PLEASE SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA ABOVE

Monday, October 15, 2018 - 3P

Hurricane Michael made landfall and pushed through Southeastern U.S. states late last week, compounding the challenges facing farming families impacted by Hurricane Florence while adding countless more rural communities to the list of those recovering from this terrible hurricane season. 

Thanks to new and repeat donors over the last month, RAFI has been able to mobilize the following response for affected farmers:

1. Crisis Hotline (7a-7p, 7 days/week) 919-542-1396 ext.1 OR toll free 866-586-6746

2. Seed Distribution (brokering seed needs with seed suppliers)

3. Resource Triage (fact sheets, referrals to partner organizations and federal programs, technical clean-up info, etc.)

What we need help with now is funding our Farm Advocacy Team for the LONG-TERM (2-3 year) business planning, financial counseling, and policy advocacy necessary to keep farms from collapsing under the added stress of these hurricanes and their aftermath.

PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION TO SUPPORT FAMILY FARMS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES.  

----------------------------------

Tues. Sept. 18, 2018 - 2P

We're getting reports of oppressive flooding in Eastern NC.  Farmers that didn't evacuate or haven't yet evacuated are pressed down by floodwaters, staying close to home, and haven't had a chance to assess damages.  Floodwaters aren't expected to crest for another 24-48 hrs and so it will be days, maybe a week, before farmers can evaluate their losses fully.

----------------------------------

Tues. Sept. 11, 2018 - 12P

Hurricane Florence is fast approaching the coasts of North and South Carolina, and we are bracing for widespread flooding, loss of crops, loss of animals, damaged or destroyed homes and farm buildings and threats to human life and health. For a farming family, much more is at stake - the house, the vehicles, the farm equipment, the out-buildings, the fencing and shelters, the seed, the crops, the debt, the list goes on...

RAFI has experience providing expert assistance to farmers and farm organizations, helping them hasten the recovery for their communities and keep farm families in their homes and on the land. We work fast, with critical, timely information immediately after the disaster, and are there for the long haul to work with farm families to achieve their goals. But it is critical that we are able to act FAST.

Hurricane Florence is going to overwhelm our states, and RAFI’s capacity right along with it. Florence comes at a time when our team is already serving a high caseload of farm families in financial crisis due to poor farm prices and high costs.

Can you donate to help us mobilize now, as the storm is approaching, to get essential information and assistance to farm families across the region?  If you wish to designate or restrict your donation for specific relief or support, please 'write us a comment' to the right and explain in detail.

"Following Hurricane Floyd, if it hadn’t been for RAFI, we would have lost every material possession we have. There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind. When I called RAFI, I was at my lowest low, and they were my last hope. From the moment they picked up the phone and through all the difficulties and hardships over the years since, they were there for me. The knowledge and resources and connections that they provided helped us accomplish so much. Without their help, I don’t know where we would be, but we wouldn’t be farming and we wouldn’t be in our home. We would have lost everything."

Lynne Conner, Farmer, Bertie County, NC