Thursday July 2, 2020
2:00 – 3:30pm
Online webinar for funders only
Register Here (*required)
In New York State, agriculture is one of the most racially inequitable of all the state’s economic sectors. A long tradition of black liberation scholarship and activism centers land and food enterprise as cornerstones of black community-building. This goal has been thwarted by institutionalized racism and discrimination in lending, insufficient representation at policy tables, inappropriate tools and criteria, and a general dearth of resources needed to facilitate black farmers’ and food business owners’ access to land and capital. Despite those barriers, there is burgeoning black interest in farming and healthier food resulting from decades of organizing, institution-building, and by ongoing health disparities in black communities – made more egregious by the devastating impact of COVID19 on Black and Brown communities.
Join Community Food Funders in a presentation and dialogue with the Northeast Farmers of Color (NEFOC) Land Trust and the Black Farmer Fund to learn how they are institutionalizing solutions to make land and capital accessible for Black and BIPOC farmers. Hear how their work is situated within an ecosystem of local, regional, and national organizations that are working to realize a racially just transition in the food system.
Speakers will be:
- Christine Hutchinson, Board Member, NEFOC Land Trust
- Stephanie Morningstar, Coordinator, NEFOC Land Trust
- Olivia Watkins, President, Black Farmer Fund
- Melanie Allen, Program Director, Black Farmer Fund
Co-sponsored by Surdna Foundation and Philanthropy New York
More about the organizations
The Northeast Farmers of Color (NEFOC) Land Trust is working to create land access for BIPOC farmers, earth workers, and land stewards through a two-tier community land trust model that will acquire land by reparations, rematriation, land return, land donation, tax lien sale, and purchase. We are working to conserve land through the protection of native species ecosystems, regenerative farming and agroforestry, and advancement of environmental policy that upholds the Rights of Nature. We are innovating ethical and meaningful land access for BIPOC through development of our Indigenous Consultation Policy and the legal tool of cultural respect agreements. Our land trust centers BIPOC voices and leadership, connection to spirit, honors Indigenous sovereignty, and reclamation of ancestral wisdom, while paying careful attention to healing colonial harm and creating a carbon drawdown in the Northeast.
Black Farmer Fund (BFF) is an emerging charitable community investment fund that seeks to make blended capital investments to black farmers and food system entrepreneurs in New York State to create a more equitable food system. BFF envisions a thriving, resilient food economy in which consumers and producers participate jointly as community wealth builders to repair black communities’ relationship to food and land. Achieving this vision requires that Black farmers and food business owners benefit equitably from financing, intellectual capital, technical assistance, networking, and public policies. BFF builds financial and investment literacy, actively involving community stakeholders in the deliberation and creation of financing options.