In his Crenshaw neighborhood, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan passes liquor store after liquor store, while fresh fruit and produce are hard to find.
On Friday at Good Earth Community Garden in West Adams, as bees swirled from stalks of corn to flowering chard plants, Anderson, Kamlager-Dove and Bryan were among those announcing a $7-million grant from a state budget surplus to jump-start Freedom Farms. The goal in the first year is to plant five new urban farms and invest in 10 existing ones, including Good Earth. Then teams will fan out to other food deserts — places like Bryan’s neighborhood with few fresh food options — with the aim of planting 37 farms over three years.
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove speaks at a news conference announcing a new urban farming initiative in South and West L.A. on Friday., which could help them make choices that improve their health and ultimately reduce the costs of conditions such as obesity and diabetes.