Could the battle for South Central Farm be coming to a close?

By Jason Mark

09 Jun 2006

The scene at South Central Farm would look familiar to anyone who's ever attended a multi-day protest: there's a makeshift kitchen to feed the masses, a small sound stage, a tent for banner-making. But the kitchen is preparing nopales quesadillas instead of vegan stew, the stage features a Norteño band replete with cowboy hats, and the banner-makers are nine-year-old Latina girls. Que Dios bendiga esta jardin, reads one sign: God bless this garden.

Situated among the warehouses, railroad tracks, and truck depots of industrial Los Angeles, South Central Farm is something of an oasis, and it's become a vital food source for 350 low-income, mostly Latino families. Over the last few weeks, the threat of development has earned these 14 acres -- which comprise the nation's largest urban garden -- national and international attention.

Daryl Hannah, up a tree.

Photo: Mark Sullivan/WireImage.

In late May, after the first of two efforts by the Trust for Public Land to purchase the parcel from its owner failed, the farm's fate became a cause célèbre in a city well known for celebrity causes. Community organizers and Hollywood celebs began a last-ditch effort to raise awareness and secure permanent protection for the land. Joan Baez, Julia "Butterfly" Hill, and Daryl Hannah clambered into a tree, Ben Harper and Laura Dern rallied support, and the media slavered. Nightly vigils and interfaith prayer services grew by the day, with one event during Memorial Day weekend drawing hundreds of people. The protests continued into June; Hill, who has also undertaken a water-only fast to draw further attention to the cause, has proclaimed that she won't descend from her perch until the farm is protected.

Will they pave paradise and put up a ... warehouse?

Photo: Mark Sullivan/WireImage.