journal final - color cover

8/6/2019 Journal FINAL - Color Cover

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Growing Wealth, Health and Justice in our Communities

November 19 - 21, 2010

Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York

BLACKFARMERS& URBANGARDENERSC O N F E R E N C E


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The 2010 Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference is presented by Black Urban Growers (BUGS), an alliance ofpredominately Black urban farmers and gardeners, food activists and allies united in rebuilding our community wealthand health by reconnecting to the land and our traditional roles as agriculturalists and environmental stewards.

In November of 2009, this alliance began organizing and hosting a series of community events with the purpose ofstarting a conversation around food: Where does it come from? Who is providing it? Why dont we see more blackfarmers at the farmers markets? What is the relationship between our individual health and the health of ourcommunities, and why does it matter?

Beginning with a fundraiser event in February of 2010, followed by a Community Forum in April, weve been invitingmore and more people from our communities to engage in the conversation and together connect the dots between thehealth of our farmers and our collective health as a community. At the Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conferencehappening November 19-21, 2010, we will engage in a national and international dialogue and action planning to build anational network that includes producers, consumers, and everyone in between in creating sustainable solutions.

Based in the New York City Metropolitan area, our founding members include representatives from the following

grassroots groups, non-profit organizations as well as individuals from our communities:Grassroots Groups

Brooklyn Rescue Mission Brooklyn, NY Community Vision Council Brooklyn, NY Garden of Happiness Bronx, NY La Familia Verde Bronx, NY La Finca Del Sur Bronx, NY Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, New York Chapter Taqwa Community Farm Bronx, NYNon-Profits Organizations

Citizens Committee for New York City Manhattan, NY GreenThumb Manhattan, NY Heritage Radio Online Radio Network Isles, Inc. Trenton, NJ Just Food Manhattan, NY NYFood Museum Manhattan, NY Weeksville Heritage Center Brooklyn, NY WEACT Manhattan, NY WhyHunger Manhattan, NY

Volunteer Planning Committee

Aki Hirata-Baker Asantewaa Harris Bilen Berhanu Erica Lonesome James Subudhi Jennifer Steverson Karen Washington

Adjoa Linda Fletcher Lorrie Clevenger Meredith Taylor Onika Abraham Regina Ginyard Sharon Wong Yemi Amu

2010 BLACK FARMERS AND URBAN GARDENERS CONFERENCE

ABOUT US


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CULTIVATOR

Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation

GERMINATORS

awsonValen+neFounda+o

POLLINATORS

GreenThumb,Department of Parks and Recreation

SEED STARTER

Anderson's1949-brooklyn-Inc.

BrooklynCollege

GrandaisyBakery

TheHor>cultureSocietyofNewYork

MurraysCheese

NYCCommunityGardensCoali>on

TeehTawiah

TomCatBakery

YoungGiJed

OUR SPONSORS


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A special thank you to our local farmers who donated fresh produce and added-value products

for our participants to enjoy:

Alan Troncillito, Troncillito Farms Cheryl Rogowski, W. Rogowski Farm Stanley Osczepinski,S&SO Produce Ron Binaghi Jr.,Stokes Farm Inc Dan Madura JR, Madura Farms Alice Messerich, Knoll Krest Farm Howard Stark, Eckerton Hill Farm Franca Tantillo, Berried Treasures Pete Osofsky, Ronnybrook Farm Just One, Red Jacket Ken Migliorelli, Migliorelli Farm Bronx Wholesale Market

We would also like to extend our thanks to the following supporters for helping make this

conference possible:

Adopt-A-Farmbox Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

Brooklyn College Coffee Collective Brooklyn College Staff:

Calvin AbrahamMitzu AdamsRyan Buck

DJQing Lewy Kwik Printing Company

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer Youth Ministry for Peace and Justice

Last, but not least, thank you to our tireless volunteers:


April Murray Ashley Pedraza Beatrice Beckford Brian Santigo Carly Hutchinson Damian Graham

Dashana Robinson Erika Morales Frances Fabian Ida Cohen Iesha Wadala Karl Ingram Katia Reyes Lauren Royes-Baccus Maria Marasign

Nando Rodriguez Norda Nienstag Phillip Shipman Rabel Polanco Raven Sapp Ruby Doswell

Selina Achou Shevon Gant Simon Herbin Stephney Rogers Suzanne Babb Talia Bravo Vance Cherbin Wendy Wilkins

THANK YOU


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SCHEDULE: Saturday, November 20

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Registration & Light Breakfast 6th Floor:

Gold Room

9:00 AM - 9:20 AM Black Farmers & Urban Gardeners Welcome

Karen Washington, La Familia Verde6th Floor:

Gold Room

9:20 AM - 10:00 AM Opening Keynote

Will Allen, CEO and Founder, Growing Power, Inc.

