{"id":263844,"date":"2025-09-29T13:02:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/263844\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:02:14","slug":"oak-cliffs-food-desert-grows-smaller-with-urban-farming-education-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/263844\/","title":{"rendered":"Oak Cliff\u2019s food desert grows smaller with urban farming education efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helen Dulac\u2019s homemade jams and jellies lined a long table framed with award ribbons for her Peppers and Petals brand. She\u2019s an urban farmer who was at a weekend health and food fair in Oak Cliff<\/a>, but not only to sell her homegrown goods. <\/p>\n

Dulac, of Grand Prairie<\/a>, works at the Dallas nonprofit Grow North Texas, which aims to improve food systems. She was one of dozens of vendors who set up shop at the 10th annual VegFest on Sept. 21, hoping to connect more people with food.<\/p>\n

As an instructor, Dulac helps people become more successful farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to grow tomatoes in the winter, right? You grow tomatoes when it\u2019s warm,\u201d she said. \u201cI taught a class about that lesson Friday night.\u201d <\/p>\n

Eat Drink D-FW<\/p>\n

The latest food and drink reviews, recipes and info on the D-FW food scene.<\/p>\n

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Dulac is among a growing population of people who strive to have control over their food. The idea was born from a grassroots movement recognized by sustainability experts and the federal government as \u201cfood sovereignty<\/a>,\u201d the right of people to define and control their food and agriculture systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting from seed all the way till when it produces that fruit or that crop and then even being able to take that and make it into an extra thing, such as the jam,\u201d Dulac said. \u201cIt\u2019s the whole cycle. It makes me feel connected to the Earth, to nature and also to my food.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Business<\/p>\n

Business was steady at the “Slammin Jammin” booth as Feed Oak Cliff hosted Dallas VegFest, a health and food fair, at Kiest Park Recreation Center, 3081 S. Hampton in Dallas, on September 21, 2025. <\/p>\n

Steve Hamm \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

Feed Oak Cliff<\/a>, a nonprofit focused on ending food deserts, hosted VegFest at Kiest Park Recreation Center. The event was designed to give resources and support to a community that lacks sustainable access to healthy food. <\/p>\n

A food desert is an urban area \u201clow-access community\u201d where at least 33% of the population lives more than 1 mile from a supermarket, or a rural area where residents have to travel more than 10 miles to access healthy fresh food, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s definition.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Volunteers<\/p>\n

Dulac grows vegetables and fruit trees in her backyard garden, one that the USDA recognizes with its own farm number.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy backyard is officially a farm in the eyes of the government,\u201d Dulac said. \u201cThere is a small group of people in the USDA who are trying to elevate urban farming. Getting people to be able to grow closer to home increases our food security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Food access for all<\/p>\n

Though the name VegFest seems to invite vegans and vegetarians, Anga Sanders, Feed Oak Cliff\u2019s founder and CEO, said anyone is welcome at the fair, no matter what types of food they like to eat. Vendors sold cinnamon rolls, dumplings, fruits and vegetables. Oak Cliff Veggie Project<\/a> handed out fresh produce.<\/p>\n

Specialists on chair yoga and meditation spoke with attendees and taught classes, discussing the relationship between healthy eating, breathing techniques and a holistic lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Donald Moy, a vegan of 30 years, spoke with shoppers at the fair about the health benefits of following a vegetarian diet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same vitamins and nutrients you can get from animal flesh are the same thing you can get from plant sources,\u201d said Moy, who is president of the Black Vegetarian Society of Texas.<\/p>\n

Since the early 2000s, the society has targeted its cooking classes and education resources for Black communities, which statics show are disproportionately impacted by food deserts. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been other organizations that are geared toward vegetarianism, but often we don\u2019t feel comfortable to be a part of it,\u201d Moy said. The group specifically helps Black families understand the important link between their health and what they eat.<\/p>\n

\"Event<\/p>\n

Event attendees make their way through a maze of booths as Feed Oak Cliff hosted Dallas VegFest, a health and food fair which was held at Kiest Park Recreation Center, 3081 S. Hampton in Dallas, on September 21, 2025. <\/p>\n

