It’s Happening! Right Here, Right Now!
Community Services Unlimited Inc., (CSU) has decided to build a permanent presence in South Los Angeles and is in the process of purchasing the Paul Robeson building at 6569 South Vermont Avenue.
The 5,000 square foot building and 10,000 square foot lot will house a produce and grocery market, an on-site commercial kitchen, and an urban farm.
CSU’s has long been working to bring affordable high quality food to South LA. As a result the number of families who access this food has grown from 90 in 2007, when they launched the Village Market Place (VMP) social enterprise, to 8000 by the end of 2014! CSU now distributes over 100,000 pounds of local beyond organic produce in South LA through a variety of means designed to make access easy and keep the cost affordable.
Despite all the promises, and the policies passed since the LA rebellion in 1992, corporate super markets come to South LA, take tax credits and public dollars and then leave. 2013 saw the closure of 2 Ralph’s locations and we face impending closures of Fresh and Easy stores in and around South LA.
CSU’s commitment to transforming the health of our community is long term and multi-faceted, just as the oppression and neglect of it is systemic and old. They’ve been patiently building a localized food system from the ground up that engages community at every level, builds a market for local famers, creates jobs for local residents, keeps our dollars local, and makes good food accessible.
Come out and celebrate CSU and this victory for our community! There’ll be amazing local musicians, great food and drink and CSU will be sharing the vision for the space. Please RSVP to Heather@csuinc.org.
Access to good food is a basic human right. Let’s make this real in South LA.