6th Floor:

Gold Room

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM 2010 Black Farmers & Urban Gardeners

George Washington Carver Awards Ceremony

Presenters: Jennifer Stevenson, Weeksville Heritage CenterAsantewaa Gail Harris, Community Vision Council

6th Floor:

Gold Room

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM Breakout Sessions #1

The Next Generation: Youth Creating Food Change Anim Steel, Director of National Programs, The Food Project; Co-

Founder Real Food Challenge, Brooklyn, NY Myles Postell-Reynolds, Field Organizer, Real Food Challenge, Alum of

The Food Projects Summer Program, Springfield, MA Cameal Tapper, High School Intern, East New York Farms, Brooklyn, NY Rahkiah Clark, High School Intern, East New York Farms, Brooklyn, NY

2nd Floor:

Glennwood

Reclaiming & Reframing Black Farmers History in the U.S. Gail Myers, Cultural Anthropologist and founder, Farms to Grow,

Oakland, CA Jennifer Steverson, Public Programs Curator, Weeksville Heritage

Center, Brooklyn, NY

4th Floor:

African ArtGallery

Undoing Racism in the Food System:Lessons from the Detroit Struggle

Lila Cabbil, D-Town Farm Detroit Black Community Food SecurityNetwork, Detroit, MI

4th Floor:

AlumniLounge

Kids Hands On Cooking Demonstration from Farm to Table

Rosalind Francis, Harlem Seeds, New York, NY Michele Hatchette, Harlem Seeds, New York, NY

4th Floor:

Maroney-Leddy

Using Herbs as Companion Plants in Your Organic Garden Solita Stephens, Olympus Garden Club, Union, NJ

5th Floor:

International

Scaling Up! Creating 100,000 New Farmers: Local and

National Resources for Rural and Urban Farmers Michelle Hughs, Director, GrowNYC: New Farmer Development

Program, New York, NY Professor Neil D. Hamilton, Dwight D. Opperman Chair of Law and

Director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University LawSchool, Des Moines, IA

5th Floor:

Occidental

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SCHEDULE: Saturday, November 20 (continued)

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM Breakout Sessions #1 (continued)

The Peoples Struggle for Food Sovereignty:

From Local to Global, Another Food System is Possible! Juana Mercedes, General Coordinator, National Confederation of

Women of the Countryside (CONAMUCA) and International HumanRights Commission Member, La Via Campesina, Dominican Republic

Sara Medina, Urban Agriculture Specialist, Foundation for Training andInnovation to Support the Agrarian Revolution (Fundacin CIARA),Caracas, Venezuela

Ben Burkett, President, National Family Farm Coalition and Member,La Via Campesina North America

5th Floor:

State Room

Detroit Black Community Food Security Network Malik Yakini, Founder and Chairman, Detroit Black Community Food

Security Network, Detroit, MI

Monica White, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Wayne StateUniversity, Detroit, MI

6th Floor:

Gold Room

Black Family Land Trust Ebonie Alexander, Executive Director, Black Family Land Trust,

Durham, NC

6th Floor:Maroon Room

Urban Farming as a Framework for Holistic Community

Development Michael S. Easterling, Convener, Community Developer and Food

Producer, Cleveland, OH

Penthouse

(Left)

Increasing Access to Affordable Foods in Communities of Color

Tanikka Cunningham, Executive Director, Healthy Solutions,Washington, DC

Penthouse

(Right)

12:00 PM - 1:15 PM Lunch: Food Fair Marketplace

Andersons 1949-Brooklyn Mexican Cuisine Live Sip Vegetarian Cuisine Mirage Nigerian Cuisine

2nd Floor:

Amersfort &

Bedford

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Pigford, USDA, and the 2012 Farm Bill Panel:

A Community Forum and Action Planning Session

Gary Grant, President, Black Farmers & Agriculturists Association,Tillery, NC Spencer D. Wood, PhD; Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu'min, Minister of Agriculture and Farm Manager,

Muhammad Farms, Albany, GA Barry Crumbley (Moderator), Intact Community Development

Corporation; Mount Vernon, NY

6th Floor:

Gold Room

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3:15 PM - 4:30 PM Breakout Sessions #2

A Conversation and Strategy Session around the

Industrialization of Black Food Culture Malcolm X Grassroots Movement

2nd Floor:

Glennwood

From Field to Policy:

Leveraging Grassroots Power for the 2012 Food and Farm Bill Savi Horne, The Land Loss Prevention Project, Durham, NC Tracy Lloyd McCurty, Rural Coalition/Coalicin Rural, Washington DC Kathy Ozer, National Family Farm Coalition, Washington DC

4th Floor:

African ArtGallery

Designing Linkages Between Upstate Farmers and

Downstate Food Desert Communities Dennis Derryck, President/Founder Corbin Hill Road Farm,

Schoharie County, NY

4th Floor:

Alumni Lounge

Feed Denver Paula Thompson, Urban Farmer, 42nd & Steele St. Parking Lot Farm,

Denver, CO Trineka Freeman, Urban Farmer, 42nd & Steele St. Parking Lot Farm,

Denver, CO

4th Floor:

Maroney-Leddy

A Project Overview - Northeast Alliance in Support of

African American Farmers (NEASAAF) Lisa Jackson, Former Secretary/Treasurer of the Northeast Alliance of

African American Farmers (NEASAAF), LilClif Productions Segun Shabaka, PhD, Former Co-Chairman of the Northeast Alliance of

African American Farmers (NEASAAF), The International African ArtsFestival (I.A.A.F), The National Association of Kawaida Organizations(N.A.K.O.), The African Poetry Theatre (A.P.T.), Brooklyn, NY

5th Floor:

International

By Any Greens Necessary:

Food as a Tool of Colonization and Joining the Resistance Jade Walker, Co-founder and Co-director, Mill Creek Farm Christopher Bolden-Newsome, Food Justice Consultant, Philadelphia, PA

5th Floor:

Occidental

Creating Wealth and Improving the Lives of Black Farmers

and the Rural Community through Cooperatives

Ralph Paige, Executive Director, Federation of SouthernCooperatives / Land Assistance Fund, East Point, GA

