Building Food Sovereignty in the Westside

As America’s fastest-heating city, Las Vegas shows us the future we all face: 110-degree heat waves, water and electricity shortages, wildfires, and long waiting lines in blistering heat for crowded cooling centers.

BIPOC residents of Las Vegas’ Historic Westside are impacted by multiple crises including food apartheid, economic disinvestment, and housing insecurity. As fossil fuel extraction and the climate emergency continue unaddressed, Westside residents also face severe impacts from extreme heat domes / unsurvivable heat waves, water scarcity, and poor air quality. And yet, residents on the frontlines of the crisis are often excluded from decisionmaking by the government, business and advocacy institutions that claim to address these issues.

In 2023-2024, The Climate Mobilization worked with 5 local organizations and with Westside residents to change this equation by supporting the launch of a community organization affiliated with Green Side Up Farms.

When farmer Alaric Overbey from Green Side Up Farms talks about the Westside, he shares a story that is unfolding across the U.S. – powerful institutions deciding on a community’s future while residents are left out. But today, Green Side Up is growing the Westside’s sovereignty over vital resources and inspiring communities across the U.S. to organize alongside Las Vegas.

At the end of June 2024, The Climate Mobilization staff spent four days meeting with Green Side Up Farms, and two nights in hours-long workshops with community leaders. As a result, 14 leaders committed to launching a new organization to build up Westside residents’ leadership and power.

These leaders have now developed an action plan to build sustainable, community-controlled grassroots democracy and economic development on the Westside.