanic and Black children, the same communities with the worse access to parks, open space and community gardens in Los Angeles County. Action Time is of the essence in capturing this rare opportunity that serves so many aspects of creating a more livable city in Los Angeles. Exceptional leadership and vision has been shown by a large, highly regarded foundation with a lead gift towards the purchase of the property (approximately 50% of the total needed). Significant investment from additional foundations, corporations, and individuals is immediately required to complete the purchase of the property, develop the management plan through a participatory community-based process to achieve sustainability and advance social justice. While negotiations and details of this transaction must remain confidential, when completed, there will be significant media attention and immeasurably positive regard for the angel philanthropists and business and political leadership who pull this off. For more information, please contact: Fernando Flores (909) 605-3136 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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