Fresh Food Access and Food Sovereignty in North East LA

Food insecurity and access to basic needs

Applying a proven solution to a new issue or sector (using an existing model, tool, resource, strategy, etc. for a new purpose)

In a February 2023 study on food access in Northeast Los Angeles (NELA), half of the census tracts were identified as USDA-designated “food deserts.” Compounding effects of the pandemic and ongoing gentrification trends have exacerbated food insecurity issues in NELA’s lower-income neighborhoods. Approximately 55,000 households don’t have access to a food assistance provider within a 15-minute walk, forcing residents to navigate multiple grocers due to poor quality and limited healthy food options at local markets: “I wish we had more options here… corporations will not invest in communities of color and low socioeconomic [status], because they feel that we will not purchase expensive organic food,” one resident shared.
This lack of food autonomy drives reliance on processed foods, contributing to elevated rates of chronic health issues, prompting residents to seek groceries in neighboring areas, eroding the economic resilience of local businesses and jeopardizing cultural continuity.

This program has two components: 1. Continued operation of Ave 33’s farm, weekly EBT-authorized farmstand, and subsidies for locally sourced produce. Since launching in 2023, the farmstand sells an average of 520 lbs of produce to ~40 families each Saturday. Demand has been steadily growing, with sales more than doubling from 2023 to 2024. In 2024, 76% of weekly farmstand orders were from CalFresh participants who received a 75% discount subsidized by LA County’s Market Match Program and 64% of remaining customers utilized the sliding scale option we offer for low-income families. Grants funding the farmstand subsidies expire Jan 2025; LA2050 funding will sustain the sliding scale option for CalFresh and self-identifying low-income customers. 2. Other challenges that hinder food security include lead-contaminated soil and limited access to green spaces. As a result, we have started offering educational workshops on sustainable practices, including milpa (a traditional Mexican and Central American planting method) and at-home composting during the farmstand, empowering food sovereignty beyond making locally-significant crops accessible. LA2050 funding will support a new four-course “Community Food Sovereignty” workshop series covering: (1) seed saving, (2) crop maintenance and soil health, (3) harvesting, and (4) community meal and reflection. We hope to foster an intentional space for residents to learn about and practice food sovereignty without financial burdens.

This program will be successful in ensuring continued access to fresh, affordable produce in NELA. Further, the “Community Food Sovereignty Workshop" series will support at least 50 people in learning how to grow their own food while building community. The program will also sustain an essential food security initiative. Starting January 2025, EBT and low-income customers can utilize the sliding scale option, a program essential to sustaining food sovereignty and security in NELA. Funding will also support direct outreach to Lincoln Heights and NELA households which we anticipate will increase participation in the sliding scale program. We will track metrics like EBT / sliding scale customer sales and community event attendance over time to prepare for expanding the farmstand program to adjacent neighborhoods in the coming years. The farmstand is also an essential component of Ave 33’s student paid internship program, which offers urban agriculture education and student mentorship.

In our first year of operating the farmstand, we have seen orders increase by 50%. To track impact, we’ve introduced new protocols to monitor EBT and sliding scale usage, revealing growth from an average of 15 customers weekly in March 2023 to 38 currently. In addition, 76% of EBT customers have placed multiple orders at the farmstand, indicating that the farmstand is effectively providing affordable and consistent access to healthy foods. We also work with the community to ensure that our programming responds directly to community needs; for example, we began offering a wider variety of pantry staples and reduced radishes in our farm boxes based on feedback from weekly farmstand customer surveys. Looking ahead, we plan to launch a qualitative research project through the student internship program. Students will have agency to engage with the community to better gauge community needs and learn about how Ave 33’s programs address food accessibility concerns.