FarmApartment

After the canning class on Saturday, I drove to the Schindler House in West Hollywood where Project Food/LA was hosting a panel called “Hungry Urbanism: Edible Endeavors # 3”. The vibrancy of the Los Angeles community of organizations devoted to getting fresh, homegrown produce to the people is so invigorating. The sense that there is an important social movement going on is palpable .

The event promised to be a “a rapid-fire series of presentations of a diverse set of individuals and organizations presenting their work on behalf of food issues in the city.”  Boy they weren’t kidding.

This was the perfect affair for a newbie to the LA “urban farming” scene.  I was astonished and inspired by how many well-organized people are out there making a difference. I learned so much about who’s who and who’s doing what and where.

Below is a list of the groups who presented and links to their websites.  Enjoy.

Community Services Unlimited
Mission: to foster the creation of communities actively working to address the inequalities and systemic barriers that make sustainable communities and self-reliant life-styles unattainable

Fallen Fruit
They map all the fruit growing in public spaces and organize community fruit pics among other things.

Fed Up With Hunger

Fed Up With Hunger is the community effort to end hunger in LA. It’s a network of food collection and distribution organizations, advocacy groups, policymakers, and faith communities working together to rid our city of the reputation as the “hunger capital” of the nation.

Garden School Foundation
A community partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District dedicated to bringing verdant traffic buffers, sports facilities, native gardens, science gardens, kitchen gardens, and teaching kitchens to public schools

Highland Park Co-op
The beginnings of a food co-op in East Los Angeles.

Locali Market
A corner grocery dedicated to bring fresh, sustainable foods to the community.

M&A Gallery
A group of volunteers spent the last two months developing a fish farm, a shade system, and a new identity for the exhibition space.  Awesome project!

Root Down LA
Root Down confronts obesity and related health issues in South Los Angeles by engaging youth in the educational experiences and skills training necessary to help build healthier food communities.

UEPI at Occidental College
The Urban & Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) is a community oriented research and advocacy organization.

Farm To School
Farm to School connects schools (K-12) and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers.

Watts Labor Community Action Committee
While WLCAC’s mission is to provide human and social services to all within our service area – it is clear that no matter the ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, or gender, the impact of this years election will be like many other major shifts that we have affected