Few green spaces exist around Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Grimy gray buildings, tents of the homeless, and barbed wire fences are the most frequent sights. Grocery stores and vegetable markets are rare because quickie marts and liquor stores monopolize the area. But if you peek through the fence of the Rainbow Apartments on Skid Row you would see something quite different - a 104 square foot garden virtually climbing concrete.
With the help of the non-profit Urban Farming the tenants of Rainbow have constructed a 6-foot high vertical plot growing cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, basil and other herbs and vegetables. The new garden is a testament to the perseverence of the Rainbow's gardening group who attempted to start this urban oasis two years ago with limited success. This year they reached out to Urban Farming's Food Chain Project for support and in April they constructed the new wall made up of 51 suspended plantng panels.
The Food Chain project, like all Urban Farming programs, strives to end hunger in a generation by establishing gardens on unused urban land including rooftops, schoolyards, and walls. Four such garden walls have been installed around the downtown L.A. area as part of the pilot program. The other walls are located at the Weingart Center, The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, and the Miguel Contreras Learning Center.
Harvesting their own food excites the Rainbow residents all of whom were once homeless. Rainbow gardener Lance Shaw told Los Angeles Times reporter Cara Mia DiMassa, "We're trying to feed our bodies with better nutrients, but more than anything, we like getting together." The benefits of this type of community effort stretch far beyond better nutrition for just one apartment complex. Urban Farming requires a small percentage of food from their sponsored plots be donated to help those in need.
The Urban Farming Food Chain Project also proposes that planting green space in heat reflecting city centers will lessen one of the causes of global warming, "...particularly in areas where concrete and steel are plentiful and ground space and greenery are scarce, the Food Chain will help to lower the heat index and the effects of global warming."
Supporting Urban Farming can promote better nutrition, reduce global warming, and encourage the development of sustainable communities. To start an Urban Farming garden in your neighborhood or volunteer go to www.urbanfarming.org for more information.
Further Reading:
