We are living in extraordinary times. Food and farm businesses and non-profits struggle amid volatile markets and climate disruptions. Workers in the food system face poverty wages, food insecurity, and political attacks on their basic protections, while unequal access to nutritious food fuels diet-related diseases in low-income communities.
The current food and farm system fails communities, harms ecosystems, and perpetuates historic injustices. The status quo—driven by prioritization of profit over people and planet— disproportionately impacts under-resourced communities and threatens future generations by depleting ecological resources and exacerbating the climate crisis.
Grassroots movements, sustainable farmers and land stewards, advocates and entrepreneurs are leading critical efforts to build a more sustainable, fair, and inclusive future of food and farming, but they lack the resources to sustain and scale their visions.
Now more than ever, funders have the opportunity and responsibility to transform the food and farm system through new investment approaches. Now is the time to transcend the silos that are too common in the funding world, embrace learning from peers, field leaders, and impacted communities, and solve for gaps in the funding landscape through increased coordination and communication. Today’s complex challenges demand new approaches. SAFSF is the platform to harness the collective impact of diverse funders through strategic guidance and collaboration to navigate today’s dynamic conditions.
For over 20 years, SAFSF has united funders to invest in sustainable food and agriculture systems. Now, we’re building off this legacy by forging a new strategic approach:
Our new mission is to mobilize diverse capital partners in support of just and sustainable food and agriculture systems. We envision a future where food and agriculture are resilient, just, and democratic.
We advocate for:
Resilience: Agriculture is rooted in climate stewardship, agroecology, and Indigenous knowledge, fostering healthy ecosystems and ensuring food security for generations to come.
Justice: Food systems prioritize equity, eliminate disparities, and center the needs of historically marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), immigrants, low-income communities, and farm and food workers.
Democracy: Food systems are shaped by community empowerment, self-determination, and inclusive participation, ensuring that all voices are heard in the decisions that affect our lives.
This work requires a systems change approach— one that shifts power and resources to divested communities, and holistically builds powerful movements for cultural, economic, policy, and technological change for the benefit of people and the planet. As we continue to see a growth in impact capital for food and agriculture systems, SAFSF serves as the catalyst to turn that growth into transformative change.
We spoke with SAFSF members as well as other stakeholders in philanthropy, impact investment, and advocates across food and farming to understand SAFSF’s highest and best role in supporting change at this time. This document reflects what we heard. Our new strategic direction is not a traditional strategic “plan,” but rather a compass for who we will become over the next several years. Despite the challenges we will face, we look to the future with hope and trust that the power of our collective efforts will create lasting change for generations to come.
Theory of Change
Our mission is to mobilize diverse capital partners toward a resilient, just, and democratic food and agriculture system. As a non-profit funder network, our Theory of Change reflects how SAFSF seeks to make progress on our mission.