On March 12th CFF partnered with New York Health Foundation to host a briefing titled Taking Power Back: Food Policies to Curb Predatory Marketing in New York. The session focused on predatory marketing and counter-marketing efforts here in our region. We heard from researchers, advocates, and funders about how policy can be used to combat aggressive tactics from the food industry, and what it takes to win these policy goals.
CFF partnered with GrowNYC to host an insider’s tour of the soon-to-open New York State Regional Food Hub. The day began with lunch at The Point CDC, where guests were given an introduction to the Hunts Point neighborhood and learned its history of environmental justice organizing and community-led solutions. From there we caught a ride on the Bronx Culture Trolley to the site of the Hub. GrowNYC staff led a tour of the 60,000-square-foot cold-storage facility.
On September 20th, over 50 CFF members and invited guests gathered at New York Health Foundation for the 8th CFF Annual Gathering, and the first since 2019! Local food and drink was supplied by Bascom Catering, a catering company based out of the South Bronx. The evening featured a presentation by Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, our 2023 CFF Champions Award recipient; an update on the Seeding Power Fellowship; and a keynote presentation by Savi Horne, Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers’ Land Loss Prevention Project, as well as member of the Agriculture Subcommittee of the USDA Equity Commission, and 2023 recipient of the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award.
On June 27th, CFF partnered with Food for the Spirit to host a briefing titled Cultivating Food Systems Change. As this year’s “Champions Briefing”, the event provided an opportunity to learn more about and engage with the 2022 CFF Champions Award winner, Food for the Spirit. The interactive Zoom meeting, planned and facilitated by Food for the Spirit (F4tS), focused on how community-led food initiatives are addressing issues of race and racism in the food system and explored how philanthropy can partner with community to address systemic inequities.
On May 31st CFF partnered with Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders to host a briefing titled Creating New Food Cooperatives with an Equity Focus. The webinar featured two justice-oriented food co-ops in the region: the Central Brooklyn Food Co-op (CBFC), a start-up food co-op working to open a store in Central Brooklyn, and Kingston Food Co-op, a co-op in Kingston, NY that will be opening soon. We also heard from Food Co-op Initiative (FCI), a nonprofit organization that provides free training, technical assistance, resources, peer learning opportunities and support to organizers starting co-ops across the country. FCI has worked with CBFC and Kingston Food Co-op.
On May 25th CFF partnered with five other philanthropic organizations to host a funder briefing titled Elevating and Mobilizing Voices from Across New York to Advocate for an Equitable 2023 Farm Bill. The session highlighted a statewide organizing campaign that engaged over 300 New Yorkers to create a NYS Farm Bill Platform. The leaders of the campaign, Equity Advocates, Black Farmers United NYS, and Food for the Spirit, prioritized outreach to and participation of BIPOC farmers, producers, and practitioners. The resulting policy platform represents a collective voice from NYS community food leaders, farmers, gardeners, land stewards, producers, & advocates.