5th Floor:State Room

Training the Next Generation of Urban Farmers Patrick Crouch, Program Manager, Capuchin Soup Kitchen's

Earthworks Urban Farm, Detroit, MI Marilyn Nefer Ra Barber, Coordinator, Earthworks Agricultural

Training (EAT) Program, Earthworks, Detroit, MI

6th Floor:

Maroon Room

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3:15 PM - 4:30 PM Breakout Sessions #2 (continued)

A Place for Us: Black Farmers in the Organic Movement Leah Penniman, Soul Fire Farm, Albany, NY

6th Floor:

Gold Room

Composting in the City:

Why Composting is Important in Urban Settings Andrew Hoyles, Master Composter, Brooklyn, NY

Penthouse

(left)

Young, Black and Gifted:

Creating Niche Food Communities Nicole Taylor, Hot Grease on Heritage Radio Network Host and

Food Justice Activist, Brooklyn, NY

Penthouse(right)

4:45 PM - 5:30 PM Closing Keynote Ralph Paige, Executive Director, Federation of Southern Cooperatives

6th Floor:

Gold Room


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Keynote Speaker - Will Allen

Founder and CEO, Growing Power, Inc.

Will Allen, son of a sharecropper, formerprofessional basketball player, ex-corporatesales leader and now farmer, has becomerecognized as among the preeminentthinkers of our time on agriculture andfood policy. The founder and CEO ofGrowing Power Inc., a farm and communityfood center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Will iswidely considered the leading authority inthe expanding field of urban agriculture.

At Growing Power and in community food

projects across the nation and around theworld, Will promotes the belief that allpeople, regardless of their economiccircumstances, should have access to fresh,safe, affordable and nutritious foods at alltimes. Using methods he has developedover a lifetime, Will trains communitymembers to become community farmers,assuring them a secure source of good foodwithout regard to political or economicforces.

In 2008, Will was named a John D. and Katherine T. McArthur Foundation Fellow and was awarded a prestigiousfoundation genius grant for his work only the second farmer ever to be so honored. He is also a member of theClinton Global Initiative, and in February 2010, he was invited to the White House to join First Lady Michelle Obama inlaunching Lets Move! her signature leadership program to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in America. InMay 2010, Time magazine named Will to the Time 100 Worlds Most Influential People.

Keynote Speaker - Ralph Paige

Executive Director, Federation of Southern Cooperatives

Ralph Paige has dedicated his lifes work to proving that cooperatives can be used to enhance

incomes and improve quality of life for Black family farmers and rural low-income families.Never deterred by scarcity of resources or organized resistance, he has been a tirelessadvocate, fundraiser and teacher.

Under his leadership, the Federation has been the primary organization representing Blackfarmers and fighting the precipitous decline in a lifestyle and culture of land ownership andindependence. Among the Federations accomplishments under his leadership: over 200 unitsof low-income housing developed; 18 community credit unions formed; 75 cooperativesstarted; and creation of the Federations Rural Training and Research Center in Epes, Alabama.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS


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The Black Urban Growers (BUGS), the coalition of individuals and organizations behind the Black Farmers and UrbanGardeners Conference, is proud to present the first annual George Washington Carver Award to three outstandingorganizations. The award is given in recognition of extraordinary efforts to forge food, farming and policy solutions forthe Black Community. We would like to offer our gratitude to the people who have shaped these esteemed

organizations and contributed to the growing movement to promote health, wealth and justice in our communities.

Afrikan Zion Organic Roots FarmRas Oba Jacobs, a native of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, first arrived inVermont, he picked apples. Then he and his wife, Dafina, founded the AfrikanZion Organic Roots Farm in West Wardsboro, Vermont. By the mid-1980s,they were bringing produce to New York City, first to Brooklyn, then toHarlem and the Bronx. In partnership with the Hattie Carthan CommunityGarden Farmer's Market, the Jacobs recently launched the Bed/Stuy CSA inBedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

The Jacobs sell a full range of vegetables grown naturally without additives or pesticides from June through November.Afrikan Zion Organic Roots Farm has been recognized for its leadership in linking organic growing to urbanneighborhoods. For more than three decades, the Jacobs have been learning, growing, building and sharing. Afrikan ZionOrganic Roots Farm continues to bring their very best in a steadfast commitment to the organic food revolution.

East New York FarmsEast New York Farms has worked with youth, gardeners, farmers and entrepreneurs to build amore just and sustainable community since 1998. East New York is a diverse and economicallydisadvantaged community in the eastern part of Brooklyn. Decades of urban decline and neglectleft the community with numerous vacant lots, few businesses and services, and a reputation forviolent crime and poverty.

Through a coalition of local and city-wide organizations and residents, The East New York Farms!Project came together as a way to use and further develop one resource that the neighborhoodhad in abundancemore than 65 community gardens. Working with youth interns and adultgardeners to increase organic food production in community gardens, the organization was ableto start a small farmers market that has grown over the years into a thriving destinationincluding dozens of gardeners and local entrepreneurs of many backgrounds, as well as upstatefarmers, bringing fresh affordable food to over 17,000 customers each year.

Peoples GroceryPeople's Grocerys mission is to build a local food system that improvesthe health and economy of West Oakland, CA. Founded in 2002, theorganization now operates a network of urban gardens, a suburbanfarm, a CSA and a wholesale organic buying club. It has trained an armyof community educators who offer cooking and nutritiondemonstrations at local hospitals, schools, public events, and othercommunity-based gatherings.

