Saturday there was a celebration of not just a new organic farm, but of new hope. The South Central Farmer's Cooperative was moved to more than 80 acres of donated land in Buttonwillow.
“I've watched the struggle, and the struggle has been realized this blessing of all of this land and it's a great story,” said U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), who spoke at the Buttonwillow celebration.
To understand the significance of this organic farm, which is owned by the workers, for the workers, and the community, you need to understand its history, documented in the Oscar-nominated movie 'The Garden'. The 1992 riots in south central L.A. decimated neighborhoods. It was on a trashed 14-acre piece of land where community members created an organic urban garden food co-operative, where people share the work and the fruits of their labor. “It developed to the largest urban farm in the U.S.,” South Central Farmer Tezozmoc said.
The acres of fresh fruit and vegetables stood in stark contrast to the concrete and steel surroundings. The food provided to the poor community gave welcome relief from cheap process and fast food. But after 14 years, they were shut down, pushed off of the land by a developer.
“I was just really angry, really angry and overwhelmed. I didn't understand where the justice system. Wasn't there justice for the farmers?” farm member Liz Chavez said.
An anonymous donor gave the group 80 acres in Buttonwillow, and many members of the community, like Madland Toyota, stepped in to give the gardeners the irrigation supplies and farm equipment to plant their co-operative farm on local soil.
So when I saw the movie, I said ‘Mary, this is something we've got to be a part of’,” Bill Lindner of Madland Toyota, which donated a forklift, said.
While some of the organic food will still go to people in poor Los Angeles communities, now people in Kern County can reap the benefits of what they sow.
The food from the cooperative will be sold at low prices at local farmers markets, including Kaiser Permanente's Thursday market and at the Golden State Mall on Saturday mornings.
