Black Farmer Fund announces first investment cohort!

Black Farmer Fund (BFF), an emerging community-governed investment fund, is excited to announce their first round of funding! Black Farmer Fund raised $1M in blended capital (grants + loans) and received 50+ applications for funding for this pilot phase. Decisions around the 8 businesses receiving funding were made by a community-governed committee, known as the pilot community.

Learn more about the 8 incredible Black farmers, herbalists, and collectives that center economic justice, community wealth building and managing environmental/ecological impact through stewarding land and growing food and medicine for our communities.

BIG DREAM FARM, Saugerties, NY

• Stewarding 40 acres of land in Saugerties, NY, Big Dream Farm celebrates opportunities to serve communities by providing nutritious food with heritage and by stewarding the land.
• In the words of co-founder Kama Doucoure, “In our collective vision, the farm will be a safe space for the Black Muslim community in the Northeast, where members of the community can apply their ancestral African agrarian knowledge and learn from each other’s experience in farming here in New York.”

ROCKY ACRES, Freeville, NY

• Rocky Acres is a 10-acre farm in Freeville, NY that focuses on education and the sustainable production of local vegetables, eggs, and meat for low-resourced communities.
• Rocky Acres combines the knowledge and spirit of social justice with the transformative healing aspects of nature and agriculture to promote equity in both urban and rural food systems.
• They also in community education as well as local Black Farmer organizing efforts.

716CBD, Niagara Falls, NY

• Located on 6th street in Niagara Falls, 716CBD is an apothecary-style holistic healing space, 716CBD is a space where people can fill their holistic wellness toolkit by picking up tinctures, butters, bath bombs, salts, scrubs, all handcrafted by the owner!
• Most products contain CBD and all are handcrafted by local wellness businesses.
• This spring 716CBD will be opening its doors for people to enjoy fresh-pressed juices, bakery treats, and coffee from other local small businesses.

FARM FRESH CARIBBEAN GROWERS, Montgomery, NY

• Farm Fresh Caribbean Growers, specializes in providing fresh Caribbean produce not typically found in your average supermarket such as their specialty Jamaican callaloo
• Delroy, Farmer, and Owner, has deep relationships in the Newburg community and is committed to increasing access to organic grown produce at an affordable price

ROOTWORK HERBALS, Tompkins County, NY

• Rootwork Herbals was founded in 2006 and is an herbal education business focusing on BIPOC and QT communities.
• Their vision for creating community wealth is through making deep and significant investments in the land-based, medicinal skills of the community
• Rootwork Herbals also houses an apothecary with medicinal offerings as well as individualized herbal consultation with Amanda.

TRINITY FARMS, Clintondale, NY

• Trinity Farm is a small fruit orchard that began operations in 1997. They own 37 acres and farm on 60 more, producing a variety of fruits, primarily apples, vegetables, and fresh eggs.
• Products are offered directly to consumers through farmer’s markets, wholesale, and cideries.

THE BLACK YARD FARM, Sloansville, NY

• The Black Yard Farm Collective is a collective of Black farmers working together to create a thriving farming space where the Black community can learn and receive the benefits of cultivated land.
• They focus on raising livestock and growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

TRUE FOODS, Ulster County / Highland, NY

• True Foods is a Black-led, grassroots food preservation collective building self-determination and liberation on land in our local food systems in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
• Their work has included redistributing food and diverting produce from waste streams, hosting community meals, skillshares and knowledge sharing, and currently, focuses on setting values and governance practices as a team, hoping to share this process as a model for community.

Visit the Black Farmer Fund website to learn more about these businesses, the impact they are having at the community level, and how you can further support Black Farmer Fund’s mission of uplifting a racially just food system . BFF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and is actively raising donations for re-granting; to learn more about how you can donate, visit our website at blackfarmerfund.org/take-action

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