People's Grocery has attracted local and national attention in their effortto transform the inner city food environment and address healthproblems in West Oakland. The organization continues to engage theconversation around wellness, socio-economic status and social determinants of health through a food lens, and ensurethat diet and nutrition play a large part in the revitalization of communities.

Oba and Dafina Jacobs and Family

An East New YorkFarms! Youth Intern

Young Peoples Grocery urban gardeners

2010 George Washington Carver Award Recipients


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Creating Wealth and

Improving the Lives of

Black Farmers and theRural Community

through Cooperatives

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PM

Location: 5th Floor,State RoomPresenter: Ralph Paige,Executive Director, Federationof Southern Cooperatives /Land Assistance Fund

A conversation with Ralph Paige on building cooperativesto enhance incomes and improve quality of life for Blackfamily farmers and rural low-income families; food deserts;childhood obesity; the Farm Bill and mobilizing for policychange; working in collaboration to effect change.

Scaling Up! Creating 100,000 New Farmers:Local and National Resources for Rural and

Urban Farmers

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PMLocation: 5th Floor, Occidental RoomPresenters: Michelle Hughs, Director, GrowNYC: New Farmer

Development Program, New York, NY Professor Neil D. Hamilton, Dwight D. Opperman

Chair of Law and Director of the Agricultural LawCenter at Drake University Law School, Des Moines, IA

This workshop will examine various USDA and localprograms to support new and beginning farmers andexpand markets for locally grown food, and discuss how

these efforts can help urban farmers scale up theiroperations. Speakers will discuss the recent proposal bySecretary of Agriculture Vilsack to add 100,000 new farmsand discuss how a new farmer title in the 2012 farm bill cansupport this effort. The work of GrowNYC's New FarmerDevelopment Project will be reviewed to highlightresources and support services available for all farmers onthe local level. Strategies for expanding the role of urbanagriculture within the work of USDA and localgovernments will also be addressed.

Understanding Land Trust As Land Protection

and Wealth Retention Strategy

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PM

Location: 6th Floor, Maroon RoomPresenter: Ebonie Alexander, Executive Director, BlackFamily Land Trust, Durham, NC

The mission of the Black Family Land Trust is to provideeducational, technical and financial services to ensure,protect, and preserve African American land ownership.

Black land loss has reached the crisis stage. While African-Americans amassed 15 million acres of land in the South

between 1865 and 1919, by 1999 African-Americans owneda total of 7.7 million acres and only 2.5 million of thoseacres were farmland. In 1920, Black farmers numbered925,708 (when 1 of 4 owned their own land) andcontrolled approximately 14 percent of the nation'sfarmland. Today, Black farmers have declined in number toapproximately 18,000 and they control less than 1 percentof the nation's farmland.

In this workshop learn how to protect family land throughutilizing land trust and or conservation tools. Participantswill receive an overview of the various trust, conservationand community economic development tools available toprotect land by putting it back into production.

Using Herbs as Companion Plants in Your

Organic Garden

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PMLocation: 5th Floor, International RoomPresenters: Solita Stephens, Olympus Garden Club, Union, NJ

Participants will learn about herbs that can be used toreduce the use of harmful pesticides on/in the farm/garden.We will review plants and group will get to share anyknowledge they have about the plants. I will share mypersonal experiences using these plants and some of theirvalue-added uses in markets as teas, or potpourris in ahighly interactive format.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

Farmer to Farmer Track:

Photo Credit: Joshua east side
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Training the Next Generation of Urban Farmers

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PMLocation: 6th Floor, Maroon RoomPresenters: Patrick Crouch, Program Manager, Capuchin Soup

Kitchen's Earthworks Urban Farm, Detroit, MI Marilyn Nefer Ra Barber, Coordinator of Earthworks

Agricultural Training (EAT) Program, Earthworks Farm,Detroit, MI

Urban farming is all the rage these days, but how do youhire from the community that urban farms are in whenmost of the community have not been exposed to current

organic and sustainable farming methods? The answer issimple! You train them, and grow more farmers.

Earthworks Agricultural Training is a program which seeksto teach residents of the near east side of Detroit aboutorganic farming and urban food systems-so they mayacquire jobs in the quickly developing ban agriculture fieldas well as start and incubate their own projects. In thisworkshop you will learn about the teaching methodsapplied, the success and failures we have experienced, andwhat are some of the keys for success of developing your

own project. Earthworks Urban Farm has been cultivatingthe land and community for over 15 years.

Designing Linkages between Upstate Farmers

and Downstate Food Desert Communities

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PMLocation: 4th Floor, Alumni LoungePresenter: Dennis Derryck, President/Founder CorbinHill Road Farm, Schoharie County (NY)

In creating a Farm Share Program, the Corbin Hill Rd Farm(CHRF) began as a farm with a long term goal of creatinga Farm Share membership of some 4-5,000 members over10 years who would eventually own shares on the farm.Working at a scale that makes a difference requiresreexamining the role of being a farmer, the importance of

collaboration and defining the nature of strategicpartnerships are requirements needed to serve fooddeserts. The rapid transformation of CHRF to being aproduce distributor with a social mission owning a farm hasmajor implications as to costs and in attracting socialinvestors. This experience and the learning that hasoccurred in the first year of CHRFs operation where itsurpassed its initial goal of 175 members by more than 60percent will be shared and discussed with conferenceparticipants.

