A Lifeline in a Food Desert: Urban Oasis Brings Fresh Food to Miami’s Most Vulnerable

By: Ximena Hidalgo | UMTV Reporter

As federal food benefits remain uncertain for millions of Americans, a South Florida nonprofit is stepping in to make sure families don’t go hungry. At neighborhood farmers markets and front doorsteps across Miami-Dade County, the Urban Oasis Project provides fresh, affordable food to residents who can’t afford to wait.

Every Sunday morning, dozens of families gather at the Legion Park Farmers Market in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood. Shoppers browse stands stocked with bananas, tomatoes, leafy greens and other produce grown by local farmers. But for many, the market offers more than just fresh food.

“I actually started coming down here looking for organic produce that’s local,” said Marie, a volunteer with nonprofit organization Urban Oasis. “Not something shipped overseas that’s called organic that’s not really organic.”

Urban Oasis runs the weekly farmers market with a mission rooted in community health and food access. For shoppers using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the market has become a vital resource at a time when food insecurity remains widespread across South Florida.

“People don’t understand the significance of having quality food,” Marie said. “I see people here who get SNAP and are still struggling. They’re trying to eat well and improve their health. Some have cancer, and they’re still trying.”

Founded in 2008, the Urban Oasis Project was created to fight food insecurity in some of Miami’s lowest-income neighborhoods. Food insecurity refers to the lack of reliable access to affordable, nutritious food, a challenge faced by more than 240,000 people in Miami-Dade County alone, including one in six children. Across South Florida, nearly half a million residents are considered food insecure.

Founder Art Friedrich said the idea for Urban Oasis was born years earlier when he saw how a small community garden could make a meaningful difference.

“I started a community garden in St. Louis and really saw the impact it had on neighborhood kids,” Friedrich said. “Food is something that’s common across all people and cultures. That’s where the inspiration came from.”

At Urban Oasis markets, SNAP recipients can swipe their EBT cards and receive wooden coins equal to the value of their benefits. Those coins can then be used like cash to buy fruits and vegetables, effectively stretching limited food budgets.

“We talk about food insecurity all the time in general terms,” Friedrich said. “But here, we’re seeing real people who aren’t sure what they’re going to eat this week — especially if it’s going to be something fresh and nutritious.”

SNAP, the federal program that helps low-income families purchase groceries, experienced benefit cuts in November 2025 during a federal government shutdown. The reductions left many households struggling to afford healthy food, increasing reliance on nonprofit programs like Urban Oasis.

Anna, a SNAP recipient who shops at the market, said the program offers more than financial support.

“We’ve experienced being looked down on as SNAP recipients,” she said. “But the coins they give us let us take full advantage of the market without feeling like things aren’t attainable for us.”

Urban Oasis operates up to four farmers markets across South Florida, but its work extends beyond weekly shopping events. The nonprofit also delivers boxes of fresh produce directly to residents’ homes. Customers can order boxes online for about half their actual value, making nutritious food accessible to people with limited mobility or transportation.

Marie said those boxes became a lifeline when her health declined.

“I went through all my savings before I ended up on SNAP,” she said. “Working with Art and getting the food boxes was about trying to regain my health. I didn’t think I’d walk again.”

In addition to food deliveries, Urban Oasis helps residents grow their own produce by building home gardens on a pay-what-you-can basis. Volunteers bring soil, plants and raised beds to families’ homes, prioritizing elderly residents and people on fixed incomes.

“We want people to have access to local food not just at the farmers markets,” said volunteer Rhi Gonzalez, “but right in their own backyards.”

So far, Urban Oasis has planted some 40 home gardens and three community gardens across South Florida. One of those partnerships is with a low-income housing community in Pembroke Pines, where residents now have access to discounted produce and on-site gardens.

Once a month, Urban Oasis brings a pop-up farmers market to the housing complex, offering produce at 50% off. The organization has also planted gardens throughout the property, allowing residents to harvest vegetables just steps from their homes.

Resident Brad Sloop said the monthly markets have become something to look forward to.

“I think it’s terrific that their mission is getting people to eat healthy food,” he said. “I love their bananas and their tomatoes.”

For others, the markets offer something less tangible but equally important.

“I come down every time they come,” said resident Marie Honoré. “I didn’t have a home before, and this gives me a sense of community.”

Friedrich said that sense of connection is central to Urban Oasis’ mission.

“My passion has always been to create the alternative institutions we want to see,” he said. “This isn’t a typical economic transaction. It’s personal. It’s relational.”

As questions around federal food assistance continue, Urban Oasis is working alongside the communities it serves, planting gardens, delivering produce and building spaces where residents can nourish both body and spirit.

Through every market and every garden, the nonprofit is investing in more than just food — it is investing in people.