Source: FARM TRAINING COLLECTIVE NYC, INC submitted to NRP
STRENGTHENING OUR FOOD SYSTEM FOR QUEER & TRANS (QT) AND BLACK, INDIGENOUS, PEOPLE OF COLOR (BIPOC) FARMERS AND URBAN CONSUMERS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1032520
Grant No.
2024-33800-42777
Cumulative Award Amt.
$361,872.00
Proposal No.
2024-02134
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2024
Project End Date
Feb 6, 2025
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[LN.C]- Community Foods
Recipient Organization
FARM TRAINING COLLECTIVE NYC, INC
505 8TH AVE RM 2100
NEW YORK,NY 10018
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The project partners will tap into their existing robust networks to maximize access to resources and build collective community capacity to create a more resilient and equitable local food system that values co-design, lived experience, and prioritizes opportunities for low-income QT BIPOC. The proposed project ultimately seeks to create a community-based alternative that addresses racism, health disparities, food insecurity, and poverty by strengthening production, distribution, and marketing challenges within NYC's food system. Beneficiaries of the project include Queer and Trans (QT*) Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the Hudson Valley and New York City, with a focus on the Bronx and Brooklyn boroughs. *QT includes multitudes of identities - lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, intersex, transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, two-spirit, and more.The project goals include: 1) Expand alternative production and distribution models that create a more dignified experience to accessing nutritious, culturally relevant foods; 2) Strengthen the ecosystem of QT BIPOC farmers in NYC and the Hudson Valley; and 3) Build a more resilient and equitable food system that values co-design, lived experience, and prioritizes opportunities for low-income QT BIPOC. The project goals will be accomplished through the following activities: 1) CSA and Wholesale Distribution for Food Access, 2) Farmers Markets and Market Training, 3) Cooperative Farming Apprenticeships, 4) Community Gatherings, 5) Food System Stakeholder Networking and Grant Administration. As a result, the project intends to accomplish the following outcomes: #1: Low-Income QT BIPOC communities residing in the Bronx and Brooklyn access healthy and culturally relevant foods; #2: QT BIPOC farmers enhance their market operations and expand market access to consumers; #3: QT BIPOC farmers deepen their knowledge base and increase capacity to support their local farms and food projects; #4: Community empowerment and a vibrant network of QT BIPOC stakeholders across different sectors of the food system is strengthened; and #5: Distribution logistics for delivering food grown by QT BIPOC farmers improves.The project will develop cross-sector linkages-from farmers, to gardeners, to private and public agencies-and community engagement opportunities. The project will map distribution networks, collaborate, and share resources while providing technical assistance to help strengthen farm to community foodways. The project supports development of entrepreneurship as well as community-envisioning and capacity building activities, while continuing to foster design input. These activities will support the process of members, groups, and communities getting to know one another and organizing their collective strengths, histories, and visions for their communities.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90260993100100%
Knowledge Area
902 - Administration of Projects and Programs;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3100 - Management;
Keywords
Goals / Objectives
The project goals include: 1) Expand alternative production and distribution models that create a more dignified experience to accessing nutritious, culturally relevant foods; 2) Strengthen the ecosystem of QT BIPOC farmers in NYC and the Hudson Valley; and 3) Build a more resilient and equitable food system that values co-design, lived experience, and prioritizes opportunities for low-income QT BIPOC.
Project Methods
The project will be conducted through a combination of community engagement, program provision and leadership development. Partners are committed to independent evaluation and participatory research for examining the impact its activities are having on participants, volunteers, communities, and partners. Project staff are involved in developing benchmarks and provide regular, data-driven feedback to identify successes and challenges that spark changes in practice. FSNYC has customized tracking systems and databases that adequately capture its work and dedicated staff that track and analyze data on communities served, outputs, and outcomes.To track performance measures and progress toward goals, FSNYC staff will develop and monitor databases in Google Workspace and Monday.com for collecting and monitoring community information, including demographic information, assessment information, engagement hours, length of participation, and partnership history. Google workspace and Monday.com have security features to project data and can be customized to meet the needs of specific programming. This system also allows FSNYC to generate reports, demonstrating program trends and overall program progress. Program Director, Connor Vaughn will hold regular meetings with partners to discuss outcomes and community engagement; perform quality control; and ensure that the system is tailored to the needs of the program and that program staff are trained to utilize the Google Workspace and Monday.com.FSNYC will evaluate the outcome of our project based on the following criteria:Impact-The extent to which the program has generated or is expected to generate significant positive or negative, intended or unintended, higher-level effects.Relevance-The extent to which our program's objectives and design respond to community needs, priorities, and continue to do so if circumstances change.Effectiveness-The extent to which the program achieved, or is expected to achieve, its objectives and its results, including any differential results across groups.Efficiency-The extent to which our program delivers, or is likely to deliver, results in an economic and timely waySustainability-The extent to which the net benefits of the program continue or are likely to continue.

