Strategic Direction
READ FULL STRATEGIC DIRECTION HERE We are living in extraordinary times. 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,…
2024 Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice
About the Community of Practice We are thrilled to be offering a second cohort of the Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice for funders. In 2021, in response to growing interest in a substantive engagement at the intersection of Indigenous food systems and sustainable agriculture and food systems, we convened our first cohort of the Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice. In this second cohort, funders will gather to: Interact, learn, and…
Digging In Documentary
with Masika Henson – produced by Nathan.works in partnership with SAFSF and Vatheuer Family Foundation Watch the Trailer https://vimeo.com/825634182 SAFSF is excited to offer our first documentary film, Digging In, to help funders begin to explore the wide-ranging effects of land access (or lack thereof), consolidation, and climate change on U.S. agriculture. Our film presents glimpses of how land access, consolidation and concentration, and climate change affect farmers and ranchers, rural communities and…
Focus Areas
Each focus area above links to a separate page for background, resources, and the charge to philanthropy. We’ll be adding to these pages as our network learning and action progresses. These three focus areas offer multiple points of intersection with almost every one of the 60+ Areas of Impact our members are funding in each year. While there will be work outside these focus areas, we believe that by targeting our efforts,…
A Funder Toolkit on Climate, Health and Equity
As the impacts of climate change accelerate in communities across the country, funders in every sector face immense needs for funding and investment—especially in communities that are disproportionately impacted. The challenges are profound, as is the historic opportunity to embed a culture of health, eliminate longstanding inequities, improve the environment, and reshape our communities around the needs of people. Exciting efforts are emerging across the country. But meeting this moment will require…
Funding Indigenous Food Systems
Philanthropic funding for the Native communities on whose stolen lands our agricultural industry and our very nation has been built lags behind funding for all other communities of color, including among food systems funders. SAFSF has worked over the last 15 years to highlight the struggle to restore food sovereignty to Indian Country. Funders have learned from Indigenous farmers, fishers, chefs and entrepreneurs about traditional foodways. They’ve heard from nonprofit and Tribal…
Public Policy Engagement
Public policy has a hand in driving outcomes in every aspect of agriculture and food system issues where philanthropy engages – access to healthy foods, small farm viability, local and regional food systems, rural community development, environmental toxins, safe workplaces, food sovereignty, fundamental rights to self-determination, and more. Additionally, structural inequities within our agriculture and food system result in disproportionately negative impacts on specific people and communities – low-income, rural, and people…
Sustainable Fibers and Textiles
Funders interested in the food system, sustainable agriculture, soil health, carbon sequestration, environmental health, and economic justice have many compelling reasons to expand their focus to the fiber and textile system. Food and fibers—including both plant-based fibers like cotton and hemp and animal-based products like wool and leather—are both part of an interconnected system with many linked impacts on health, social justice, and the environment. Recognizing these critical connections, Sustainable Agriculture and…
Impact Investing in Food and Ag
See Related Items Combining philanthropic and investment dollars is essential to creating a vibrant, just, and sustainable food system. SAFSF has been engaged with food system investment strategy building and peer networking for more than a decade. Here are just a few questions that SAFSF members are connecting on: What is the state of the food & ag impact investing field? What are the key barriers to entry challenges that investors and…
