Tompkins Weekly          5-23-16

By Jenn Bassman

If you have ever composted, you have likely heard the term “browns and greens.” It refers to the carbon (brown) and nitrogen (green) materials in your compost bin. Achieving the perfect 3:1 ratio of these substances creates a mixture that turns everyday yard waste into magical garden-enriching gold, aka soil. Fail to include the proper ratio of any part of this recipe, and you wind up with something that may smell from here to the next county or just sit there and do nothing at all. (Bear with me here, there’s a metaphor in all of this.)

At the Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming, all of us on the staff (and several of the board members) are farmers.
We think about things in context of soil, water, air, plants, animals, etc. So, when we an article by Leah Pennimen of Soul Fire Farm titled “After a Century in Decline, Black Farmers Are Back and on the Rise,” was sent to us multiple times, it got us thinking about farming, our mission and, well, compost. Of further coincidence, an event called “Browns + Greens: Racial Justice for Radical Sustainability” was held on recently, organized by multiple business and nonprofit leaders of food justice efforts.

If you have read one of our newsletters, or visited our website, you know that Groundswell’s mission includes the word “diverse”. In the context of our mission, diverse means multiple cultures, nationalities, races, genders, classes, and ages; however, we have a priority to engage diversity in race, culture and class. Our mission has evolved over time. It now not only includes the word “diverse”, but also this commitment has led us to build an advisory board and staff that understands the importance of food justice work within a beginning farmer training organization.

We have done some good work. We have provided land access to new Americans through our Incubator Farm Program, who have in turn been able to start successful farm businesses. Through our farm business class and one-on-one support, we have helped and supported the founder of a non-profit farm/education site in Ghana called Ndor Eco Village.

We have involved people of diverse races in planning meetings and hiring processes. We have reached out to communities of color to bring more diversity to our programs. We have paid consultants to educate our staff and board on equity and inclusion and, specifically, to help us understand how to diversify our work.

Yet, most of our program participants are not people of color. We are still a predominantly white organization. Our compost, if you will, is mostly one ingredient.

After well over a year of organizational soul-searching, community-listening and guided diversity and equity training of the board and staff, if we know anything, it’s that we have a lot more work to do. Using the “browns and greens” compost metaphor, we know that in order to build a sustainable and just local food system we must have a diverse and inclusive mix of participants. Without the balance, the mix either stinks, or does nothing.

Subsequently, moving forward, we are committed to continuing to ask ourselves tough questions, to hold ourselves accountable and to challenge our community to do the same. We are asking ourselves questions like: Are the relationships that exist between Groundswell and communities of color synergistic and built on trust? Are we having an impact on “creating equitable food systems”, and how do we know? What systems have we developed to hold us accountable to ensuring that priority is placed on inclusion and equity in our work? What are we teaching in our curricula that recognizes the racist and brutalist history of agriculture in our country or the land theft in this state? How are we committing to diversity and inclusion in all our work, and not just as a “project” of our work? Does being a mostly white organization mean we are not successful? What does success look like in this work?

There are no easy answers. Food justice work is complex. It is challenging. It is personal. And it takes a committed community. Though the work of Soul Fire Farm deserves recognition, and to be shared far and wide, we hope that stories like this become more common.Subsequently, moving forward, we are committed to continuing to ask ourselves tough questions, to hold ourselves accountable and to challenge our community to do the same. We are asking ourselves questions like: Are the relationships that exist between Groundswell and communities of color synergistic and built on trust? Are we having an impact on “creating equitable food systems”, and how do we know? What systems have we developed to hold us accountable to ensuring that priority is placed on inclusion and equity in our work? What are we teaching in our curricula that recognizes the racist and brutalist history of agriculture in our country or the land theft in this state? How are we committing to diversity and inclusion in all our work, and not just as a “project” of our work? Does being a mostly white organization mean we are not successful? What does success look like in this work?

Like you, we envision a society where there is an increase in farmers and food producers of all races, classes, genders and cultures; a society without food insecurity and injustice. We are committed to expanding and improving our efforts and behaviors to be more inclusive, respectful and celebratory of diversity.

We look forward to working together to achieve these goals. We will make mistakes. We will make people happy. And we welcome your feedback and support to hold us accountable to this imperative work along the way.