Black urban farmers in Erie and beyond hold the seeds of change, help them flourish
I started Golden Carat Farm (GCF) in 2021 as a solution to challenges faced by marginalized farmers like myself. "Planting seeds, growing community" is the tagline I use for my business. As the Urban Agriculture Coordinator for GCF, I use urban agriculture as an educational tool to inform the community about the importance of knowing the origins of the food we consume. Growing food gives me a way to bring positive change to my community in material ways. Farming is a way to invest time and energy into seeds of nourishment and education.
'Working with the land stole my heart'
I'm from Mississippi, so people tend to think that I learned how to farm in the south. But my interest in urban farming came in the spring of 2020 when several friends with backyard gardens around Erie inspired me by how much they could grow with so little space. Witnessing their successes gave me the motivation to attempt it on my own — except I didn't have a backyard. Luckily, one of my friends allowed me to use some space in their yard, and thanks to their generosity, I grew confident as I watched all my seeds sprout and take root.
My watermelons, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumber plants were so plentiful! I could not believe how much food one seed could produce. That summer of working with the land stole my heart, and I knew then that I wanted to become a farmer. But being a Black farmer in Erie means facing many grave challenges. Erie is experiencing a drain of people, money, and resources at an alarming rate, and in 2017 Erie was named the worst city for Black Americans to live, according to 24/7 Wall St. As Erie County Council's declaration declaring racism a public health crisis detailed in 2020, over 38% of Black residents live below the poverty level compared to approximately 14% of white residents who do.
Erie's only Black-owned urban farm
Over the last year I've had the opportunity to witness one of my friends who inspired me to become a farmer undertake her own farming operation. With over 20 years of experience growing food, her devotion to food sovereignty, and her love of community, Kristen Weeks is the creator of Grow and Glow Urban Collective (GGUC), which is the only Black-owned and operated urban farm in Erie. Thanks to the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network (SSJNN) and their innovative pilot farmer incubator program, two previously vacant corner lots have undergone a remarkable transformation, now flourishing as a quarter-acre farmland.
Through the SSJNN incubator program GGUC has been able to access foundational structures such as fencing, a city water hook-up, and a shed. Located at the corner of East 23rd and Parade streets, GGUC grows culturally relevant foods and empowers the community through education and sustainable regenerative farming. As the inaugural participant in the incubator space, I have witnessed Kristen's dedication — pouring her heart, effort, finances, and passion — into crafting an inclusive, welcoming, and inspiring environment. She has not only transformed a desolate space into an educational haven but has also enriched the community with diverse and meaningful culinary offerings.
The neighbors have enjoyed watching the progression of the bountiful green space empowering the community around it, no longer just a parking lot. There is a common assumption that Black people do not like to grow their own food, but I have witnessed elders in the neighborhood stopping by GGUC to reminisce about times when they were younger helping their own elders collect ingredients from the garden for dinner. Conversations like this highlight the importance of the power in knowing who is growing that food, and how they are growing it.
GGUC collaboratively participates in a Pay-What-You-Can market with Stephanie Ciner and Stephanie Thauer, at various locations throughout Erie during the summer. For most Black urban farms, the lack of access to capital and markets makes it so that we have to choose between either turning a profit, or getting fresh food to the communities we seek to serve, that is, those who need it most (community stakeholders within food deserts affected by food apartheid). I have often struggled with this question: How do I build a strong, long-term business without drowning in debt myself?
A history of discrimination and exclusion
Along my journey in learning how to be a farmer, I took part in Groundswell's BIPOC Beginner Training Program in Ithaca, N.Y. It was there that I realized I would be fighting many of the same discrimination practices that Black farmers have faced for generations. Namely, Black farmers have been systematically excluded from programs that enable farmers to acquire land and build wealth. In 2022, the USDA granted direct loans to only 36% of applicant farmers who identify as Black. Sixteen percent of Black farmers were rejected — the highest amount for all demographic groups. In contrast, 72% of white farmers who applied were approved and only 4% of white farmers were denied. It is no wonder then that in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there are a total of merely 80 Black farmers, with 2,052 total acres of land, compared to a whopping 89,843 white farmers with 5,355,294 acres of land.
Even though the federal government has acknowledged the USDA's discriminatory practices in a number of reports, the USDA has frequently failed to investigate individual discrimination claims, leaving intact the system that is leading to the extinction of Black farmers. According to Reuters, Black farmers have lost $326 billion worth of land in the 20th century. Above all, this has resulted in Black farmers lacking trust in the USDA and any of its subsidiaries, which means that we not only need more anti-racist policy, but a widespread culture shift.
How to stop the extinction of Black farmers
Urban agriculture presents a unique opportunity to cultivate a new generation of Black farmers deeply rooted in the communities they serve. By providing them with education, funding, and resources, we can empower Black farmers not only to sustain themselves but also to play a pivotal role in reshaping the economy. Urban agriculture isn't new, but its significance has taken on new levels of importance far beyond just economic gains. For me, the most important aspect of being a Black farmer is serving as an example for my nephews, demonstrating that Black men can excel beyond stereotypes like sports or music. Farming is first and foremost about being a positive influence in my community by expanding access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and in doing so, fostering a healthier and more vibrant future for us all.
The government's recognition of urban agriculture as a sector that needs financial support has been a slow process. Urban farming wasn't allowed in Erie until 2018. I struggle with finding resources within the city to help me. The state has invested less than $3 million into urban agriculture since 2019 through Pennsylvania Farm Bill's Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant Program. The USDA for its part has invested $32.9 million to support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects.