Farmer to Farmer Track: (continued)

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Panel: How USDA and Other US Government

Policies Effect both Farming & Urban Gardening

Time: 1:30 PM 3:00 PM

Location: 6th Floor, Gold RoomPresenters: Gary Grant, Black Farmers & Agriculturists Association

President, Tillery, NC Spencer D. Wood, PhD; Kansas State University,

Manhattan, KS Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu'min, Muhammad Farms, Minister

of Agriculture and Farm Manager, Albany, GA Barry Crumbley (Moderator), Intact Community

Development Corporation; Mount Vernon, NY

This panel of experts will discuss: Identifying underlying laws and food policy legislation in

the USA How U.S. government and corporations work together

to control food production How to acquire land by establishing financial support

systems and landowner alliances Explaining the truth about the concept of heirs

property Showing a perspective between gardening and farming

Undoing Racism in the Food System: Lessons

from the Detroit Struggle

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PMLocation: 4th Floor, Alumni LoungePresenters: Lila Cabbil, D-Town Farm Detroit BlackCommunity Food Security Network, Detroit, MI

In this workshop we will begin by laying the foundation anddeveloping an understanding of the scope of the problem inidentifying structural/institutionalized racism in the foodsystem as a root cause for economic and health disparities.We will outline critical content areas for strategic analysisand action planning then review resources for continuedlearning, planning and taking action. Workshop will include: Description of Detroit work in progress Interactive exercises to increase awareness of

unconscious participation in racism Group dialogue to provide opportunity to express

perspectives from individual localities Action Planning Guide

From Field to Policy: Leveraging Grassroots

Power for the 2012 Food and Farm Bill

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PM

Location: 4th Floor, African Art GalleryPresenters: Savi Horne, The Land Loss Prevention Project, Durham, NC Tracy Lloyd McCurty, Rural Coalition/Coalicin Rural,

Washington DC Kathy Ozer, National Family Farm Coalition,

Washington DC

The U.S. will begin renegotiation of U.S. Farm Policy before2012; consequently, a grassroots alliance will need to begin

laying the framework for a farm policy agenda that reflectsthe values of community food sovereignty, respect forMother Earth, and a renewed commitment to keep farmersof African descent as well as other historically underservedfarming communities on the land. In 2008, the Farm andFood Policy Diversity Initiative, a grassroots coalitionworking in solidarity for more diversity and access toUSDA programs, was successful in opening doors tofarmers, ranchers and farm workers long excluded fromfederal agriculture programs and services. The DiversityInitiatives legislative victories included more than $1.5billion designated for socially disadvantaged farmers and

more than thirty provisions to ensure the equitableparticipation of socially disadvantaged and limited resourcefarmers in federal agriculture programs.

Key organizations with long experience in this debate willlead a discussion about developing grassroots focusedstrategies for the coming debate on farm and food policy,and to develop a concrete agenda to influence this policyto advance rather than hinder food sovereignty andeconomic solidarity at the national, regional and globallevel. This will be an interactive workshop and willinvigorate thoughtful dialogue through group participationand smaller focus groups. The first half of the workshop wilfocus on the changes achieved through the concertedaction of diverse organizations and on the additionalchanges needed to assure food sovereignty for allcommunities in the U.S. The second half of the workshopwill focus on the structural issues of U.S. Farm Policy andthe implications for food sovereignty at the domestic andglobal scale, as well as concrete recommendations onprocess, substance and strategies for the upcoming USFarm and Food Policy Debate.

Food Policy and Action Planning Track:

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A Project Overview - Northeast Alliance in

Support of African American Farmers (NEASAAF)

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PMLocation: 5th Floor, International RoomPresenters: Lisa Jackson, Former Secretary/Treasurer, NEASAAF,

LilClif Productions Segun Shabaka, PhD, Former Co-Chairman, NEASAAF,

The International African Arts Festival, The NationalAssociation of Kawaida Organizations, The AfricanPoetry Theatre, Brooklyn, NY

In 1997, Community Organizer Segun Shabaka, The House of

the Lord Church Pastor, Brooklyn - Rev Herbert Daughtry,and Event/Marketing Consultant - Lisa Jackson formed the notfor profit organization, Northeast Alliance in Support ofAfrican American Farmers (NEASAAF) in efforts to: Lend support to southeastern African American

Farmers, via the Federation of Southern CooperativesLand Assistance Fund, a 501(c) 3 organization servingthe rural south since 1967.

Strengthen connections between farmers andnortheastern African Americans by enlighteningnortherners of the farmers plight & the importance ofeating healthier produce.

Provide northerners with healthy freshly grownproduce by the farmers.

This presentation will be an overview of the project, whichcan be used as a model to build upon by organizations withsimilar initiatives. Presenters will share info from theFederation of Southern Cooperatives Land AssistanceFund, including a brief explanation and status of the PigfordLawsuit; how attendees can support the Federation andkeep updated on their status and initiatives.

The Peoples Struggle for Food Sovereignty: From

Local to Global, Another Food System is Possible!

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PMLocation: 5th Floor, State RoomPresenters: Juana Mercedes, General Coordinator of the National

Confederation of Women of the Countryside(CONAMUCA) and member of the InternationalHuman Rights Commission of La Via Campesina,Dominican Republic

Sara Medina, Urban Agriculture Specialist, Foundationfor Training and Innovation to Support the AgrarianRevolution (Fundacin CIARA), Caracas, Venezuela

Ben Burkett, President, National Family Farm Coalitionand member of La Via Campesina North America

Across the globe, a vibrant movement of farmers, foodworkers, fisher-folk, indigenous peoples, and others iscalling for food sovereignty, the right of people to controltheir food and agriculture systems. As we challenge theunderlying injustices of our current food system, we tooare part of this movement.