Progress 09/15/24 to 02/06/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Farm School NYC (FSNYC), Rock Steady Farm (RSF), and Hattie Carthan Community Food Project (HC) partnered to strengthen and elevate low-income Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and People Of Color (QT-BIPOC) farmers, growers, and consumers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided several training and professional development opportunities for QT BIPOC farmers and food system leaders: Over a 6-month program consisting of weekly training, mentorship, and individualized support, Hattie Carthan Community Garden offered training to QT BIPOC farmers to support them in overcoming the challenges of selling through farmers markets. This program equipped these farmers with critical learnings and skills to navigate farmers market models, filling a particular need for market-logistical training opportunities. Through Rock Steady Farm's apprenticeship program, we offered a two-week intensive program to equip beginner QT BIPOC farmers to pursue cooperative, community-based farming models centering regenerative growing practices and culturally relevant foods. This program shares a snapshot of Rock Steady Farm operations and the relationships that sustain our work. Apprentices learn alongside Rock Steady farmers through hands-on participation in field tasks ranging from harvesting, planting, packing CSA boxes and daily workshops on topics such as Worker-Owned Cooperatives; Food Access Model; Community Partnerships; Community Supported Agriculture (CSA); Harvest and Postharvest protocols; Irrigation and Crop Management; Greenhouse Management; Farm Finances; and more. Through weekly meetings with one farmer, at Catalyst Collaborative farm, and weekly delivery assistance through two farm partnerships at Chester Agricultural Center, direct support was provided to beginner farmers on topics ranging from greenhouse production, seed sowing, cover cropping, irrigation, tractor techniques, business planning and lease negotiations in addition to the delivery support, labeling techniques, wholesale techniques and communication streams for trailing a new multi-farm delivery route. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Unfortunately, our contract was terminated before full evaluations could occur. ? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Through the reporting period, we accomplished the following activities toward our goals, as stated above: The project provided 40,000 pounds of food for food access, through wholesale deliveries to community partners as well as a sliding scale and EBT CSA produce boxes to community members led by our partner, Rock Steady Farm. Overall, we reached over 1,800 New York residents - a diverse cross-section of the regional community, including low-income members - with 3,300 total boxes of Rock Steady produce. Through the season, we also expanded delivery routes in NYC to support other QT-BIPOC farms in their sales from Hudson Valley to NYC by piloting routes with 7 QT BIPOC farms. Community partners who received produce include Black Trans Liberation Kitchen, Free People's Market in Mt. Vernon, and Brooklyn Packers outlets in Brooklyn such as the Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger. Through our partnership with Hattie Carthan Community Market, the project was able to enhance access to a community farmers market by adding an additional day of operation. Additionally, we trained a cohort of 8 Market Stewards. Over the course of 6 months, through weekly training, mentorship, and individualized support, the Market Stewards each built the skills to overcome challenges to creating farmers markets. In time, they will go on to engage with and launch their own community-based endeavors. In the 2024 season, the project also offered 4 farmers a paid intensive cooperative farming apprenticeship position at Rock Steady Farm, where they focused on organic farm production on 12 acres and cooperative farming models. These farmers, who have faced high barriers to entry into agriculture (including economic hardship, lack of access to land, capital, mentorship, and safe, affirming spaces to exist and learn within the food industry gained skills), gained skills through hands-on training in practices that advance food security and build mentorship and peer relationships. Further, Rock Steady launched the second year of NY Foodways in partnership with the North East Farmers of Color Network, Brooklyn Packers, Rise & Root Farm, Choy Commons and others to support the project's Food System Stakeholder Networking activity. In 2024, we held two gatherings, bringing together over 140 farmers across the state, including AYNI Herb Farm, Brooklyn Packers, Hattie Carthan Community Food Project, Catalyst Collaborative Farm, and other beginner farmers. By the end of the season, we ran dozens of delivery trials from our two main hubs: Rock Steady and Chester Agricultural Center and provided a cumulative 75 hours of technical assistance to 3 Q T BIPOC beginner farms in the network.? Finally, together, Rock Steady Farm, Catalyst Collaborative Farm, and Farm School NYC hosted a two-day Fall community gathering in 2024, which brought together both rural and urban based Queer, Trans, and BIPOC farmers and community members. The event featured workshops such as Forage Walk and Mindful Medicine, and created opportunities for participants to build stronger relationships. The 2024 Block Party drew 200 attendees, including 25+ vendors, and 10+ other involved partners. It was a key opportunity for LGBTQI+ and BIPOC farmers and food access focused distributors to further map, resource, fortify and connect underserved farmers seeking community support as they navigate food system inequities and steward land and natural resources. The 25+ vendors represented beginning farm and food adjacent projects that were all in the beginning 8 years of their work. The event gave them a space to connect with the community about their offerings, sell products and receive promotion and marketing opportunities.

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