The process to access urban agriculture funds often has required me to look beyond what is labeled as allocated for urban agriculture. This has meant contacting all 13 USDA agencies to personally ask what they can offer me. Twice, I was referred to Rural Development to learn about their value-added program — only to contact Rural Development and learn that the program is no longer funded. I realized through this wild goose chase that communication across agencies is inefficient if existent at all. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) does offer low-interest loans for community gardens and urban farms, but these are short-term financial solutions which entail long-term risk. Anything short of outright investments in infrastructure and operations don't offer much help to young and beginning BIPOC farmers. The lack of government investment in urban farming at both a local and federal level demonstrates how little interest they have in supporting Black farmers as a critical part of our society.
In my short tenure as a farmer, I have learned that Black farmers are forced to become creative to access markets, often still without even being able to break even. Full-time Black farmers earn one-seventh of the farm income that white farmers earn and are more likely to generate a net loss. Depending on retail models, most Black farmers participate in farmers markets or community supported agriculture (CSA) programs as the only ways to market. CSAs are a production and marketing model whereby consumers buy shares of a farm's harvest in advance. Consumers become CSA members by paying an agreed amount at the beginning of the growing season, either in one lump sum or in installments.
Tap the power of urban farm CSAs
I think fostering taxpayer-funded CSA programs could revolutionize agriculture and rebuild communities simultaneously as a medium term solution that revolves around the needs of the community and the needs of the small farmer. Two great examples of this model being used to address food insecurity is Healthy Food For All in Ithaca, N.Y. and VINES Farm Share program in Binghamton, N.Y. CSA programs paired with urban agriculture education provide healthy food in a way that reduces the energy cost of food production while helping people understand their role in the food system and the importance of farming at large.
Pennsylvania was just awarded $26 million federal funding for the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant Program (RFSI). The RFSI program's goal is to transform the food system to benefit consumers, producers, and rural communities by providing more options, increasing access, and creating new, more, and better markets for small and mid-size producers. On paper it looks great, but funding is being prioritized for projects that are proximal to aggregation points in the food system, such as food hubs and farmer cooperatives looking to expand production. The goals of the grant exclude many small-scale producers who don't have the initial land and capital to scale up, which disproportionately affects Black farmers. Black farmers need targeted programs that will invest into our infrastructure, increase our access to capital, and provide equitable farmer training programs in order to build sustainable, profitable, business models within our communities.
And, to ensure long term structural change, we need to make serious demands at the level of federal policy. As a Land Advocacy Fellow with the National Young Farmers Coalition's One Million Acres for the Future campaign, I am asking my members of Congress to pass a farm bill that makes a historic investment in equitable land access, and continues to plant seeds for community nourishment and education.
A call to action
I am calling on Congress to support the Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act, (S. 2340, H.R. 3955), or LASO which would address the interrelated challenges of land access and tenure, as well as access to capital, markets, and technical assistance to help producers start and grow viable farm businesses, retain access to land, and transition land. The bill would authorize and expand USDA's Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program with appropriations of $100 million per year. Specifically, it would:
Make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with state and tribal governments, nonprofit service providers, community lending institutions, farmer cooperatives, and other eligible entities to strengthen land, capital, and market access outcomes for historically underserved farmers, ranchers, and forest owners and for producers operating in high-poverty areas.
Provide funding for direct assistance and services to help farmers and ranchers afford and acquire land, cover closing costs and down payments, secure clear title on heirs' property farmland, capitalize infrastructure and site improvements, acquire business technical assistance and farm viability training, and other activities.
Prioritize projects that provide direct financial assistance to producers, involve collaborative networks or partnerships, utilize innovative land access and farmland protection and affordability tools, facilitate transition of farmland from existing producers to the next generation, and incorporate other factors that will compound the program's impact.
Establish a stakeholder committee to develop a process for evaluating applications and distributing funds to ensure the program is responsive to the needs of farmers and rancher.
More: East Erie revitalization leader Sister Michele Schroeck calls for Grow Erie funding
The most recent farm bill expired in September 2023 and Congress has until Sept. 30, 2024, to pass a new bill. This is a critical time to engage in advocacy around this legislation. By addressing both land access and food insecurity in the next farm bill, we can radically transform the future of our food and agriculture systems. All of our voices are important in calling on Congress to create a farm bill that supports young farmers. To get involved with the campaign and receive action alerts, sign up here: https://www.youngfarmers.org/land/support-land-access/
Charles Madlock, a graphic designer and entrepreneur with a background in artist development and business marketing from Jackson, Mississippi, made the move to Erie in 2013 to be closer to family. In 2020, he relocated to Syracuse, N.Y., to pursue a passion for urban agriculture. Charles envisions creating the next generation of farmers through urban agriculture, fostering a community that values the origins of the food they eat. While Syracuse currently serves as a pivotal point in his journey, Charles looks forward to the day when he can return to Erie to share his wealth of knowledge with family and friends.
Kristen Weeks is the owner/creator of Grow and Glow Urban Collective and runs the Food For Us Grown By Us Farm on the east side of Erie. She co-chairs Erie’s Food Policy Advisory Council. She is a traditional birthkeeper, community herbalist, foraging queen, food alchemist, and food sovereignty advocate. She can be found on IG@growandglowurbancollective. Her email is [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Farm bill must invest in urban farms, Black farmers