This workshop will explore food sovereignty from the localto the global levels, with a special emphasis on the critical

roles of people of African ancestry, particularly women, inthis movement. Speakers will include powerful womenleaders from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and theUnited States.

Food Policy and Action Planning Track: (continued)



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Detroit Black Community Food Security Network

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PM

Location: 6th Floor, Gold RoomPresenters: Malik Yakini, Founder and Chairman, Detroit Black

Community Food Security Network, Detroit, MI Monica White, Assistant Professor of Sociology,

Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network(DBCFSN) is a coalition of organizations and individualsworking together to build food security in DetroitsBlack community by: 1) influencing public policy; 2)promoting urban agriculture; 3) encouraging co-operative

buying; 4) promoting healthy eating habits; 5) facilitatingmutual support and collective action among members;and 6) encouraging young people to pursue careers inagriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, bee-keepingand other food related fields.

Feed Denver

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PMLocation: 4th Floor, Maroney-Leddy RoomPresenters: Paula Thompson and Trineka Freeman,Urban Farmers, 42nd & Steele St. Parking Lot Farm,Denver, CO

Feed Denver is a nonprofit organization dedicated tocreating working urban farms to create food, jobs, andbusiness. This past summer we created a farm out of aParking Lot in one of our more challenged communities.The neighborhood of Swansea is cut in half by a highwayand dwarfed by truck stops, industrial factories, and junkyards but now has its own operating farm in answer to

Joni Mitchells iconic song, Big Yellow Taxi, we took thatparking lot back and made it paradise!

Our Parking Lot Farm and Urban Agriculture Project is ina federally recognized enterprise zone, the Globeville/Swansea/Elyria neighborhoods, which are home to over10,000 residents. According to the Piton Foundation over80% of the individuals in these communities are lowincome and 27% live in poverty, making accessing freshfoods and employment opportunities a great challenge.These diverse neighborhoods include strong ethniccultures representing predominantly African-American,Latino, and Asian communities.

Young, Black and Gifted:

Creating Niche Food Communities

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PMLocation: Penthouse (Right)Presenter: Nicole Taylor, Host of Hot Grease onHeritage Radio Network and Food Justice Activist,Brooklyn, NY

Whether you are a farmer interested in social media, agardener with a food product idea or local eaterinterested in self-reliance, this workshop will give you theexamples and inspiration to sustain niche foodcommunities. In this presentation, participants will learnthe fundamentals elements for successful community

building through food. Case studies include Roberta'sPizza, The Greenhorns, African Hebrew Israelites,Muhammad Farms, and Eat Slow Jams. There will be anopen discussion on resources needed for stronger blackfood organizations.

Increasing Access to Affordable Foods in

Communities of Color

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PMLocation: Penthouse (Right)Presenter: Tanikka Cunningham, Executive Director,Healthy Solutions, Washington DC

Lack of Food Access is not just a hot topic now, but it isa very real situation for African Americans. Most of ourcommunities fall into food deserts and we suffer someof the highest negative health outcomes because it. Wecan help change our health, our food, and better ouryouth by creating community food systems that allow usto feed ourselves. This workshop will allow you to seesome of the simple things that anyone can do to make

food access a reality for our communities. Thisworkshop will answer questions about what foodsystems are and what they can do to impact ourcommunities.

Healthy Solutions vision is to create equitablecommunities by creating community based food systemsallowing all community members:1. access to healthy affordable foods,2. quality jobs through agriculture, and3. education and training.

Building Self-Reliant Communities Track:

http://www.heritageradionetwork.com/programs/23-Hot-Greasehttp://www.heritageradionetwork.com/programs/23-Hot-Greasehttp://www.heritageradionetwork.com/programs/23-Hot-Greasehttp://www.heritageradionetwork.com/programs/23-Hot-Greasehttp://www.heritageradionetwork.com/programs/23-Hot-Grease


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Urban Farming as a Framework for Holistic

Community Development

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PMLocation: Penthouse (Left)Presenter: Michael S. Easterling, Convener, CommunityDeveloper and Food Producer, Cleveland, OH

This presentation offers a vision of how neighborhood-based food production can work as the foundation of aholistic social and economic development strategy. Theregenerative economics model was synthesized from theexperience and best practices of educators, growers andpolicymakers and is based on the belief that a thrivinglocal food economy is the most fundamental basis for

building the local economy.

Participants will be provided with a framework that canbe used to: Refine program strategies and assess opportunities

for partnership, Apply models cooperative finance to create lower

cost, high impact learning, and Engage school systems through project-based

learning in the community Participants will also be provided with an overview

of an enterprise development strategy that preparesyouth for opportunities:

Horticulture / Aquaculture / Permaculture Construction & Design Compost/ Waste Utilization Logistics / Distribution Program Documentation

Building Self-Reliant Communities Track: (continued)

By Any Greens Necessary: Food as a Tool of

Colonization and Joining the Resistance

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PM

Location: 5th Floor, Occidental RoomPresenters: Jade Walker, The Mill Creek Farm, Co-founder, Co-

director of The Mill Creek Farm Christopher Bolden-Newsome, Food Justice

Consultant, Philadelphia, PA

The workshop will be hosted in popular education styleand participants will engage through a series of discussions(large and small group), historical games, and listening.

