Nurturing Roots: Black Led Urban Farm fights Displacement

Nurturing Roots Farm, a well-known Seattle based farming and food program- is building a hive of support to prevent what they are calling a cold and callas removal from church owned property in the Beacon Hill area.

Two years ago, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced $9.8 million in awards through the Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) to support the purchase of additional properties to house BIPOC organizations at risk of displacement. EDI is a central component of the City’s effort to support Seattle’s existing residents, businesses and organizations in high displacement risk neighborhoods.

Nurturing Roots, a stand out organization providing much needed healthy food distribution and education programming in Southeast Seattle, was awarded $935,000 to support the purchase of their location on Beacon Hill, where the organization has thrived for nearly ten years. Though Nurturing Roots staff and volunteers have been told on numerous occasions by Bethany UCC (the landowners they’ve rented from since 2016) that they would be allowed to buy the parcel of land their farm resides on, after securing the funding to purchase the land, the church is now not only balking at selling- but has issued a 30-day notice demanding that Nurturing Roots Farm vacate the property.

Nurturing Roots will be held a rally this past Sunday, March 19, 2023 engaging support to stop this very displacement EDI was designed to prevent from occurring.