Member Moments: Dirt Capital Partners
Dirt Capital Partners joined SAFSF in 2023, and since then their staff have been active members and leaders of our community, hear their stories below. “I attended the SAFSF conference in Pittsburgh in 2019 without really knowing much about the organization, and I was impressed by the open and equity-oriented community with a lot of thought leadership. Since founding Dirt Capital Partners in 2014, we have tested out models and worked with countless farmers to inform the work we do all across the US today. Participating in SAFSF’s Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice in 2022 and recommending Amanda to participate…
SAFSF On the Road Recap: Detroit
Earlier this month, SAFSF and Detroit Black Food Sovereignty Network (DBCFSN) co-hosted a powerful one-day event focused on transformative food justice initiatives. Funders, community leaders, and advocates gathered at the Detroit Food Commons, a community-owned co-operative grocery store and multi-use facility developed by DBCFSN—to explore the intersection of health equity, sustainable economic growth, and community self-determination. The event highlighted the transformative potential of community-led food systems in addressing systemic inequities. Attendees engaged with critical themes, such as health and wealth disparities impacting frontline communities, the importance of community-driven solutions, and the essential role funders must play in driving long-term, systemic…
Member Moments: Fabiola Greenawalt
I serve as The Russell Family Foundation’s Senior Program Officer, based in Gig Harbor, Washington. Our foundation’s vision is ‘a thriving, equitable, and sustainable Earth.’ Guided by this vision, we invest in people and places to advance environmental sustainability and address the climate crisis. As part of our vision, we launched the Food for Climate Solutions grantmaking program in 2023. This program is designed to address the negative impacts of climate change while fostering a thriving local and regional food system and more equitable access to local, healthy, and sustainable grown food. Throughout the developmental phase of this program, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems…
Digging Deeper: Q&A on Industry Consolidation with Claire Kelloway
Dig Deeper with Digging In! Digging In is SAFSF’s first documentary film, produced by Nathan.works and underwritten by the Vatheuer Family Foundation, and was designed as a tool for funders and their grantees to explore the wide-ranging challenges of land access, consolidation and concentration, and climate change on U.S. agriculture. The film uplifts on-the-ground perspectives and solutions across the country. Claire Kelloway, Open Markets Institute, joined SAFSF and the broader food systems community for a deep dive into meat and poultry consolidation through a recent installment of Digging Deeper, our lunchtime condensed documentary screening series. Featured in the film, Claire is a renowned thought leader and writer on market…
SAFSF’s Election Response
The evening of Election Day, I stepped outside in time to witness a sky full of birds returning to their nesting place for the evening. The sky was stunning, showing off the best of LA sunset colors, and filled with bird flight. That night, I paused with recognition that no matter who is elected president, the birds will keep gliding to and fro with the movements of the sun. Our relationship with land shows us the abundant ecosystems that nurture and sustain us, across time and space. As Daniel Hunter wrote in his excellent article in Waging Nonviolence, “On the days when I can’t sense…
Hurricane Helene & Milton Response
As we’ve seen in the news, devastating hurricanes have swept the East Coast, leaving communities in the wake of destruction, with more tropical storms predicted on the horizon. In the face of the challenging circumstances, private philanthropy and community groups are stepping up to aid in recovery and resilience. In response, our team has put together a resource page on our website collecting all the outlets for supporting hurricane relief right now. Please contact Communications Director, Maggie Mosley, if you have anything to add to this list. Federal Support and Shared Resources Applying for Disaster Assistance: People in designated counties…
Addressing the Roots: Helpful tool for moving from charity to sovereignty
Phoebe Gooding, SAFSF Program Director, attended RAFI’s Come to the Table Conference: Food, Land, and Sacred Stories earlier this month. She shares short reflections from a workshop she attended that led her to dig deeper into what food charity, justice, and sovereignty are all about. Earlier this month, I attended Come to the Table: Food, Land and Sacred Stories, a conference hosted by Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) where I participated in a workshop titled: Food Charity, Food Justice, Food Rights and Food Sovereignty—What is it all About?. Our facilitators, Chelsea Marshall, and Alison Cohen, led us through an exercise…
Navigating the Future of Aquaculture: Insights from Recent Convenings on Sustainable Seafood
Maggie Mascarenhas, SAFSF Public Policy Manager, this past May joined the GRACE Communications Foundation, Don’t Cage Our Oceans, many stakeholders in the fishing community, including members of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, in Savannah, Georgia at the kickoff event for a resource development project known as the Aquaculture Atlas. Later, in July, she joined Don’t Cage Our Oceans, State Innovation Exchange, state legislators from across the U.S., and members of the Duwamish Tribe and Suquamish Tribe in Seattle, Washington to discuss state policy opportunities to wrest seafood production from corporate control and support working waterfronts. Below are her reflections and learnings on…
Reflections of #ForumCon24 From Emerging Leaders Scholarship Recipients: Maggie Mascarenhas
This year, the United Philanthropy Forum offered eight scholarships to allow emerging leaders in the Forum network to attend their 2024 Annual Conference. This piece was originally published as part of UPF’s blog series featuring the eight emerging leaders who received scholarships to attend the conference. Below, Maggie Mascarenhas, SAFSF Public Policy Manager shares her reflections and key takeaways from attending the conference. Last month, I was lucky enough to attend United Philanthropy Forum’s Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. It was my first time attending an in-person Forum event apart from Foundation On the Hill, and my first time seeing…
Philanthropy’s Role in Creating Thriving Rural Communities
Holly Enowski, SAFSF Senior Membership Associate, shares her reflections after attending two rural-forward convenings: 2024 Rural Philanthropy Summit: Creating Thriving Communities, presented by Philanthropy Missouri and Community Foundation of the Ozarks, and Building an Intersectional Philanthropic Approach: Climate Change, Agriculture, and Healthy Rural Communities presented by SAFSF. Growing up in rural Missouri and now living in a town of 250, I have a keen awareness of the issues impacting rural communities and a deep desire to create a stronger, thriving rural Midwest. My summer has been full of travel – joining fellow PSO, Philanthropy Missouri, for their recent rural-focused summit,…