There is a serious isolation and lack of cohesion in the foodjustice movement. We will use conference space to gathertogether and challenge ourselves to rewrite the narrative

to not be about our individual work but to focus on thecollective good of a transformed society. A goal of thisworkshop is to stimulate the creation of a food justicepraxis. We want participants to leave with the ability torecognize the interconnectedness of oppressions and learnnew ways to challenge the (way) systems of oppression (actwithin ourselves) within our work. Through this workshopwe will expose that as long as the imposition ofcolonization has occurred, there have been movements toresist it.

We will begin the workshop by honoring our ancestors,move to a history of the food politics game in order thatparticipants in this conversation leave with the ability tosee our work in a historical context as a vehicle for socialchange. Then through an interactive timeline we willinvestigate the historical role of food in colonization. Tohelp us locate ourselves and our justice work in the streamof food centered revolutions throughout human history. Inclosing we reflect, through meditation and story, on ourown ancestral paths to the US and the personal andcollective work it will take to get us to liberation.

A Place for Us:

Black Farmers in the Organic Movement

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PM

Location: 6th Floor, Gold Room

Presenters: Leah Penniman, Soul Fire Farm, Albany, NY

Participants will have the opportunity to share experiencesand wisdom gleaned from interfacing with the organicmovement. Additionally, I will provide information aboutthe requirements of organic farmers and strategies to makeorganic farming possible without access to huge amounts ocapital. I particularly have experience with organicvegetables, small fruits, and poultry as well as teen farmingprograms. I have been a part time grower for 15 years.

Seed to Table Track:



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Page 17

The Next Generation: Youth Creating Food Change

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PM

Location: 2nd Floor, GlennwoodPresenters: Anim Steel, Director of National Programs, The Food

Project; Co-Founder Real Food Challenge, Brooklyn, NY Myles Postell-Reynolds, Field Organizer with the Real

Food Challenge Real Food, Alum of The Food ProjectsSummer Program, Springfield, MA

Youth Team from East New York Farms!

Young people (in their teens, twenties, and thirties) are arising voice in the movement. Whether were growing foodin our communities our advocating in our schools, webelieve real food is our right and our responsibility. In thisinteractive workshop, you will hear about three models ofyouth engaged in the food movement: East New York Farms!, a program that is greening one

Brooklyn neighborhood with gardens and a thrivingfarmers market;

Real Food Challenge, which mobilizes college students

to create new markets for family farmers; and Live Real, a new project uniting youth nationwide to

reform federal food policy.

After these short presentations, participants will have achance to discuss how they might want to shape themovement, individually and collectively.

We intend to come out of the workshop with new ideasand ways to be involved.

Reclaiming and Reframing the History of Black

Farmers in the U.S.

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PM

Location: 4th Floor, African Art GalleryPresenters: Gail Myers, Cultural Anthropologist and founder of

Farms to Grow, Oakland, CA Jennifer Steverson, Public Programs Curator Weeksville

Heritage Center, Brooklyn, NY

Very little research has been conducted on the topic ofblacks in United States agriculture, nor has the importantcontributions of blacks in agriculture been properly noted.

This paper discusses the agricultural contributions of blackfarmers in early American history and the ability of blackfarmers to transform land into meaningful resources, duringand after the enslavement years. For example, the authorcites the rice economy in South Carolina as evidence ofAfrican based landscape architectural design knowledge ofthe Senegambians. The paper discusses the plantationsurvival adaptations, Colono-Ware pottery, and theethnobotanical/ecological knowledge of the first Africans inthe Americas.

A Conversation and Strategy Session around

the Industrialization of Black Food Culture

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PMLocation: 2nd Floor, Glennwood RoomPresenters: Malcolm X Grassroots Movement

Join us for pre screening of Byron Hurts forthcoming filmSoul Food Junkies, followed by a conversation about theindustrialization of Black food culture, from slavery totoday. Lets Build, and discuss ways we can collectively

address the oppression of our communities through food/our food system.

"We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being,to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights ofa human being in this society, on this earth, in this day,which we intend to bring into existence by any meansnecessary."

Malcolm X

Seed to Table Track: (continued)

Capuchin Soup Kitchen's Earthworks Urban Farm, Detroit, MI



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Page 18

Kids Hands On Cooking Demonstration from

Farm to Table

Time: 10:45 AM 12:00 PM

Location: 4th Floor, Maroney-Leddy RoomPresenters:

Rosalind Francis, Harlem Seeds, New York, NY Michele Hatchette, Harlem Seeds, New York, NY

At Harlem Seeds, we understand the importance andurgency to connect childrens relationship to food with thegrowing process and agricultural practices. Participants willalso learn: How to prepare tasty and delicious farm fresh food

The differences between farm fresh foods andprocessed foods The positive benefits of consuming healthy food

Participants will be divided into teams; four members perteam. A maximum total of 20 participants will be allowed toparticipate in the hands-on cooking demonstrations. Thepurpose of the workshop is to introduce an alternative wayof preparing food for maximum nutritional benefits.

Simply put, Harlem Seeds; cultivating the seeds oftomorrow one child at a time. Participants will be able tomake smarter, more informed choices about what food

they put inside their bodies. They will be empowered withknowing where the food comes from and how to bestprepare it for maximum nutrition. They too can continuethe legacy in growing food for their communities.

Composting in the City - Why Composting is

Important in Urban Settings

Time: 3:15 PM 4:30 PMLocation: Penthouse (Left)Presenter: Andrew Hoyles, Compost Instructor, NYC

Compost Project in Manhattan, New York, NY

A basic primer on why composting is a critical part ofurban gardening and a look at some of the tools that helpyou to get started. Topics discussed will be why compostingmatters, different composting options, what should orshouldn't be composted, and applications.

