Orange You Glad for Small Farms?
Good Morning Farm2People Friends & Fam!
We're excited to share some big news with you this morning. We have received our very first foundational grant!! Thanks to the Butterfly Equity Foundation, whose mission is to "improve the health and well-being of all people by supporting greater access to nutritious food," we can significantly increase our support of local farms and Angelenos seeking food.
Because of our commitment to pay regenerative-practicing, small- and mid-sized farms a fair market price for their produce, finding funding is very important. We make the impact that real dollars allow us to make. Plus, we are 100% volunteer run, so 100% of funds raised go towards our mission. All this is to say that the Butterfly Equity Foundation’s support is beyond meaningful. And so, we hope you will join us in celebrating this milestone occasion!
Source: Photo by Adrianna Calvo from Pexels
2021 IMPACT
As we close out our first quarter, we celebrate this Cali winter season that brought us Bell Peppers, Cara Caras, Minneolas, Nashi Pears, Navel Oranges, Tango Tangerines, and Valencia Oranges plus (thanks to our friends at Solely Fruit) bunches of Dried Bananas & Assorted 100% Whole Fruit Jerky.
We’ve purchased 16,000 lbs in total from more than 5 small, family farms who are LatinX, organic and organic-practicing from Fresno, San Diego, and Tulare Counties. We’ve transported that fresh produce to Los Angeles, and with the organizational partnership of Chefs to End Hunger, we’ve offered up to 54,000 servings of whole nutrition to communities in Los Angeles. We’re keeping the pace we set last year and strategizing about how to increase our reach!
THE HUNGER PROBLEM, IN FOCUS
It’s AMAZING that so much California residents are getting vaccinated. We all feel that spring energy and optimism. But the reality is, we’re not out of the woods yet.
For farmers, Covid-19 continues to plague many with loss of household income for farmers, 61% of which comes in the form of lost wages and salaries. That’s why Farm2People pays farmers a fair, wholesale market rate for their goods. We want to keep growers growing!
And for folx experiencing hunger, the problem is still growing.
Source: Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels
“There’s a lot of debt, there’s a lot of back rent, utilities, there’s lost income, lost savings. The need for a food bank and pantry network ... will be very, very much needed, because there are many newly vulnerable families.”
“Our food banks to date are serving about double the amount of households that they were prior to the pandemic, we had about 5 million before the pandemic and now we have about 10 million food-insecure Californians.”
““Between April and July 2020, 1 in 4 L.A. County households experienced food insecurity. That’s an estimated 873,000 households, making current levels of food insecurity in L.A. County much higher than pre-pandemic levels.” ”
Farm2People Next Steps
We’re showing up and doing the work. We are working harder than ever to lift up vulnerable growers and communities wherever we can. We are first prioritizing farms who practice regenerative agriculture and who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrant and/or female owned or led. On top of all that, we carefully curate where the food goes in Los Angeles, and to that end we work with agencies who specifically feed seniors, unhoused people, BIPOC communities, LGBTQ+ communities and youth in need.
We hope you will continue to support our mission and help us get the word out! And here’s why:
Your donation actually counts. Run by an entirely volunteer staff, 100% of all individual donations go towards paying small and mid-sized California farmers for their produce and covering transportation costs so that food can be delivered to Angelenos in need.
Your donation promotes equity & inclusion in the field and in our LA communities with regard to who we support with financial aid and to whom we bring that nourishment.
Micro donations have macro impact. By contributing just $5 to Farm2People, you can support a farmer AND provide up to 5 servings of whole, local, fresh food to an Angeleno experiencing hunger.
Thank you for supporting Farm2People and helping connect farms to Angelenos in need.
