Pioneer Profile: Dian Moss

If you have ever had a conversation with Dian Moss one of the first things you notice is that she is a storyteller. It’s no surprise then that her organization, Project New Village, also has a story to tell.

As a social justice activist, Miss Moss established Project New Village in 1994  to work with her community on the issues facing the Southeastern San Diego neighborhood where she lived. At the time food justice was not yet on her radar. Growing up in Los Angeles, in a neighborhood not dissimilar to Southeastern San Diego, she thought you just had to live with what food was available; not yet knowing the politics behind food apartheid.

In 2008 that all changed when Dian attended a conference and sat next to Ellee Igoe who is a long-time visionary in the food justice movement. After talking all day with Ellee and subsequently attending another meeting about the state of food justice in California, Dian realized that none of her neighbors were in attendance and there were few people of color in the room.

With a new understanding that food access is a social justice issue Dian called a meeting in her community to see what they could do to create more good food abundance. Part of what came out of those discussions was the establishment of Project New Village as a non-profit so they could really get serious about community change. 

It was an uphill battle getting community buy-in. After all, it’s not like Southeastern San Diego was lacking in food in general, but in good food in particular. And there was skepticism about interacting with government and regulatory agencies to get higher quality food. Not to mention, the historical traumas associated with asking Black and Brown community members to grow their own food.

However, Dian believed her community deserved more and kept the momentum going with open meetings and dialogue. Over time, she heard her neighbors voice their desire for a farmers’ market and a community garden. As meetings grew and attracted more participants from all over the city, councilman Tony Young, whose office was next door, took notice. He called Miss Moss and asked if he donated $50,000, would that help to plant a garden. YES, she said. After city ordinances were changed to make it easier to grow food on public property, the planting finally began.

There have been a series of “minor miracles” in the days since the first garden was planted. For instance, upon arriving at the garden in late 2019, Dian found a “For Sale” sign posted on her fence. Since the garden is on public property this wasn’t entirely shocking, but it sent Project New Village and its partners into action. At the time, one of the partners was a developer/planner and suggested Project New Village submit a bid to purchase the land. The bid was a success, beating out three other proposals from housing developers and ensuring Project New Village’s roots in the garden.

First hurdle down, now where will the money come from? Time for more “minor miracles.” Due to Miss Moss’ incomparable vision and ability to establish integral relationships, The Conservation Fund offered Project New Village a loan to cover the cost of purchasing the land. However, the offer was contingent on Project New Village acquiring $100,000 in pledges and cash in 60 days. And they did.

Now that they own the land, Miss Moss can focus on engaging the community by offering wellness programs with various classes and activities.  Though many of these activities have been on hold due to COVID. As a result, Miss Moss has focused on ensuring her neighbors continue to have access to good food throughout the pandemic. She worked with funding and sweat equity from Tito’s Vodka to turn the garden into a newly-producing food forest. Miss Moss is partnering again with Ellee Igoee to host a weekly farm stand at the garden and has plans to expand into a mobile farmers’ market truck. Miss Moss is also participating in the Fish to Families program,  providing free meals featuring locally-caught fish to families in Southeastern San Diego. 

Miss Moss continues to do what she thinks is good for the neighborhood.  One day she was in the garden and she saw a man coming from the liquor store, walking fast with a lot of energy. He had a bag in his hands and came into the garden. And he gave her the bag. What Miss Moss did not know is that he had been to the garden earlier and picked some guava, gone home and made juice. He wanted her to sample it.  He said, “This place is paradise. I have paradise in my neighborhood!”

We agree that Miss Moss is helping to create paradise and history in the Greater Southeastern San Diego neighborhoods. If you would like to help by volunteering or donating please visit https://projectnewvillage.org/.

If you’re interested in either the farm stand or the Fish to Families Program, please visit the garden on Thursday afternoons from 4:00pm-6:00pm.

Project New Village

Mount Hope Community Garden

4261 Market St, San Diego, CA 92102

(619) 262-2022

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