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However, those reforms didn\u2019t protect the garden when its lease ended in 2019, and the city put its land up for sale to align with\u00a0evolving state laws<\/a>\u00a0to address the housing crisis. The Mt. Hope parcel was legally classified as surplus property, not a community asset, which the reforms would have safeguarded. The group managed to secure a loan from the nonprofit\u00a0Conservation Fund<\/a>\u00a0in the nick of time, and outbid developers.<\/p>\n Owning the garden brought stability and fueled new initiatives. The group purchased the produce truck with state and private funds. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants supported farmers\u2019 market promotion, and a 2023 Alliance Healthcare Foundation grant contributed $2 million toward building a market \u2014 a cornerstone of the planned food hub.<\/p>\n In 2024,\u00a0San Diego State University researchers<\/a>\u00a0who evaluated how these efforts were impacting food security noted that the produce truck \u201cis beginning to address food apartheid to promote health equity.\u201d<\/p>\n An underserved community<\/p>\n Project New Village\u2019s work is increasingly urgent. Food insecurity affects 26 percent of San Diego County residents, comparable to pandemic levels. In Southeast San Diego, where Project New Village operates, the numbers are higher because the poverty rate is\u00a0up to three times<\/a>\u00a0the county average. This area also has the county\u2019s highest enrollment for CalFresh, California\u2019s version of SNAP.<\/p>\n Many people in this majority Black and Latinx area live more than a mile from a supermarket, and most small stores\u00a0lack fresh produce and healthy food<\/a>. But don\u2019t call Southeast San Diego a food desert. The term \u201cfood apartheid<\/a>\u201d more precisely captures what\u2019s missing: land ownership and capital.<\/p>\n San Diego County has the nation\u2019s\u00a0highest concentration<\/a> of farms, with more than 5,000 operations, 69 percent of which are small \u2014 between one and nine acres \u2014 and located mostly in the unincorporated inland and northern parts of the county. It is a top producer of nursery products, floriculture and avocados.<\/p>\n Things look much different in Southeast San Diego. In the early 20th century,\u00a0racially restrictive covenants<\/a>\u00a0concentrated non\u2011white residents in Southeast San Diego, and\u00a0redlining<\/a>\u00a0denied them federal mortgage loans to buy land and build wealth. Many families once farmed small plots, but as suburbs grew and land values rose, the foodscape hollowed out,\u00a0a casualty of development<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, federal cuts under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill have deepened nutrition insecurity, slashing programs like SNAP, which had contributed most of the food aid in San Diego (for every meal provided by the\u00a0Feeding America<\/a>\u00a0charitable network, SNAP supplied nine). The cuts total roughly\u00a0$300 million per year<\/a>\u00a0for San Diego nonprofits and safety\u2011net programs, putting 100,000 San Diegans at risk of losing food assistance.<\/p>\n To help offset the cuts, private funders led by the\u00a0San Diego Foundation<\/a>\u00a0awarded more than $2.5 million to programs that provide resources such as medically tailored meals and weekend food kits. Project New Village was able to use $250,000 of this aid for\u00a0operating<\/a> its mobile farmers\u2019 market. The nonprofit is otherwise less dependent on federal dollars, powering through with a mix of philanthropic<\/a> funders, state<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0city<\/a>\u00a0grants, and\u00a0community\u2011based<\/a>\u00a0donors.<\/p>\n \nThe EFOD model\n<\/p>\n The Mt. Hope Community Garden, mobile farmers\u2019 market, backyard growers\u2019 network and future food hub form what Project New Village calls the Good Food District.<\/p>\n The nonprofit is building this community\u2011owned economic engine through\u00a0Equitable Food Oriented Development<\/a>, which focuses on\u00a0reparative wealth building<\/a>\u00a0rather than maximizing investor profit.<\/p>\n The EFOD strategy was\u00a0formalized in 2019<\/a>\u00a0by a collaborative of nonprofits across the country that had spent decades working to give their communities a say in their food systems, with support from\u00a0DAISA<\/a>, an equity-focused consulting firm, and the\u00a0Kresge Foundation<\/a>. To date, the collaborative has funded more than 40 BIPOC\u2011led food and agriculture projects, including the\u00a0Detroit Food Commons<\/a>, a national model for community\u2011owned retail, and\u00a0El Depa<\/a>, in Puerto Rico, which advances seed sovereignty and agroecology.<\/p>\n San Diego has few community\u2011wealth models, according to the\u00a0San Diego Food System Alliance<\/a> (SDFSA), a sustainable food nonprofit and Project New Village partner. There are too many barriers, including zoning limits, redevelopment pressure and\u00a0sky-high land costs<\/a>.\u00a0Cheaper lots<\/a> often lack water, accessibility and other features that would make them suitable EFOD candidates.<\/p>\n \u201cLand is the foundation,\u201d says Sona Desai, SDFSA co\u2011executive director. The organization is developing the county\u2019s first agricultural land trust to help underserved growers secure land.<\/p>\n Project New Village applied for and received an EFOD designation in 2021 and remains the only EFOD organization in San Diego. Membership is highly selective. While designation doesn\u2019t guarantee funding, it opens access to capital designed for community\u2011owned, non\u2011extractive food\u2011system work and strengthens eligibility for other public and private dollars. EFOD is backed by philanthropic, affordable-lending and community\u2011investment partners, which still includes the Kresge Foundation.<\/p>\n With a public market, commercial kitchen, healthy food vendors and event space, The Village will bring the kind of amenities to Southeast San Diego that many communities take for granted.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Village project brings food dignity to a community lacking in neighborhood healthy food choices,\u201d says Ami Young, a resident who shops at the produce truck and prioritizes local and organic food.<\/p>\n \t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tWait, you’re not a member yet?<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tJoin the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/in-southeast-san-diego-a-model-for-creating-community-wealth-through-food-2.jpg\"\/)
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A rendering of The Village, a $10 million project that will integrate the Mt. Hope Community Garden and include a fresh\u2011food marketplace, prepared\u2011food vendor stalls, a commercial kitchen and a community gathering space. Credit: MW Steele Group<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/memb-banner-mob.jpg\"\/)
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