Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
Born out of a participatory community design session held in December 2019 in the East Bay with 25 beginning farmers and food justice educators, this project will build values-aligned relationships between local farmers and local markets, facilitate the cooperation for local farmers to sell their produce at local markets, increase farmer and consumer knowledge about nutrient density of fresh and local agroecologically grown food. Just three months after a plan was set to launch an Agroecological Cooperative Incubator Farm, a very small virus changed the course of the big wide world. Of the many lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic about the needs for social change, the importance of resilient local food systems that are not dependent on multinational supply chains has resounded across the country. The impact of COVID-19 on local food access and nutrition security in the California Bay Area was compounded by multiple challenges such as climate disasters, climate extremes including smoke and wildfires impacting crops, and increasing land access scarcity for farmers due to development, gentrification, and contamination. In addition to advancing nutrient-dense food and community self-reliance, this project, Growing Cooperative Networks for Community Food Sovereignty, Nutrition, and Agroecological Land Stewardship will contribute to climate and ecosystem resilience through the expansion of agroecological farming practices. Recent studies estimate that urban agriculture in particular has the ability to mitigate climate change and food insecurity including through the production of 100-180 million tons of food, savings of 14 to 15 billion kilowatt hours of energy, sequestering between 100,000 and 170,000 tons of nitrogen, and reducing 45 and 57 billion cubic meters of stormwater. Below is a common acronym key for our proposal to support a more easeful review!Agroecology CommonsACMandela Grocery CooperativeMGCBay Area Farmer-to-Farmer TrainingBAFFTQueer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of ColorQTBIPOCFeral Heart FarmFHFOrganized to serve beginning farmers and low-income community members in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Fresno counties, this project aims to deepen community food system resilience. Project beneficiaries include socially disadvantaged and low-income beginning farmers, consumers, and youth; people of color, women, transgender, and gender non-conforming individuals, formerly incarcerated, and immigrants to the United States. Pre-COVID data shows that one in ten people in the Bay Area are hungry, and 62% do not qualify for food stamps even though they may be struggling financially with high costs of living in the area, but on a federal level they make too much money to qualify for SNAP. Over the course of the pandemic these numbers have worsened with food insecurity rates increasing to 20% and then 33%. In February 2022, one of only two existing West Oakland's full service grocery stores closed, leaving thousands of residents with even less access to fresh nutrient-dense produce.By virtue of their proximity to dense populations, farmers in the Bay Area region can play a vital role in sustainable and equitable food systems by providing nourishing and affordable food, as well as by educating beginning farmers, and community residents on how to grow their own fresh food. AC believes the future of community food sovereignty is rooted in resilient social networks for mutual aid, agroecological innovation, community-based education, and values-aligned markets.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
Due to high real estate and land costs in urban areas, especially in the Bay Area, socially-disadvantaged farmers face enormous barriers in starting and maintaining successful farm operations, as well as finding and maintaining reliable direct marketing opportunities. These barriers include a lack of land tenure, infrastructure, training, and financial and social capital. In an annual statewide policy survey led by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) in 2019, climate change, affordable and nearby housing, and land tenure emerged as the three greatest priorities for all small and mid-scale farmers. In a more recent set of listening sessions with 16 urban farmers, land access emerged as the primary challenge facing urban farmers in the East Bay and beyond. Land access in the surrounding Bay Area is astronomically expensive. Based on a recent study by the USDA, the average acre of cropland in California costs $13,800, which is roughly ten times more than the national average . In Alameda County cropland currently ranges from $7,200/acre up to $374,000/acre This project will serve predominantly low-income women, queer, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) urban farmers and consumers, who due to systemic barriers are often underrepresented and overburdened within agriculture and often lack access to nutritious food. Due to structural racism, Covid19 continues to impact communities of color more significantly. This project aims to improve urban food production and consumption by supporting aspiring, beginning and experienced BIPOC urban farmers to grow more food. In our network of over 150 educators and beginning farmers, 90% are BIPOC and reflect the diversity of the Bay Area's residents. We strongly believe that people learn better from people they can relate to, and who have faced similar life experiences and struggles.AC currently partners with BIPOC-led farms (Feral Heart Farms, Scott Family Farms, Red H Farms, Cultural Roots Nursery, Raised Roots, Soul Flower Farm, and Deep Medicine Circle), to host farmer-to-farmer skillshares and the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training (BAFFT). To get a visual glimpse of the inspiring and diverse learning experiences offered by BAFFT's on-farm days, check out our photo album from the last 2022 cohort here! Through partnerships with these farm mentors, we are able to provide ongoing workshops that are led by practitioners that have faced similar challenges as the beginning and aspiring farmers themselves. Graduates of BAFFT are invited to participate in the Farmer Mobilization. The Farmer Mobilization provides graduates with opportunities to viscerally experience farming with mentorship, catalyze a farming business, and deepen practices as land stewards. There are three pathways to engage with the Farmer Mobilization: Paid on-farm apprenticeship with experienced farmers in the BAFFT network; apply for a seed grant that supports an existing or budding agroecological business with advisory support, and steward a portion of the land at AC cooperative incubator farm. We provide opportunities that support beginning farmers through real-life relationships with place, people, soil, and plants. With the support of this grant, we seek to uplift our Cooperative Incubator Farm, the Tool Lending Library, soil assessments/workshops, direct values-aligned market training, and our Farmer Mobilization program.
