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 investors, regranting organizations, community foundations, corporate and private foundations, over 100 organizations in all, operating throughout the U.S. and abroad. Funders in the SAFSF network support work within all parts of the food and farming system and at the intersections of issues, including climate change and resilience, community health, equity, justice, and rural development.

The Civic Responsibility of Funders

Philanthropy and impact capital stewards form a dynamic partnership with civil society that can upholds democratic values, holds institutions accountable, and drives progress toward more just and equitable societies. SAFSF members and other funders have a critical role to play in both serving the immediate needs of frontline communities and building power for long-term change. To serve and to step up, the funding ecosystem must support grassroots coalitions, community-led organizations, and movement-building organizations advocating for policy reform while using their own political capital to build relationships with policymakers and inform policy decision-making.

Policy change unfolds over years, legislative sessions, and election cycles. Achieving durable policy successes at the Tribal, federal, state, and local levels requires patient, flexible, and sustained investment in a broad spectrum of offensive and defensive strategies. These include policymaker education, media engagement, public awareness campaigns, influencing agencies, and much more.  

Providing long-term general operating support and funding for grassroots organizing, coalition building, leadership development, and advocacy are essential to build and maintain the trust, relationships, capacity, and resources needed to grow power, influence, and ultimately drive institutional change. By adopting these best practices and resourcing this work, funders can contribute to lasting generational change that extends well beyond any one grant cycle. 

Background and Structure

Informed by SAFSF members, national non-profit coalitions, grassroots organizations, and movement leaders, SAFSF’s Policy Principles aim to: 

• Inspire and guide sustained funder investment in policy advocacy;
• Mobilize resources to movement organizations that are advancing resilient, just, and democratic food systems; and 
• Develop shared messaging that funders can amplify from their institutions when engaging with government agencies or policymakers. 

SAFSF’s policy principles are presented as a cohesive and interconnected vision; each principle works together and reflects the comprehensive nature of systems change being led by frontline communities and supported by SAFSF members. The policy and funder opportunities included below each principle are not exhaustive but provide a menu of actions that could help advance each principle. These include voluntary, regulatory, and legislative options listed from the visionary to the concrete, offering multiple points of engagement. 

---

Eliminate Racial Discrimination and Disparities Faced by Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Producers 

Socially disadvantaged farmers and producers (those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudices because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities) have persevered in the face of systemic racial discrimination and structural injustice that has, for too long, denied or limited access to credit, markets, grant programs, and contributed to land theft and displacement. Despite these barriers, socially disadvantaged farmers and producers have sustained agricultural traditions, built self-reliant food economies, and innovated regenerative farming methods. However, the harms posed by historic and current policies carry material consequences. To remedy structural disparities, policies should be proactive in centering and addressing the needs of socially disadvantaged farmers and producers, who have borne the brunt of discrimination.

---

Protect and Expand Access to Public Resources for Historically Underserved Producers, Communities, and Nonprofits

Historically underserved producers have regularly been excluded from public funding opportunities due to systemic discrimination, complex application and reporting requirements, and lack of intentional outreach and technical assistance. Protecting and expanding equitable access to federal, state, and local resources will help historically underserved producers, communities, and nonprofits fully benefit from the public investments that sustain U.S. agriculture. Policies should ensure accessibility of public resources to not only address historic inequities but also strengthen local economies, build resilient food systems, and support producers and community-based nonprofits, who are all critical to advancing equity, sustainability, and innovation in agriculture.

---

Restore Fair Competition for Small and Mid-Sized Farmers and Build a Responsible Farm Safety Net

Corporate consolidation has concentrated power in the food system, with a handful of multinational corporations dominating markets, squeezing farmers and workers, manipulating consumer choice, and harming public health and the environment. At the same time, federal agricultural subsidies overwhelmingly benefit the largest and wealthiest farms. To counter this, stronger governance and limits on corporate power are essential to protect natural resources, public health, and workers’ rights, while giving producers, workers, and communities real power to shape the future of food. We also believe the farm safety net, including the federal crop insurance program, commodity support programs, and disaster assistance, must be reformed to keep farms in business by diversifying and building economic resiliency, rather than ensuring farm profitability and environmentally unsustainable status quo practices.

---

Strengthen Public Investment in Sustainable Agriculture and Aquaculture to Address Climate Change

Farms and fisheries are increasingly dominated by industrial-scale operations that rely on confinement systems and heavy agrochemical inputs, and, in turn, displace diversified, agroecological, and small and mid-sized regional and independent producers. This trend threatens ecosystems, soil health, biodiversity, community livelihood, and accelerates global warming and climate disruption. To reverse this, policies should enable a transition to more diversified, climate-resilient, regenerative, and organic farming and aquaculture practices, including policies that spur markets for sustainable crops, ensure farm viability in a changing climate, and reward those who already use sustainable practices. 

---

Ensure All Communities Have Access to Clean Air, Water, and Land by Protecting Against Chemical Toxins in the Food System  

Community health is directly tied to the health of the land, water, and air that sustain and nourish us. However, socially and economically disadvantaged communities bear the greatest burden of pollution, pesticide exposure, water contamination, and land degradation, which harms farmers, workers, and residents while also limiting access to safe, nutritious food. Policies should create the conditions of environmental justice in which producers and communities can thrive, ecosystems are protected, and everyone can access healthy food without compromising their well-being.

---

Invest in Local and Regional Food Systems Infrastructure that Expands Market Access and Economic Opportunities for Producers

The ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated and brought to light existing vulnerabilities and disparities in our food supply chains. Building and investing in local and regional food systems infrastructure helps ensure resilience. Policies should support regionalized and medium-scale production, processing, manufacturing, and distribution infrastructure that will, in turn, create reliable markets, keep food dollars circulating locally, reduce reliance on fragile global supply chains, and expand economic opportunities for small, mid-sized, and diversified farmers. These same policies can improve quality and access to fresh, locally grown, and culturally appropriate foods in schools, hospitals, senior meals, and other publicly supported food programs.  

---

Eliminate Hunger and Expand Universal Access to Nutritious, Safe, and Culturally Important Foods 

Too many communities face food insecurity and barriers to affordable, healthy, and culturally meaningful foods. These barriers are exacerbated by cuts to federal nutrition assistance programs and data collection, as well as expanded work requirements. Policies should make fresh, culturally important food more accessible and affordable, reduce diet-related health disparities, ensure basic needs are met, and address the root causes of hunger. 

---

Ensure Dignity and End Exploitation of Farm and Food Chain Workers 

The food we eat depends on the labor of workers who plant, harvest, process, transport, and serve it. Not only do food and farmworkers face higher rates of food insecurity as compared to the general population, but they also navigate hazardous working conditions and extreme weather, exposure to toxic chemicals, poverty wages and wage theft, lack of healthcare, unsafe housing conditions, and threats to their physical safety. Many food and farmworkers are immigrants, and are increasingly facing hostile rhetoric, surveillance, and forced removal. A just food system can only exist if farm and food chain workers are recognized, valued, protected, and able to work with dignity. Policies should ensure fair wages, safe and healthy working conditions, and more democratic-decision making for all farm and food chain workers. 

---

Safeguard and Build An Inclusive Democracy For A Fair Food System 

An inclusive, multiracial democracy is the foundation of a just food system because it ensures that the voices of all communities shape the policies and decisions that govern how food is grown, distributed, and consumed. For too long, socially disadvantaged communities have been excluded from decision-making while bearing the greatest burdens of exploitation and inequity. Policies should safeguard and build inclusive democratic participation to create the foundation for food systems that are equitable, resilient, and rooted in justice.