Black Power Blueprint purchased the first parcel of land at a sheriff’s sale in 2022 at 3901 W. Florissant, then acquired two adjacent lots—one along W. Florissant and one on Linton Avenue—combining all three into a single one-third-acre site. This land is now home to Shamba La Uhuru – Freedom Farm!
Custom Foodscapes created the design for the farm. Click the Map of Shamba la Uhuru to watch their video tour.
Before – click to view video
After.
DJM Environmental Solutions completed the lot grading and soil testing.
In early 2026, we will finish developing the site, plant it in the Spring and bring healthy food to North St. Louis, a longtime food desert. Taking back the POWER to end food apartheid in North St. Louis!
Shamba la Uhuru Freedom Farm will feature twenty-two 25-foot raised vegetable beds, a fruit orchard, berry patches, flowers, pollinator and herb gardens, Three Sisters and children’s gardens, free-range chickens, a large stage, a pavilion with picnic tables and native shade trees, a farm stand, and more.
We are transforming three abandoned properties into an urban farm and green space adjacent to the Black Power Vanguards Basketball Court, and near several other Black Power Blueprint programs revitalizing the devastated W. Florissant Corridor—bringing life back to a once-bustling Black community!
Shamba la Uhuru will beautify and transform our urban landscape, expand access to healthy food, and create a vibrant gathering place—uniting our community in the work of building power and self-determination.
Shamba la Uhuru is a community-driven program that will employ skilled farmers, train volunteers, and empower our neighbors to establish their own gardens.
Shamba La Uhuru will supply fresh vegetables and herbs to the Uhuru Bakery & Café, which is bringing delicious, healthy, homestyle food to the neighborhood and creating jobs for our community.
Another unique and beautiful feature of this farm is its cultivation and drying of sage and other traditional African plants and herbs. The celebration of African cultural life, the love we show our community, and the spirit of collective work for change are powerful gifts that Shamba la Uhuru will bring to this long-neglected neighborhood.
Shamba la Uhuru is an expansion of the Gary Brooks Community Garden, which has produced more than 1,000 pounds of organic vegetables and herbs annually and distributed them free of charge to the community for the past five years. With a much larger growing space and significantly higher yields, Shamba la Uhuru will greatly expand fresh food production for our community.
Volunteer Spotlight
“Access to food is a human right.
Access to fertile soil is a human right.
African and other colonized people have the right to fight for healthy, nutritious foods.
We want African self-determination and an end to food apartheid!”
–Ileana (left), with her husband Daniel – Black Power Blueprint newsletter staff writer
● Trevor and Mathew from Custom Foodscapes
● Bennett from DMJ Environmental Solutions