New Stories From 'Urban Agriculture Notes'
Random header image... Refresh for more!

These Black women urban farmers work to bring fresh food to southwest IL communities

Eugenia Alexander is planning to build a creative green safe space for the community serving the city of East Saint Louis at the intersection of Trendley Ave. and 11th St. By Derik Holtmann

Nearly 30 census tracts in St. Louis and St. Louis County qualify as food deserts, according to the most recent data from the United States Department of Agriculture.

By Deasia Paige
Belleville News-Democrat
March 25, 2021

Excerpt:

“I wanted to do that because what was happening was a lot of fruit was being recalled,(and) a lot of veggies were being recalled during the pandemic when it first started, so I was just like, you know what, us getting food from these grocery stores isn’t like promised,” Alexander said. . “Anything can happen. If it wasn’t a pandemic, to where it could be shut down and what are we gonna do?”

That was the start of Alexander’s fight for food justice, a grassroots cause aimed at eliminating barriers to accessing healthy foods. Now, nearly a year later, she’s making final preparations for what will become an urban farm compound in East St. Louis, a food desert, where the community can receive fresh produce and learn more about gardening. She plans to start it in the summer.

But she wouldn’t have been able to make preparations for the farm compound without the small network of Black women urban farmers in the St. Louis and metro-east region who are dedicated to bringing fresh produce to underserved communities.

That camaraderie is especially needed now, as Black communities are still experiencing the disproportionate consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and police brutality that defined the past year.

Read the complete article here.