Minneapolis Urban Farm Turns Front Yards Into Lifelines Amid ICE Raids

In the heart of Minneapolis, a quiet revolution is growing—right in residents’ front yards. Black Radish Farm, founded by Carrie Thompson and Jade Townsend, has turned ornamental lawns into thriving food gardens that serve as a vital source of sustenance and solidarity during a wave of aggressive ICE enforcement.

When ICE agents fatally shot local resident Renee Good in January 2026 and launched a surge of immigration raids, Thompson immediately became an observer, documenting enforcement activity alongside neighbors. Meanwhile, Townsend coordinated food distribution for families too afraid to leave their homes. Their response wasn’t born from new resources but from years of community groundwork.

Starting in 2018, the couple removed grass from their front yard to plant edible gardens, inspiring neighbors to do the same. Today, 15 homeowners’ yards form a decentralized, regenerative farm that supplies a 50-member CSA, local restaurants, and mutual aid networks. The farm grows a wide range of vegetables and edible flowers—harvesting beds up to five times per season—and gives away surplus produce to local organizations like the Sanneh Foundation.

Thompson and Townsend’s work is more than agriculture—it’s a form of resistance against systemic failures. Minneapolis neighborhoods, scarred by the murder of George Floyd and the upheaval of the pandemic, have leaned on digital networks to organize protests and mutual aid. Black Radish Farm’s yard-to-yard model exemplifies how hyperlocal food systems can meet urgent needs when official structures fall short.

Their approach also challenges traditional ideas about urban land use. By converting front yards rather than backyards, they reclaim visible, communal spaces for nourishment and connection. The farm operates on a simple exchange: homeowners provide land and water, and in return receive free CSA shares and the labor of dedicated gardeners.

As ICE continues to disrupt lives, Black Radish Farm’s founders see their mission expanding. They are raising funds to cultivate a nearby quarter-acre plot, aiming to deepen food security in a city still grappling with racial injustice and economic instability.

In a time when federal policies threaten communities, Black Radish Farm is proof that grassroots action and creativity can plant the seeds of survival and hope.