According to the “Environmental Racism In St. Louis” report released in 2019 by Action St. Louis, Arch City Defenders, Dutchtown South Community Corporation, the Sierra Club and Washington University’s School of Law, it is almost twice as likely that Black residents of St. Louis will have limited access to healthy food as compared to white residents. With this known, many local organizers and community leaders have stepped up to create ways to combat this long-running issue by creating organizations, program initiatives, and community groups to do the work.
In order for these individuals and their programs to continue combating food apartheid, support is always needed. That is where you come in! Support can come in the form of monetary donations, in-kind donations, volunteering, and so many more ways. Here’s a list of groups you can start supporting today.
EVOLVE (Elevating Voices of Leaders Vying for Equity)
As stated in their mission, EVOLVE (founded by Tosha Phonix and Kelly McGowan) works to “build community-driven platforms that activates the creation of equitable food systems and build environments to support the well-being of all St. Louisans.” They offer regular community check-ins which gives everyday citizens the opportunity to add their voices to the conversation around food justice.
Growing Food Growing People
Growing Food Growing People is a program started by Leah Lee-Burnett with a goal to donate farm-to-table produce to local institutions (schools, organizations, restaurants, etc) and promote healthy eating through organic produce. Their mission is fostered by harvesting according to season and using organic practices to offer the healthiest and most delicious produce possible “from local growers who care.”
New Roots Urban Farm
New Roots Urban Farm functions as an “anti-profit collective” located on Hogan St. in the St. Louis Place neighborhood. The farm is used as a catalyst for this collective to combat systemic issues beyond the scope of the food system including housing and transportation systems. They offer opportunities for the public to tour their site and learn about the work they’re doing.
Tha Muthaship
Tha Muthaship is a mobile wellness studio and urban farm project created to offer access to health resources in underserved communities in the St. Louis area. They accomplish this by offering organic food, herbal medicine, and other forms of wellness like guided meditation and breathwork to all communities. In addition to the formation and sustainment of their farm and mobile studio, they are working towards getting a greenhouse to have produce available year-round.
Donate to Tha Muthaship’s GoFundMe
The Indigo Garden Project
The Indigo Garden Project is an initiative started by artist Eugenia Alexander with the purpose of fostering a safe space for community members and artists to use for art education, food justice, and other community-centered work. The space is being created in East St. Louis, IL on land once owned by Eugenia’s great-grandmother in which she too gardened on.
Donate to The Indigo Garden Project’s GoFundMe
Ujima
Ujima is a nonprofit founded by Nick Speed whose mission is to empower the community and its youth through food-related programs and initiatives while also fostering environmental stewardship. In the past year, they started working on their latest initiative, Project Salsa, where they pay young community members to teach them about the entire process of creating a line of salsa, from growing the food to marketing the product.
