Greetings Farmily,

Before we begin, I invite you to find the headwaters of your breath and draw deep upon that well of stabilizing, anchoring, grounding connection.

This is supposed to be a time of spring cleanups, bed preparation, seed starting, and final prep for the coming growing season- a time of hope and excitement. Our lymphatic systems are waking up like the running of sap in the trees surrounding us; the first red-winged blackbirds and robins are beginning to nest nearby; the daylight is enticing us to greet the waking land. None of this will change, nor should it, as we gather our communities to mobilize in solidarity, finding the additional challenge of the COVID 19 pandemic square on our doorsteps.

As we move through this experience together, let’s take this time of pause to remember what life in balance might look like. Mother Earth is fevering. Her lungs are clogged up. The earth is our body. We are collective beneficial microorganisms trying to find balance. We are concerned about our communities. We were born for this.

Here at the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust not much will change. We will continue to work towards advancing land and food sovereignty in the Northeast region as we have been doing since our inception in 2019. We will continue to work remotely, and were already envisioning ways to cut down on travel through virtual solutions. We’re rounding the final bend to achieving fiscal independence, building solid and meaningful relationships, and internal and external policy to begin the next step of connecting farmers and land stewards to land.

Community Connection & Mutual Aid- COVID 19 Survival

As you know, we are beginning to mobilize mutual aid through our group zoom tonight to hold space together to hear from respected community leaders who come offering words of encouragement, to share community health guidelines and mobilization responses, and to offer strategies for economic resilience and self-care. We will start here as a way to connect and challenge “social distancing” as a form of community care and social connection during a time when many are practicing a capitalist “everyone for themselves” culture. Please join us if you have the capacity! If you are not able to join us, we will post a resource packet from the gathering.

The goals of this meeting are to (1) dispel misconceptions about COVID-19 and learn what health care professionals and other experts are recommending to keep our communities safe (2) learn strategies for keeping our farms afloat and our communities fed (3) gain ideas and share mutual support around emotional wellness rooted in our cultural context (4) strengthen our network.

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/422348879 | Or call 646-876-9923, Meeting ID: 422 348 879

A participant at a recent workshop at Grassroots Gardens of Western NY making Fire Cider during our Land Access, Herbs, and Community Care workshop- who knew we’d need to make so much Fire Cider?

Network

We are working to build more meaningful engagement with and for the network. We may not be able to meet in person for awhile, but we will continue to offer virtual meeting spaces, and advocate for resources to flow to our communities through grant partners and institutions. We are nearing the end of the development of a Network Survey to understand how many of you are actively farming, who wants to farm, who needs access to land and where, what policies mean the most to you, and if you’d like to participate in a searchable database of Farmers of Color. We’re envisioning what an in-person celebration of the birth of the land trust will look like, when its safe to do so with our communities.

Resources

We are blessed to have received grant funding to begin the Indigenous Consultation work this year, and to have some leftover to begin our land access strategy. We have two solid offers of land beginning the legal process of option agreements, and have received generous donations this year totalling over $28,000! Our fundraising campaign is shifting a bit now that it is unclear when an in-person fundraiser will happen. One of our most valuable resources is TIME and LABOR. If you’re interested in volunteering, we are searching for volunteers to help with our social media and communications strategies, branding, grants and donations outreach, and environmental, conservation, and farmland protection policy development. Please email me if you’d like to offer a hand!

Governance & Legal

The Board, working hard at Wildseed Community Farm during our 2020 Board Retreat!

Many thanks to our wonderful Board of Directors, Carmen Mouzon, Rafael Aponte, John (JD) DeLoatch, Larisa Jacobson, Nia Holley, Keely Curliss, and Christine Hutchinson, for putting together such a meaningful and robust set of purposes and By-Laws for our Articles of Incorporation! We are excited to submit our final IRS 1023 paperwork this week, giving us around 6 months left before we’re an official Not for Profit!

Collaborations and Partnerships

We’re excited to be linking in partnership with Grow NYC and Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming to begin research and development of a Carbon Measurement policy; are participating in the Farmland for a New Generation NY Regional Farmland Navigator Program, a network of Regional Navigators, or partner organizations with dedicated staff, that provides training and on-the-ground customized support for farmers and landowners in regions across New York; are developing a BIPOC-centered land access convergence with multiple partners like MINNOW (formerly CaliFOC); a Spanish-first skillshare; a partnership with NOFA VT and VT Land Trust to connect FoC to essential land access and business services in VT; and are looking forward to collaborating more with the Black Farmer Fund! We’re excited to figure out virtual convenings that will continue to offer opportunities for our communities to build a relationship.

It was a busy winter, with speaking engagements at the Ashokan Center’s Outdoor Education Conference, Grassroots Gardens WNY, Strengthening our Roots Farmers Exchange in Maine, NOFA VT, NOFA NY, Schumacher Center, and Syracuse University- glad we got some in-person meetings and presentations in before travel was restricted!

Steph with Dr. Robin Wall-Kimmerer at the Center for Native People’s and the Environment, Syracuse University.

Outreach

Before the COVID 19 pandemic arose, we were about to announce our first of many webinar series that is focused on educating the public about who NEFOC Land Trust is, our strategies for land-based wealth redistribution. This is now more essential than ever as we have canceled all travel for the foreseeable future. In addition to this webinar series, we’re envisioning other ways we can engage the public to continue to advance BIPOC-centered land and food sovereignty through increasing access to land. The announcement will come out this week. Please share with your communities and those “stakeholders” you feel need to hear this message.

We look forward to sharing our annual report in the next week or so and are looking forward to connecting more with all of you virtually.

In solidarity,

Your humble Co-Coordinators,

Stephanie Morningstar & Çaca Yvaire

NEFOC Network Monthly Co-Coordinator Update: Signs of Spring, COVID 19 and Community Care