In the 1990s, Crenshaw Community Garden was such a phenomenon that it spawned a company called Food from the 'Hood, garnered a write-up in The New York Times, and was paid a visit by England's Prince Charles.
For nearly a decade, however, the 2.5-acre garden — which sits on the campus of Crenshaw High in Southwest Los Angeles — hasn't thrived as it once did.
"We're trying to get it revitalized," said Bill Vanderberg, Crenshaw High Dean of Students and faculty adviser to the school's Eco Club. "We haven't used it for the past couple of years. We plan to change that."
The City of Los Angeles also hopes to change the garden's fate. The office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is organizing a cleanup for the garden that's expected in June, and is working to form a partnership with Crenshaw High that would entail finding a master farmer to nurse the garden back into shape.
"There isn't anybody that's driving the program," said Deputy Mayor Larry Frank. "We're looking to help them get some partners."
Two other Los Angeles Unified School district campuses — Fremont High School and Venice High School — have active community gardens, and Frank said that he'd like to see Crenshaw's garden thrive once more, reclaiming the status it achieved after it came into being after the 1992 L.A. riots, helped along by biology teacher Tammy Bird.
Back then, Bird and Crenshaw High students worked with business consultant Melinda McMullen to develop Food from the 'Hood with the garden's produce, which was sold at the Santa Monica Farmers Market. The program gave students an opportunity to learn entrepreneurial skills and to receive college scholarships with the company's proceeds.
Now, Food from the 'Hood operates independently of the Crenshaw Community Garden. According to its website, the organization now sends students from throughout Los Angeles to the 25-acre Veterans' Garden.
Asked what contributed to Crenshaw Community Garden's fall from its prime, Vanderberg said that oversight became difficult because of frequent changes in the administration of Crenshaw High over the years, among other factors. Now a parent at the school, along with Crenshaw's Eco Club and representatives of the school-based Social Justice Academy, are eager to spearhead the garden's revitalization.
"It just seems it could be better utilized," Vanderberg said of the renewed interest in the garden.
The June 27 cleanup of the garden will entail pulling out weeds, creating beds and turning over soil.
"The hope is it will come back," Frank said. There's a huge amount of effort and commitment needed for the garden to make it a functional community space."
When Crenshaw Community Garden launched in 1992, a portion of the proceeds it made from sales was donated to the needy. Now, Frank wants to give poor people the opportunity to use food stamps to buy the produce from the garden once it is up and running. He would also like the garden to have an association with farmers markets in the area like it did before.
"The idea of having it connected to the actual farmers markets is a great educational tool," he said.
Frank said the timeline of the garden's revitalization project depends on city leadership. In the meantime, volunteers are sought for the June cleanup of the garden.
To volunteer, contact (213) 978-0600.
Nadra Kareem is a writer for the L.A. Watts Times.
Photo by Tyrone D. Washington/L.A. Mayor's Office
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