NEFOC Network

 
 

The history of the Network

The Northeast Farmers of Color network (NEFOC Network) is an informal alliance of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian farmers making our lives on land in the Northeast region (New England, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Middle Atlantic, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.) There are 21 founding member-farms of NEFOC and a total of over 525 farmers, land stewards, and earth workers in our network.

Currently, the NEFOC Network exists as a members-only listserv* and we also gather regionally and annually for skillshares and knowledge exchanges.

We have the following purposes:

  1. To break the isolation of being farmers of color in the Northeast by building relationships of mutual respect and joy, the foundation of all other movement work.

  2. To share skills, resources, and time with one other through mutual aid. To build collaborative projects and initiatives.

  3. To coordinate our policy demands and catalyze reparations for Black-Indigenous-POC farmers and land stewards.

network purpose and benefits

The NEFOC Network identified that the #1 barrier to the survivance of Indigenous, Black, and racialized peoples is that our relationships with land have been cut off due to the reduction of our relationships to land as “property” that can be “owned.” Currently, almost 99% of farmland in the Northeast is “owned” by non-POC. The NEFOC Land Trust was envisioned by the Network members, and serves Network members as a direct response to this barrier and is essential in the development of the land trust. The NEFOC Land Trust is distinct in that it is a separate entity working to pave the way for equitable land relationships for BIPOC farmers, land stewards, and earth workers in the Northeast region. The NEFOC Land Trust will continue to serve NEFOC Network Members who will directly benefit from the land access work the land trust is building in the Northeast region as well as nationally. The Network is currently an informal alliance that meets virtually and in person and communicates through a closed, application-only list serv.

MEMBER BENEFITS

  1. Members-only listserv

  2. Partnership opportunities

  3. Members-only grants for regional NEFOC Network gatherings, trainings, and skillshares

  4. Early/priority registration for NEFOC-related events, trainings, and fellowships

  5. Free Technical Assistance to develop business plans, cooperative development, soil mapping, crop planning

network membership

If you are interested in becoming a NEFOC Network member, please refer to the following eligibility guidelines and, if you meet them, click the link to complete the application below!

  • Location: Must live (or be in the process of moving to) in the Northeast Region (New England, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Middle Atlantic, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania)

  • Identity: Identify as Black, Indigenous*, Latinx, Asian, or another ethnicity of color.

  • Land-connected: Be a farmer, earth-worker, land steward, herbalist, medicine person, food justice activist, food systems workers, or have other connections to the land.

  • Respect: Agree to abide by the NEFOC Network Community Guidelines.