Author: Food for the Spirit

Food for the Spirit is a non-profit organization committed to racial healing, ecological justice, and equitable food systems. Using the arts and creative facilitation, we cultivate spaces for people to learn from each other and step into leadership roles honoring their unique talents, perspectives, and abilities. Based in the City of Buffalo, Western New York, and the Finger Lakes regions, we engage in training modalities and healing practices from national movement organizations and systems-thinkers to support local communities.

Announcing Our Guest Speaker for August 15th…

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Events
Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin, Food System Equity Organizer at Community Farm Alliance!

Food for the Spirit, Black Farmers United NYS, and Equity Advocates are hosting monthly “Y’All Come Meetings” to invite everyone to get involved with our 2023 Farm Bill Campaign.

Each month, we will have a special guest speaker for our Y’All Come Meeting for Farm Bill Advocacy. On August 15, from 5-6:15 PM our guest speaker will be…

Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin, Food System Equity Organizer at Community Farm Alliance!

Click here to register for our fourth meeting on August 15, 2023 at 5 PM!

Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin was raised in rural Madison Co, Kentucky. She grew up tobacco farming with her grandparents and lived a homestead life. She began community organizing in 2013 around education and food access. She is a doula and her focus has always been children and families. She received her Associates in Science in 2015 and began working with Community Farm Alliance in 2017. She came on to CFA as a Farm to Table Coordinator in the Northeast region of the state. This work grew into her current role as Food System Equity Organizer. She is a steward of her generational land and a conservationist. She shares these roles with her 17 year old daughter Makayla and her partners Wali and Ashley El-Amin.

Click here to learn more about our Y’All Come Meetings.

Announcing Our Guest Speaker for July 18th…

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Events
Jose Oliva, Campaigns Director at HEAL Food Alliance!

Food for the Spirit, Black Farmers United NYS, and Equity Advocates are hosting monthly “Y’All Come Meetings” to invite everyone to get involved with our 2023 Farm Bill Campaign.

Each month, we will have a special guest speaker for our Y’All Come Meeting for Farm Bill Advocacy. On July 18, from 5-6:15 PM our guest speaker will be…

Jose Oliva, Campaigns Director at HEAL Food Alliance!

Click here to register for our third meeting on July 18, 2023 at 5 PM!

With a long history in labor organizing, Jose (he/him) has served in several leadership positions at Casa Guatemala, Chicago Interfaith Workers’ Center, Interfaith Worker Justice’s National Workers’ Centers Network, Center for Community Change, and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United – the national organization of restaurant workers. Jose was the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Food Chain Workers Alliance a national coalition of food-worker organizations that collectively represents over 350,000 workers. Jose is also a 2017 James Beard Award recipient and a 2018 American Food Hero Awardee.

Click here to learn more about our Y’All Come Meetings.

Announcing Our Guest Speaker for June 20th…

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Events
Kelsey Watson, Grassroots Co-Director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

Food for the Spirit, Black Farmers United NYS, and Equity Advocates are hosting monthly “Y’All Come Meetings” to invite everyone to get involved with our 2023 Farm Bill Campaign.

Each month, we will have a special guest speaker for our Y’All Come Meeting for Farm Bill Advocacy. On June 20, from 5-6:15 PM our guest speaker will be…

Kelsey Watson, Grassroots Co-Director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)!

Click here to register for our second meeting on June 20, 2023 at 5 PM!

Kelsey (she/her) has spent more than a decade doing work rooted in food and agriculture. She has worked with National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in the realm of federal food and agricultural policy, national grassroots organizing, and coalition building since 2018. Much of her work is centered around racial equity and justice in multi-racial coalitions and supporting incoming coalition members.

Click here to learn more about our Y’All Come Meetings.

Interview: CUNY Urban Food Policy Monitor

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Farm to School, Farmers, Food Justice, Interviews

Food for the Spirit and members of the Buffalo Food Equity Network have been instrumental in the development of the Good Food Buffalo Coalition (GFBC), an advocacy organization committed to bringing the Good Food Purchasing Programs (GFPP) to Buffalo and Western New York.

As the CUNY Urban Food Policy Monitor says: “By emphasizing racial justice, elevating the role of Black farmers, and promoting values-based procurement to safeguard the well-being of Buffalo students, the GFBC demonstrates their dedication to inclusive decision-making processes that prioritize the voices and concerns of those most affected by racial injustice in the food system.”

In this interview with the CUNY Urban Food Policy Monitor, Food for the Spirit’s Co-Founding Director, Rebekah Williams, and GFBC Campaign Director, Jessica Gilbert-Overland, talk about the GFBC’s commitment to racial justice, community engagement, and sustainable food systems, and how Food for the Spirit and members of the BFEN have informed the coalition’s development.

Click here to read the article.

Click here to learn about the Good Food Buffalo Coalition.

Click here to access the full issue of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Monitor.