September 13th 2023.
The Black Farmer Fund has had a remarkable success in their mission to empower Black agricultural and food businesses in the northeastern United States. They have raised a whopping $11 million in funds, which is just shy of their goal of $20 million.
The co-founders of the fund, Olivia Watkins and Karen Washington, have been awarded the 2023 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award for their efforts. This makes them the first Black winners of the award, and a testament to how far the Black Farmer Fund has come since its inception in 2017.
The fund's "for-us-by-us" approach goes against traditional lending practices by providing non-extractive capital and putting the decision-making power into the hands of experienced Black farmers and food system entrepreneurs. This helps to foster a stronger, more inclusive food system that benefits the whole community.
The Black Farmer Fund is also a member of the National Black Food & Justice Alliance, which advocates for Black farmers in the US, and are supporters of the Justice for Black Farmers Act. This Act was introduced in 2020 and promises to end discrimination within the US Department of Agriculture, protect remaining Black farmers from losing their land, provide land grants to create new Black farmers, and implement reforms to further assist family farmers.
Ultimately, the Black Farmer Fund is helping to put control of wealth creation back into the hands of the community and not in financial institutions like banks, where Black people have been traditionally underinvested or redlined. Applications for the Black Farmers Equity Initiative are now open, and the future of the fund looks brighter than ever.
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