Climate Change
Back to Main Page Download Full Discussion Guide “Agriculture has a profound impact on the environment. It’s one of the most direct ways that humanity transforms the landscape.” – Claire Kelloway, Open Markets Institute Behind and beyond industry concentration, land consolidation, and barriers to land looms an even larger threat: a rapidly changing climate. Climate change manifests in rising temperatures, extreme heat, adverse weather conditions, drought, severe wildfires, and heavy downpours and…
Land Access
Back to Main Page Download Full Discussion Guide Today, 98 percent of farmland is owned by white people and 95 percent of farmers are white. It wasn’t always that way. Over decades, Black farmers have lost farmland due to discriminatory policies, lack of financing opportunities, and unscrupulous land development. The wealthiest farmers in the United States are white, and nearly all of the largest operations are owned by white farmers. Land is…
SAFSF Policy Principles
About Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) amplifies the impact of philanthropic and investment communities in support of just and sustainable food and agriculture systems. SAFSF helps funders and investors strengthen connections within the sustainable agriculture and food systems community, foster collaboration with their peers, and build capacity to be more effective in their philanthropy and in their advocacy for change. SAFSF members are individual…
Digging In Discussion Guide
Digging In documents the story of American agriculture in its totality, unearthing complexities in the food system in land access, consolidation, and climate change. The narrative follows Masika Henson, an environmental advocate turned guide, from the plains of North Dakota to a celebration in Nicodemus, Kansas, to central Missouri and the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, to the West Coast, as she unpacks the food system. Follow Masika as she digs…
Consolidation & Concentration
Back to Main Page Download Full Discussion Guide Let’s dig into concentration and consolidation: farmland consolidation and industry concentration of livestock and agribusiness. FAST FACTS (*at time of filming): The top four beef processors control 85% of the market. The top four pork processors control 2/3rds (67%) of the market. Concentration plays out when a sector becomes so consolidated that there are only a few suppliers or buyers of a product. The…
Integrated Capital Community of Practice
The field of philanthropy is shifting. Active movements are unfolding within philanthropy to remove barriers between grant-making and investing, or between previously siloed impact and finance goals. This movement recognizes that all capital flows have an impact and that strategic alignment with mission, vision, and values is an important throughline across an entire organization. Launching in November 2025, the Integrated Capital Community of Practice (CoP) is an eight-month learning journey for diverse capital partners…
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,…