Hattie Carthan Community Food Projects of Brooklyn, NY has been named the winner of the 2020 Community Food Funders Champions Award! Five funders in the CFF network, plus the 2019 winner Groundswell Center, comprised the selection committee. Hattie Carthan was chosen in recognition of their community-based principles, food production and food access programs, spiritual guidance and healing, and local leadership.
Community Food Funders has been working to compile resources that are relevant to the philanthropic sector and our grantees, related to food and farming systems during the COVID-19 crisis. This is an ongoing list in formation and will be updates periodically.
On March 18, 2020 Community Food Funders organized a quick-response video meeting so that members could listen to nonprofits and local government officials about how the current crisis is affecting food distribution and access in NYC.
In August 2019, New York City announced plans to adopt the Good Food Purchasing Program, a procurement model that gives public institutions the tools and support to implement better food-purchasing policies. Through this program, public school systems, city governments, and other large institutions are transforming the way they purchase food and helping create a more transparent and equitable food system. GFPP is currently being implemented in 15 cities and jurisdictions nationwide. On January 27, 2020, NYSHealth hosted a discussion with national and local leaders in the Good Food Purchasing Program
On June 12th, over 50 CFF members gathered at Project Farmhouse for the 7th CFF Annual Gathering. Local food and drink was supplied by Community Chef Kitchen, a new catering company cooperatively owned by women of color from Brooklyn. The evening featured a presentation by Groundswell Center, our 2019 CFF Champions Award recipient; an update on the Seeding Power Fellowship and introduction of our 12 inaugural fellows; and a keynote presentation by Dr. Monica White, author of the new book Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement.
On April 18th, CFF partnered with East New York Farms (ENYF) to host Growing Leaders: Shifting Power to Young Leaders in the Food Justice Movement. At this event, ENYF staff discussed their own leadership journeys from youth participants in a food justice program to staff at one of the preeminent youth food justice organizations in New York City. The panelists also detailed the many practices and policies ENYF has implemented to make this transition possible. This event was the CFF Champions Award briefing, designed and created by our 2018 Award recipient, East New York Farms!