Fresh Future Farm and other bottom-up, community-led operations are totally different than traditional nonprofits. It isn't grassroots work if it's not of, for, and by the people dealing with the same issues they are trying to solve for the good of everyone in their neighborhood. FFF takes it a step further by connecting the dots of hunger, illness, and other inequities to racism and systematic oppression of Black, brown, and low-wealth folx.
Our organization is strong because we listen to our neighbors, act on our shared experiences, and invest in leadership training to give our team the skills to make impactful change.
Thanks to the book Farming While Black, we were able to fine-tune that goal. Beyond supporting folx with SNAP benefits, we created a neighborhood discount, and ensure food, PPEs, cleaning, and hygiene items get to our neighbors during natural disasters.
We have raised a little over $1,200 toward our $5,000 goal. Please share with friends and family today. Happy Friday!!!
1) The farm and store are in the middle of a residential neighborhood with four full days of service so we can support folks with limited or no transportation where they live
2) Customer feedback (and SNAP regulations) determine what items stock our shelves
3) Along with farm fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs, the farm store sells lima beans, rice, eggs, milk, smoked neckbones (on request), and other staples you'd find in a Lowcountry home. All inventory is available judgment free
4) Everyone eats at our farm store, regardless of your ability to pay
Germaine Jenkins learned years ago that population density and disposable income are key determining factors in where traditional grocery stores choose to build. That's why Mt. Pleasant has at least 20 stores and the southern end of North Charleston has zero.
Another more important lesson that they learned in a gardening class was that once you know the rules, you can break them - shout out to the former City of Charleston horticulture superintendent
We paired that thinking with Will Allen's advice to not take on any debt. These philosophies powered the idea of converting a modular rental car office from Jones Ford into a USDA grocery store.We opened our doors in the summer of 2016 able to accept SNAP benefits and with a manageable inventory. Residents without prior experience banded together to bring a liberated form of food justice to their neighbors with very low overhead. That strategy kept us going through natural disasters, pandemics, and economic downturns and allows us to offer livable wages to our team.
@iamtabithabrown reminded us all yesterday that we can #doitdifferent. We did and we're still here.
We have raised about 10% of our $5,000 end-of-year fundraising goal. Please consider making a donation today.
Adrian started seeds from his fave cropped and nurtured them to harvest even through stormy weather.
Germaine, with an assist from their kitchen assistant mom, paired the hibiscus (aka sorrel) leaves with farm fresh turmeric and other herbs to create a scrumptious "red drink." Variations of this drink are popular throughout the African diaspora and Latine cultures and the Chicora/Cherokee neighborhood.
According to food historian @thecookinggene "the use of red dates back "to the enslaved Yoruba and Kongo brought to Texas in the 19th century (https://buff.ly/3WDSTyH)."
We're proud to add this delicious drink to our farm store inventory.
Nutrient-rich Food Sold Onsite
The North Charleston Winn Dixie on Rivers Avenue closed in 2005. Our USDA farm store opened in 2016 - way too long to wait for #foodjustice. Now, our customers have access to a wide array of basic and specialty groceries that meet a multitude of dietary requirements at affordable prices.
Our 'store brand' fruit, veggie, and herbs are lovingly grown in nutrient-dense soil within 200 feet of the store. With the addition of value-added meals and drinks, our store inventory is like our hoodies - BUSSIN'
We've had folks from Africa, the Caribbean, and other places tell us that the North Charleston, SC urban oasis we know as #freshfuturefarm reminds them of home
Back in 2014, we started on a vacant lot by planting our perennial crops in freeform raised beds and mulched our way to a no-irrigation tropical sanctuary.
Will Allen's (Godfather of Soil) mantra that @justgermainejenkins and all the Commercial Urban Agriculture students heard every day with him.
Healthy quality soil produces healthy plants that resist pest issues. When combined with limited irrigation, it creates nutrient-dense produce that bursts with flavor. Flavor itself is a product of soil nutrients.
That's why @farm3rboy and the #freshfuturefarm team spend so much time enriching the earth beneath our seeds and seedlings.
We prioritize ancestral food production methods that use existing resources and minimal water while also eliminating waste, that's why we're so excited about the multiple benefits of value-adding our crops and those of other Black and brown SC farmers.
The same nurturing intention that goes into keeping the land and planting the crops continues when the food is transformed into heat and eat meals that have a healing effect on the consumers. The scraps from the food preparation then go into our composting system to create soil and/or worm castings to go back into food production.
We model keeping our money in the hands of people who live where we operate. Neighbors are aware of how to solve their own issues but just need the resources to do so. It is part of a broader circular economy strategy meant to democratize wealth.
For example, give trick-or-treaters several healthy and decadent candy options and let them choose the ones they like best. Offer safe options too for children with food allergies or other dietary restrictions
Food desert describes a low-income geographic area where a significant number of people have little or no access to nutritious and affordable food products, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, normally 1 mile in urban areas and 10 miles in the country
Food apartheid is a system of segregation that divides those with access to an abundance of nutritious food and those who have been denied that access due to systemic injustice.
"This looks at the whole food system, along with race, geography, faith, and economics."
Karen Washington
*Highly processed, nutrient-deficient foods are cheaper than fruits and vegetables
*Chemicals banned in other countries saturate the US food supply
*Black, brown, and low-wealth neighborhoods often experience food apartheid
1) Grow Your Own Food
2) Buy from a Farmers Market
3) Buy Organic
4) Fed Without Choices
Which circumstance best describes your reality? Is it a combination of these?
Danger and Disrespect for Black & Brown Farmers/Farmworkers:
*Daily exposure to pesticides
*Dangerous, harsh conditions
*Low wages
*Justice and debt relief deferred
Ancestral practices center care for people and the planet.
Production:
Produce is damaged by pests, severe weather, or machinery; harvesting unripe fruits and vegetables
Processing:
Poor storage leads to pest damage or rot; poor handling makes food unsafe to eat
Supermarket:
Uncertainty over food expiration and sell-by dates and visual standards leads to early disposal
At Home:
Overbuying and ineffective cooking/storage lead to waste
Closed-loop agriculture (where nothing is wasted) is a part of indigenous community practices that we should name, honor, and replicate today.
*Imperfect produce is rejected and thrown away
*Products are spoiled or damaged in stores due to insufficient storage
*Confusion around shelf life (best by, use by, etc.) of canned foods, dry goods, etc. leads to food being discarded
Closed-loop food systems can alleviate most of these issues.
*Natural disasters and climate change
*Modernized crop production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
*Over-cultivation and deforestation => infertile soil (not enough minerals and nutrients to support crop growth)
^Capitalistic practices that harm people, animals, and the planet
There's another way, y'all!
Before we started Fresh Future Farm, nearly 100% of what our team ate came from traditional grocery stores. Germaine relied heavily on couponing to make ends meet and the best deals were for processed foods
One of Anik's favorite podcasts Spirit Plate (S2 E6) featured seed keeper, Rowen White. “I feel like we've gotten to a place of disconnect of that kind of deep disconnection where we have a dominant culture that only knows how to take life, and only knows how to be extractive, and exploitative.”