Columbia County Sanctuary Movement of Hudson, NY has been named the winner of the 2023 Community Food Funders Champions Award!
This year, the selection committee was comprised of winners from previous years along with two members of the Community Food Funders steering committee. Columbia County Sanctuary Movement was chosen in recognition of their food justice program, Comida Para la Gente (Food for the People).
Columbia County Sanctuary Movement will present at the 2023 CFF Annual Gathering on September 20th. More details to come (this is a funder-only event).
2023 Champion: Columbia County Sanctuary Movement
Columbia County Sanctuary Movement (CCSM) organizes with immigrants and allies to collectively support, empower, and defend their communities. CCSM was founded in rural NY so they could build a base, create direct service infrastructure, and support a political home for immigrants. Since its inception, CCSM has utilized a service and organizing model that engages their community of members directly in their work.
BIPOC and immigrant farm workers are growing, preparing, delivering, and serving food that they themselves, their families, and their communities are denied access to. Columbia County Sanctuary Movement is responding with powerful programming such as community organizing and meaningful mutual aid, which has distributed over 425,000 pounds of food to date, and delivers 225 free, fresh, and culturally relevant prepared meals per week. They are the largest mutual aid food distributor in their region outside of the Regional Foodbank, with staff certified in safe food handling. Through their efforts, CCSM is creating a more just food system to advance the health and social equity of their community.
You can sign up for CCSM’s mailing list here, and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @CCSMNY.
CCSM members and staff preparing meals, and volunteering at Sweet Freedom Farm
More about the CFF Champions Award
The Community Food Funders steering committee created the CFF Champions Award to recognize the leaders empowering food system change in our region. The award aims to promote the work of an outstanding organization that is working towards the transition of our food system to one that pursues a true triple bottom line: a system that honors and values people, the environment, and sustainable economic models.