350 Families in South L.A. Defend Community Farm ¡Aqui estamos y no nos vamos!
All-out community candlelight vigil Sunday to stop developer from tearing down community farm (Oct. 30 event will also celebrate Day of the Dead)
For 13 years, 350 families have tended a 14-acre community garden in the middle of South L.A.'s gritty industrial belt. Growing their own cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes and other staples has helped make good nutrition affordable. Traditional crops like chipillin, alachi, quelite and pipicha have helped keep Latin cuisine and folk-medicine alive.
The City of L.A. acquired the land in the late 1980s, but abandoned plans to build a trash incinerator after community protests. In 1994, officials transferred title to the Harbor Department, which contracted with the L.A. Regional Food Bank to operate a community farm on the property. In 2003, the City Council agreed to sell the 14 acres back to the original owner, private developer Ralph Horowitz, who wants to demolish the garden and build a warehouse.
The 350 families - organized as South Central Farmers - have camped out in the field for weeks to prevent Horowitz from grabbing the land. A sneak attack can come at any time, though, and the group will hold a candlelight vigil on Sunday to call public attention to their plight, as well as celebrate the traditional Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead.
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