This is a quickly evolving situation! What Can You Do?
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VISIT OUR ALLIES, such as
Defend the Depot
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Climate Justice Committee
To join the organizing efforts, reach out to us at epnifarm@gmail.com.
Thank you for your interest in the East Phillips Urban Farm, and the effort to protect East Phillips Neighborhood and area residents from greater harm from pollution. For updates and resources, you can also visit our Link Tree, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and please sign up for our newsletter below. To join the organizing efforts, reach out to us at epnifarm@gmail.com.
The fight to heal the land is far from over. East Phillips is primarily low-income and one of the most racially diverse communities in the state, and experiences some of the worst racial health disparities due to toxic environmental pollution in the state. For eight years, our community has proposed to build a new community owned state-of-the-art-indoor-urban farm that includes: affordable housing, local production of healthy food, a job training facility, and all will be run on renewable energy such as solar. Our proposal has been community-driven, sustainable and serves the community's needs.
Note that this site is located in the SouthSide Green Zone (SSGZ), only two miles from the corner where George Floyd was killed. If the City’s Hiawatha Expansion Project is allowed to continue, it would violate the SSGZ policy, as well as the city’s own Climate Emergency Declaration principles. East Phillips residents assert it’s irresponsible and environmental racism to only consider locating toxic polluters in our most low income, majority Native American, and community of color neighborhoods, especially when that community already suffers from toxic environmental health overburdens–as is well documented in East Phillips residents.
Neighborhood organizers have worked incredibly hard during the last eight years to put together a plan to redevelop the site for an indoor urban farm, affordable housing, cultural markets, and incubators for small businesses near accessible public transit. During this time EPNI has secured the active support of State Representatives Hodan Hassan (62A) and Aisha Gomez (62B), Senators Omar Fateh (62) and Patricia Torres-Ray (63), and Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley (4). They also have strong commitments of support from numerous MN State House & Senate legislators and County Commissioner Conley to boldly advocate funding environmentally safe, community-based, community-led economic redevelopment at this site. Both bonding and direct appropriations targeted to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities from the State Legislature are already being drafted for the coming cycles.
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For additional questions about EPNI, contact Dean Dovolis at 612-817-0313 and deandovolis@gmail.com, Cassandra Holmes at 612-296-9499 and cassandra_tridani29@yahoo.com, or Steve Sandberg at 612-483-2941 and steve@stevesandberg.com.
Why the East Phillips Urban Farm Matters
The City of Minneapolis plans to relocate and expand their Public Works maintenance yard into our East Phillips neighborhood–a plan that would bring more pollution to our already overburdened community. Additionally, they refuse to have good faith discussions about our alternative community-based development project that would ensure environmental justice for our neighborhood. East Phillip neighborhood residents are predominantly low-income Native American, Latinx, African American, East African and other historically marginalized residents.
We can’t say it enough! We need your help raising funds for legal expenses: to post bond to stop the City’s proposed demolition of the Roof Depot, to have our case heard, and to continue the fight for our environmental rights in court. Toxic environmental pollution impacts our health, and we have some of the worst racial health disparities in Minneapolis. It’s imperative for our future and our children’s future that we stop the City’s project and have our day in court.
Check out this interactive map to see how YOU or your neighborhood parks, schools, and businesses might be affected.
- Click the icon on the top left of the map to read descriptions of any item you click on the map.
- Click the icon on the top right of the map to see the map full screen.