Steve Hamm \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

Food deserts in Oak Cliff, a predominantly Hispanic and Black community, have decreased in recent years through the work of volunteers like Sanders. <\/p>\n

VegFest is just part of her work to bring food equity to her corner of Dallas. She\u2019s also tried to recruit traditional grocers to Oak Cliff for years to help fill the gaps in healthy food access in her neighborhood. <\/p>\n

\u201cI do my grocery shopping on the other side of town,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think it was right to have to drive 25 miles round trip to do that.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lack of economic investment in areas such as Oak Cliff and throughout southern Dallas contributed to the food deserts. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s another reason why Dallas VegFest is in its 10th year: Sanders has been working to change a misconception about her home for years through community action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who have never been to Oak Cliff,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThey think it is a crime-ridden, high-poverty \u2026 uneducated [area]. I thought I needed to change the perception, in addition to providing nutrition education for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Federal government rollbacks<\/p>\n

Oak Cliff\u2019s perennial fight against food insecurity comes amid the Trump administration\u2019s rollback of federal support for food programs.<\/p>\n

The White House announced this month that it\u2019s ending the USDA\u2019s annual report on hunger in America<\/a>, stating that it had become \u201coverly politicized\u201d and \u201crife with inaccuracies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision comes two and a half months after President Donald Trump signed legislation sharply reducing food aid to the nation\u2019s hungriest.<\/p>\n

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the tax and spending cuts signed into law in July mean 3 million more people will not qualify for food stamps<\/a>, or SNAP.<\/p>\n

North Texas food providers were scrambling to find <\/a>a way to fill a $9.2 million funding gap created by cuts in March to two USDA programs that bought food from local farmers.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

The USDA froze more than $1 billion nationally from the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement programs, which were created during the pandemic to help food banks get more fresh food and boost farmers\u2019 revenue.<\/p>\n

Texas is home to more hungry people than any other state, the second year in a row it has held the national spot, according to data<\/a> released in May by Feeding America, a national hunger nonprofit.<\/p>\n

Dallas-Fort Worth ranks third among U.S. metro areas for the number of people facing hunger, according to the Map the Meal Gap study, which analyzed 2023 data and highlighted a complex reality for Texas and one of its largest metro areas.<\/p>\n

\"Erin<\/p>\n

Erin Wakefield replaces an empty box with fresh veggies at the Oak Cliff Veggie Project booth. Feed Oak Cliff hosted Dallas VegFest, a health and food fair which was held at Kiest Park Recreation Center, 3081 S. Hampton in Dallas, on September 21, 2025. <\/p>\n

Steve Hamm \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

A community development dream<\/p>\n

Despite the uphill climb to Sanders\u2019 dream for food sovereignty in Oak Cliff, she said her vision for a three-in-one community development is crystal clear.<\/p>\n

She envisions a community grocery store, a restaurant that serves healthy grab-and-go meals and a classroom to train workers, who would be hired from the community to staff the grocery and restaurant. It would also host classes on business management, tax prep and food regulations.<\/p>\n

The space would also be an opportunity to have a commercial kitchen in the area where cooks can rent the space and create products they can sell to more people. \u201cThere are a lot of good cooks in this area,\u201d she said. \u201cI am not one of them.\u201d <\/p>\n

The store and restaurant could be a bright spot in Oak Cliff\u2019s food desert, Sanders said, a financial, physical and psychological ray of hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you grow up and you live in a community where you\u2019re always treated as less than, and you don\u2019t have as many options, and nobody\u2019s interested in giving you any options, either for what to eat or how to start a business, I think that does something to you mentally,\u201d she said. \u201cTo provide those resources would be uplifting to the community. We are worthy of having these opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff writer Maria Salette Ontiveros and The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Helen Dulac\u2019s homemade jams and jellies lined a long table framed with award ribbons for her Peppers and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":263845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,7290,990,11644,1141,10429,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-263844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-county","11":"tag-food","12":"tag-food-insecurity","13":"tag-health-care","14":"tag-oak-cliff","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-tx","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115287723259750603","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}