Category: Buffalo Food Stories Project

WNY Food Stories Project Update

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Buffalo Food Stories Project, COVID-19, Events, Food Justice, Juneteenth Agricultural Pavilion, Racial Healing

Since 2020, a team of Buffalo Food Equity Network members have led the Western New York (WNY) Food Stories Project to engage community storytellers in sharing their perspectives about food and land issues in Western New York.

Our project centers Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and Pacific Islander storytellers to create stories and tools for community transformation and liberation. The first group of storytellers were engaged virtually due to the pandemic, and with support from Nexus Community Partners and the W.I.N. Initiative, a video was produced with highlights from their stories.

You can watch our 2020 video and learn more about the WNY Food Stories Project here.

Sherman Webb of the W.I.N. Initiative recording a video interview.

This summer, we collected a second group of stories at Buffalo’s 2022 Juneteenth Festival as a participant in the Juneteenth Agricultural Pavilion. Approximately twenty festival attendees shared their food stories at a video booth created in collaboration with the W.I.N. Initiative. Now, we are working to create a new video with this fresh batch of stories.

In the coming months, we are looking forward to working with Buffalo Food Equity Network members to find ways to lift up these stories to facilitate change in the WNY food system. Our efforts are grounded in the belief that radical transformation in systems and structures is necessary for communities most impacted by food systems injustices to thrive.

Food for the Spirit is Hiring!

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Buffalo Food Stories Project, Food Justice, Freedom Gardens

Food for the Spirit is pleased to announce our search for a Buffalo Food Equity Network (BFEN) Director!

Apply by extended deadline of November 14, 2022. Details at: bit.ly/2022_BFENJobOpp

Since 2019, Food for the Spirit has filled a niche in Buffalo and across New York State working alongside networks and people who share a commitment to addressing issues of race and racism in the food system. We work with community partners, organizers, and facilitators in the Buffalo Food Equity Network (BFEN), a movement for Western New York’s new food economy, led by communities of color, for communities of color.

First established in 2019, the BFEN now has over 200 members. BFEN members have built relationships and trust, and they are collaborating around a number of critical food systems initiatives including: Buffalo Freedom Gardens, the Igniting Hope Conference, the Juneteenth Agricultural Pavilion, the Seeding East Fellowship, and more. The BFEN has made a lot of progress in Buffalo and the network has grown to the point that having a Director is key.

The BFEN Director will work with the Food for the Spirit team and the BFEN membership to provide strategic direction and leadership around the development of a policy-advocacy platform and campaign. They will support program development for BFEN initiatives and project management for collaborative projects led by BFEN members. They will be a weaver, helping to grow the network, encouraging relationships, trust, and community-building amongst BFEN members and key partners. They will support fundraising and development to ensure sustainability for the BFEN in the years to come.

To apply, view the hiring announcement and details at: bit.ly/2022_BFENJobOpp

Please share this posting with your networks! Help us attract a candidate who can work in partnership with us to bring about a new food economy in Buffalo, led by communities of color, for communities of color. We are confident that with our combined effort, we will find a person with the passion, skills, sensitivity, and commitment needed to fill this crucial new role.

Buffalo Food Sovereignty Weeks in 2020

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Buffalo Food Stories Project, Events, Food Justice, Freedom Gardens, Gardening Days

In 2019, we hosted Buffalo Food Sovereignty Week and it was a wonderful way to galvanize around the good work Buffalo Food Equity Network members and partners are doing in the community. (Click here to read about last year’s events). So this year we are doing it again!

In October 2020, during harvest season, local organizations are collaborating once again on several events to improve the health and economy for communities of color in Buffalo. With an emphasis on Black and Indigenous community members and food systems leaders, the events will bring Buffalo communities together to learn with and from each other.

  • Gardening Days – On Saturday, October 10, Food for the Spirit will partner with Freedom Gardens, the Lincoln Memorial Church Garden and Food Pantry, Neuwater & Associates, and the CopperTown Block Club to host a Gardening Days event at two community garden sites stewarded by African American garden leaders in Buffalo.  The virtual event will include stories of the garden and information about these important initiatives.  All are welcome to join the virtual event, which will take place online on Saturday, October 10 at 10:00 AM.  To register, visit http://bit.ly/GardeningDays2020.
  • Freedom Gardens Harvest Celebration – On Tuesday, October 13, everyone is invited to join Freedom Gardens and Food for the Spirit for a celebratory event with Naima Penniman of Soul Fire Farm. This participatory and poetic event will feature inspiring solutions from Freedom Gardens, Soul Fire Farm, and solutions from other BIPOC-led organizations and movements, both past and present. All are welcome to join us on Tuesday, October 13 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. To register, visit https://bit.ly/3lxNLJh.
  • Building Foundations for Food Sovereignty: Collective Leadership & Storytelling – On Wednesday, October 21, the Nexus Community Leadership Learning Initiative will co-host a “virtual visit” with members of the Buffalo Food Equity Network to learn about shared decision-making and leadership processes that are advancing food sovereignty in Buffalo, NY.  All are welcome to join this virtual event, which will take place online on Wednesday, October 21 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM (EST).  To register, visit http://bit.ly/BfloFoodStories2020_Registration.

Everyone is invited to these free and engaging public events! Come out to learn what is going on to make healthy and sustainable diets available and affordable to everyone.