South Central Farm is the largest urban farm in the United States. It was started in 1992 on 14 acres in South Central Los Angeles, and currently feeds 350 families who grow their own food and no longer need to rely on handouts from the food bank.
The city initially set it aside as a community garden after protests stopped a planned trash incinerator, but for the past decade it has been trying to sell it to developer Ralph Horowitz and his partners. The farmers have taken legal action to prevent this from happening, but yesterday the LA Superior Court ruled in favor of Horowitz and declared the farmers to be illegally squatting.
At his discretion, Horowitz can now summon the LA Sheriff's Department to remove the farmers from their land, so he can demolish it and build a warehouse.
Needless to say, the farmers and their supporters aren't planning to go anywhere - they've been camping on the land since mid-2005 to prevent just this kind of thing from happening. Support is needed now more than ever. There will be a rally at Ralph Horowitz's office this Friday and a call has gone out for people to come camp on the farm.
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