Seed to Table Track: (continued)



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Page 19

Come experience why they call New York City the mecca of urban agriculture on one of three garden tours this Sunday.Our gardens and farms are among the citys most extraordinary and best-kept secrets. Tourists will discover anenormous variety of trees, vegetables, herbs and flowers as well as ponds, gazebos, rain-water harvesting systems, andmore. The gardens are host to people of all ages and to a wide range of programs, from canning to composting, rainwater harvesting to CSAs, homework tutoring to environmental studies workshops.

On the tours you will have a chance to see and hear how community residents took back their neighborhoods and noware growing food, providing education and in some cases have become healing and cultural centers. In Harlem comemeet and greet urban farmers whose history stems from the migration of the rural South to the urban North, bringingwith them the seeds of our past. In Brooklyn, learn about the boroughs oldest African American settlement Weeksvilleand the spiritual rituals passed down from our ancestors at Hattie Carthan community Garden. In the Bronx, discoverour ancestral roots from Southern, Caribbean and a blend of Afro-Latino cultures, as you visit farms, a community gardenand a rooftop youth garden. The only drawback is that you have to choose just one tour!

Tours are scheduled for Sunday morning, November 21. Transportation on the Bronx and Brooklyn tours is via vans; theHarlem tour is a walking tour. Please dress accordingly. Tours cost $25 and are on a first come first serve basis.

CHECK AT THE REGISTRATION DESK TO SEE IF SPACE IS STILL AVAILABLE.

Brooklyn Itinerary

Tour Guide: Jennifer Stevenson, 347-678-1258

Start Time: 11 AMStart Location: Weeksville Heritage Center, 1698 Bergen Street, between Rochester and Buffalo Avenues. A, C trainsto Utica Avenue: Walk four blocks south on Utica. Turn left on Bergen St.3, 4 trains to Utica Avenue: Walk eight blocksnorth on Utica. Turn right on Bergen St.

11:00 AM11:45 AM: Weeksville Heritage Center, Host: Jennifer Stevenson

12:00 PM12:45 PM: East New York Farms! (613 New Lots Ave.), Host: David Vigil

1:00 PM1:45 PM: Brooklyn Rescue Mission/Bed-Stuy Farm (255 Bainbridge St.),

Hosts: Rev. Robert & Rev. DeVanie Jackson

2:00 PM to 2:45 PM: Hattie Carthan Community Garden (Lafayette & Marcy Ave), Host: Yonnette Fleming

3:00 PM: End

Garden Tours Sunday, November 21

East New York Farms!


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Bronx Itinerary

Tour Guide: Karen Washington, 917.861.2783

Start Time: 10 AM (Buses leave at 10:15 AM)

Start Location: La Finca Del Sur, 138th Street andGrand Concourse. 4, 5 trains stop at garden.

10:30 AM11:00 AM: Taqwa Farms! (164th& Ogden Ave), Hosts: Abu Talib & Bobby Watson

11:15 AM 12:00 PM: Tremont CommunityGarden (178th and LaFontaine Ave), Hosts:Elizabeth Butler & James Alexander

12:15 PM 1:00 PM: Youth Ministries forPeace and Justice (174th and Strafford Ave),

Hosts: Julien Terrell & Youth Organizers

1:15 PM 2:00 PM: La Finca Del Sur (138thand Grand Concourse), Hosts: Nancy andDemetrio Suran

2:00 PM: end

Manhattan Itinerary

Tour Guide: Haja WorleyStart Time: 10 AMStart Location:Joseph Daniel Wilson Garden, 219 West 122nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.Take A, C, or D train to 125th and St. Nicholas or 2,3 trains to 125th and Malcolm X Blvd/Lenox Avenue.

10:00 AM11:00 AM:Joseph Daniel Wilson Garden, (219West 122nd Street), Hosts: Haja and Cindy Worley

11:15 AM12:00 PM: Hattie McCracken/Truce Garden(St. Nicholas Ave., 118th & 119th Streets) Host: Steve Kidd

12:15 PM1:00 PM: Clayton Williams Garden (126th and8th Ave.), Host: Loretta Welcome

1:15 PM2:00 PM: William B. Washington Garden(126th @ St Nicholas). Host: Gwendolyn Kingsberry

2:00 PM end

Garden Tours Sunday, November 21 (continued)

Gardener Abu Talib at Taqwa Community Farm. Photo Credit: Ira Block

Clayton Williams Garden


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Thank you for attending the first annual

Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference!We hope that this conference has helped you strengthen networks with other growers and activists and inspired newideas to address the food-related issues that contribute to inequities in health, wealth and justice in black communities.Our work together should not end with this weekends events. Help further our collective efforts by staying connected:

Follow us on Facebook. Search for Black Farmer and Urban Gardener Conference on Facebook and join the conversation.

Visit our website regularly. Go to www.blackfarmersconf.org for information about our speakers, partners and upcoming events.

Join our email list. Stop by our homepage on www.blackfarmersconf.org to join our online community and stay up-to-date.

Get ready for the 2011 Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference!Help us make the 2011 conference more inspiring and productive than this inaugural event. Fill out the feedbacksurvey in your registration packet, share your thoughts, and get involved with planning next years events.

TAKE ACTION!
http://www.blackfarmersconf.org/http://www.blackfarmersconf.org/http://www.blackfarmersconf.org/

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