Rae lives and farms on Barr Farms with her family. She loves cooking healthy food, trying new things, deep conversations with friends, reading, learning, and playing, especially with her three children.
We recently posted a blog about the historic racism that has faced Black farmers, and its legacy in the farming landscape today. To recap, Kentucky only has 1.4% Black farm-owners due to a history of racist policies and discrimination in the agricultural sector. This needs to change.
A small but important step is getting money directly into the hands of Black farmers. The Community Farm Alliance, in partnership with Black Soil: Our Better Nature, is launching the Kentucky Black Farmer Fund. This fund is an incredibly important step towards racial equity in the family farming sector.
Barr Farms is making a commitment to donate at least $200 annually to support Black Farmers in Kentucky. (It still feels small, but we’re doing what we can).
Will you join us in contributing? If each of our current CSA members donated $25 right now, The Black Farmer Fund would reach the first goal of $10,000.
Making a living as a farmer is hard no matter what. Our ancestors worked hard and barely got by most days. However, one only has to scratch the surface of the history we've been taught to see the vast injustices and discrimination Black, Indigenous and People of Color farmers have faced in each decade that white farmers did not. As white farmers, it's time to name those injustices and actively work toward building racial equity in farming.
Centering racial justice and working together is the only way we will build a local food system that works for everyone.
To learn more about the Kentucky Black Farmer Fund click here.
To learn more about the history of racism in farming click here.
To contribute directly, click here.