Project Methods
This project will improve agroecological production and innovation by supporting farmers to improve their production practices, expand market channels, and distribute more food for low-access urban food areas in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Fresno counties. To simultaneously support farmers and feed more people with marginalized food access, this project proposes a cooperative approach between farmers, organizations, and values-aligned markets in the low-food access neighborhoods where the farmers, consumers, and residents live. This project is rooted in the ethos of sharing skills and resources to strengthen a food system rooted in agroecology, cooperation, and food security. Through a partnership between values-aligned organizations from different sectors of the food system AC, MGC, 14th Street, and a Bay Area urban farmer network led by experienced farmer Kanoa Dinwoodie of Feral Heart Farms (FHF) at the Sunol AgPark, this project will both expand on and initiate new educational opportunities for local farmers and residents, as well as create expanded market outlets for farmers and low-income residents. MGC and AC have a proven track record of collaboration and have been increasing educational partnerships over the last three years. They work well as collaborating organizations because of their shared goals to serve socially disadvantaged communities through cooperative approaches and their complementary focus areas; AC on producers and MGC on consumers. AC works with practicing farmers and non-traditional students through a popular education pedagogical approach, while MGC centers programming around cooperative organizing, local economies, and creating businesses. AC has also partnered with FHF over the last three years to train socially disadvantaged farmers through BAFFT and organized five on-farm apprenticeship programs.Facilitating values-aligned marketing training and supporting farmers in building relationships with value-aligned markets promotes the development of entrepreneurial projects. The sale of nutrient-dense, agroecologically grown produce directly links farmers and consumers, strengthening local food security and fostering innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers. The cooperative market outlets serving as partners in this grant are BIPOC-led initiatives that have long-standing community ties with low-income consumers. In order for local cooperatively-owned markets to consistently and significantly support small-scale farmers, there needs to be intimate knowledge of the needs of each party, by each party. Both farmers and market owners/workers need to understand the challenges the other faces, what are their priorities, and how to best communicate and collaborate. By organizing a combination of field days and market days to combine interactive learning with trust building and relationship building, this project will develop pathways for both markets and farms to collaborate on increasing local food security for mutual benefit. The Food Sovereignty Tool Lending Library will be stocked with food processing equipment such as canning supplies, a small grain mill, a honey spinner, a commercial dehydrator and more. These valuable tools will be available to a network of farmers seeking to process and preserve food. Having tools for farmers to create value-added products enhances food-purchasing and food-preparation skills. It also allows for nutrient-dense foods to be offered throughout the seasons. A tool-lending library will reduce economic barriers and capital investment for small urban farmers, encourage access to infrastructure and tools through cooperation as well as program sustainability through proper tool care training and cultivating cooperative values. While we believe a tool-lending library is innovative for the modern times, this project honors that there are long-standing traditions of sharing tools, machinery, and infrastructure that runs deep in agricultural legacies such as planting and harvest cooperation between Black farmers and even with large grain farmers sharing silos while introducing labor-saving technologies. A stronger urban farmer mentorship network will promote farmer-to-farmer learning methodologies that encourage community building and local community-led solutions. Farmer networks encourage bottom-up community extension services in which local farmers are at the forefront of demonstrating best practices and appropriate technologies. Being able to produce food is essential in making sure it reaches low-income communities. The expansion of the 3-acre Cooperative Incubator Farm addresses multiple food system issues including access to land tenure, the need for localized food production, and the reduction of access barriers for socially disadvantaged farmers. Strengthening the farm actively challenges the legacy of laws, policies, and violence that has allowed for land theft and blocked Black, Indigenous, and people of color from accessing land. In the next 10 years, data shows as many as 400 million acres of farmland will be in need of new farmers. Secure land tenure is essential for farming viability and provides an opportunity to shift power in order to create a more equitable and just food system. The farm will also provide the educational support needed by beginning farmers. In order to create viable farming initiatives, it is imperative that soil health is evaluated to ensure community health and thriving farms. Urban agriculture often faces high rates of soil degradation due to contaminants, unauthorized industry dumping, construction, and heavy traffic. By providing farmers with the tools to both evaluate, steward, and remediate their soil we create viable agricultural initiatives in the Bay Area. Soil health is inextricably linked to human health and can enhance crop nutrient content directly supporting human health. Social determinants of health (SDOH) show how low-income often urban residents are exposed to toxins through the soil at higher rates. It is imperative that we ensure our local food producers are cultivating nutrient-dense crops in healthy soils.This project will use a multipronged evaluation approach including needs assessments, participant evaluations, and outcome-based reporting. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of stated measurable outcomes will support project completion and success. Project stakeholders will access assessments and evaluations through AC' online Farmer Campus (farmercampus.com) as a free resource for all farmers. AC's and MGC's biannual evaluations will be used to track qualitative and quantitative progress through the assessment of written and verbal evaluations. Following workshops, participants will be asked to complete surveys to assess learning and improve programming. In-depth needs assessments will help to find compatible matches between farm mentors and farm mentees. A steering committee will assess and evaluate curriculum, program design, and implementation, composed of AC board and advisors. Data collected through the evaluation process will be used to assess program strengths and shortcomings and shared with partner organizations and farms to strengthen multistakeholder farmer organizing and collaborative initiatives.