Black-owned farms and CSAs you can support right now
Myers founded Farms to Grow in Oakland with Gordon Reed in 2004 after getting her doctorate in anthropology at Ohio State University.
“The agencies of agriculture funded to support these farmers were not doing their job. So who was going to help these people?” said Myers. “In 2004, there were probably only a handful nationally of African American-led organizations that focused on black farmers, so we started Farms to Grow.”
With Farms to Grow, Myers installed gardens in public schools in the Bayview and other underserved communities. The organization also offered education on cooking and nutrition for kids, assisted black farmers with resources such as machinery and feed, and launched the Freedom Farmers’ Market in Oakland.
“I started meeting farmers who were telling me they were given 18-month waiting lists when they went to apply to a farmers market,” explained Myers. “So we started the Freedom Farmers Market in 2014 to provide a distribution outlet for African American farmers. But it also was a way for us to engage a community unfamiliar with black farming history.”
Today, Farms to Grow primarily focuses on its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, in which consumers can buy seasonal produce directly from California’s African American farmers. This year they will start offering the CSA harvest bags in July, to be distributed at 5316 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland.
With the current push to support black-owned businesses among Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country, Myers says Farms to Grow has seen an increase in donations and CSA box orders.
“This is great, because it's a difficult time,” said Myers. “There have been some interruptions in our programming. We usually take volunteers out to visit farmers to help with harvesting and planting and irrigation, but we haven't been able to recruit any volunteers [due to the pandemic].”
She said the donations are helping them to cover their expenses and support their staff during the COVID-19 crisis.
Want to support a local black-owned farm, too? We’ve compiled a list of farms, farmers, and organizations you can donate to or buy produce from in the Bay Area.
Farms to Grow - Oakland, Calif.
Nonprofit organization that assists African American farmers and other underserved farmers to maintain and create sustainable farms.
Donate here or order a CSA box.
African American Farmers of California - Fresno, Calif.
Nonprofit organization in the Central Valley that offers training for farmers, cultivates traditional African American crops, and empowers youth to learn about farming.
Donate: Checks can be made payable to African American Farmers of California and sent to P.O. Box 12464 Fresno, CA 93778-2464
City Slicker Farms - Oakland, Calif.
Organization that empowers West Oakland community members to create sustainable urban farms and backyard gardens.
Donate here.
Planting Justice - Oakland, Calif.
Nonprofit that has built over 450 edible gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area, educated high schoolers about food justice, and created food justice jobs for formerly incarcerated people.
Buy a plant from their nursery or donate.
