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…
Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF), First Nations Development Institute (FNDI), and Melvin Consulting PLLC are excited to launch a new Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice that will run from July 2021-June 2022. Over the course of a year, a group of 15 funders will gather to: Interact, learn, and build relationships with Native American practitioners, organizations, and communities offering food systems solutions;Share and sharpen their skills and strategies for investing in Indigenous…
2021 SAFSF Forum
Program The SAFSF Forum was again held online in 2021 to offer the opportunities for real-life learning and peer connection that funders look forward to all year. Spanning two weeks, from May 3-14, 2021, the 2021 SAFSF Forum was a curated assortment of thought-provoking, timely, and diverse programming developed by SAFSF funder peers. Our program featured one live, interactive workshop session per day, plus a host of live networking sessions and other…
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…
Biden-Harris Administration
The Biden-Harris agency review team for USDA (see below) is actively gathering policy ideas for the new administration to consider. This is a window for organizations – including SAFSF, our members and our members’ grantee partners – to put policy priorities on the table and raise their voices in the conversations that will shape how the new administration’s agriculture, food system, and climate policies will play out on the ground. This is administrative policy advocacy,…
COVID-19 Response and Recovery
Amid the devastating effects of COVID-19 on agriculture and food systems in 2020, SAFSF quickly launched a response program to convene, educate and organize funders, and unify a philanthropic voice around policy. Gathering In March, we convened 112 participants from 89 organizations through three calls for various funder constituencies to share information at the start of pandemic response. “In the Kitchen” Call for SAFSF membersBriefing and Strategy Session with leaders of national…
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…
