The Santa Barbara County Food Action Network Announces the 2024 Food Justice Microgrant Program Awardees.

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The 2024 Food Justice Microgrant Program seeks to address inequities and vulnerabilities in our local food system. The Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN), with seed funding from our corporate partner, Clevr Blends, is awarding microgrants for projects or programs that build regional food system resiliency through the power of food justice, food sovereignty, and/or agroecology. Flexible funding of up to $5,000 per grantee, for a total of $40,000, is being awarded. 

“Funding this grant program has been an honor. It is a reflection of the deep love we have for our local food system, and commitment to justice and equity for those who sustain it. Thank you to SBCFAN for helping us translate our values into action. We can’t wait to see the impact made by the amazing grant awardees.” Hannah Mendoza, CEO and Co-founder of Clevr Blends

The awardees are: 

For Food Sovereignty

Food Sovereignty is the placement of control of territory, land, grazing, water, seeds, livestock, fish populations, and/or other related assets into the hands of local food providers and food producers. It asserts their right to use and share these resources in economically, socially, healthy, and environmentally sustainable ways.

• American Indian and Indigenous Garden Alliance (AIIGA) || Project:Expansion of the Three Sisters Four Directions Garden, an initiative led by and for Indigenous students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in an effort to rematriate land, develop relations between all beings and grow culturally appropriate foods and medicines.  Region: South County
• Plowshare Alliance || Project:Transition to legal Cooperative structure – to establish a legal cooperative structure for this grain hub, to include new and under-resourced farmer-members with minimal risk, and providing a formal, unified voice in advocacy.  Region: Countywide
• True Nature Society || Project:Cuyama Valley Food Action Network Planning Grant – to harness the community’s existing agricultural knowledge and skills and address systemic obstacles for LatinX and indigenous peoples hindering local agricultural potential, such as limited land access, poverty, and language barriers. Region: North County

For Food Justice

Food Justice is the right of all people to access, grow, sell, and consume nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food. This includes advocating for the well-being and safety of food system workers from production to point of consumer sale. Food justice goes beyond food security by addressing the root causes of inequitable food access, including systemic racism, poverty, and power imbalances within the food system.

• Awakening Giantz || Project:Nourish & Thrive – Project: To support and respond to the expansion of monthly dinners to cultural food and nutrition education, procurement, peer-to-peer learning, and shaping a community of support for foster youth, kin and foster parents, and former foster youth who are parents or living independently. Region: North & Mid County
• Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara ||  Project:Advancing partnerships for diversifying the next generation of commercial fishers in Santa Barbara – to support staff working to ensure the future of sustainable and socially equitable seafood harvesting in the Santa Barbara community. Region: South County
• Pioneer Valley FFA || Project:Improving Food Justice and Cooperative Work Experience Opportunities for Agriculture Education Students – expanding and increasing student involvement, providing equitable access to healthy food, and addressing the systemic issues underlying food insecurity. Region: North County
• Gottis Garden | Project:Gotti’s Garden – to maintain soil health, increase biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience to promote local food production, job creation, and cost savings for farmers through organic certification, business licensing, and insurance. Region: South County
• Rock Front Ranch Products | Project:Collaborative California Native Elderberry Growing Project for Socially Disadvantaged Students. Region:North County

For Agroecology

Agroecology is the ancestral practices of Indigenous food systems and the study of whole agroecosystems. Agroecology promotes equity, decentralizes power, fosters new social relations for ecological resilience in local food systems, and supports the science of sustainable agriculture.

• Momma’s Soul Food Fusion | Project:Soul Food for All – to teach community members how to grow and cook southern produce, improve access to culturally significant foods for African American students, and integrate Soul Food into the local food scene. Region: Countywide
• Wild Farmlands Foundation | Project:Wild Farmlands Scholarship Fund – Youth Agroecology Education Scholarship Fund to help cover transportation costs, ensuring all students can access these valuable educational experiences Region: Countywide

Recipients include organizations, individuals, and businesses across the county, all of which will seed, cultivate, and/or grow projects that respond in some way to our local food system’s inequities and vulnerabilities and work further upstream to make systemic change.

The microgrants are putting resources directly into the hands of individuals and communities with bold visions to build justice and resilience. Ultimately, advancing the Food Justice Microgrant goals means:

• creating and sharing resources and tools equitably; and
• equitably amplifying voices and creating space for self-advocacy.
• Historically marginalized individuals and communities are centered in the work, directly informing and benefiting from food system projects.

Learn more about the grants and awardees at SBCFoodAction.org. 

About the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN)

The mission of SBCFAN is to connect, advocate, and build capacity with a network of food system actors to foster an equitable and robust local food economy, a healthy and just community, and a well-stewarded, resilient foodshed. After launching in 2019 and receiving independent 501(c)(3) status in March of 2022, SBCFAN has become a cornerstone player in strengthening the robust diversity that makes up Santa Barbara County’s food system. With a full-time Executive Director, a team of seasoned and highly skilled consultants, dozens of groups in partnership, and an active and engaged board, we are ready to move to our next stage of growth by expanding our team, streamlining our systems, and ensuring we do right by each and everyone in our region. 

SBCFAN supports efforts to advance the goals of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan, a countywide, community-driven strategic plan that assessed and provided recommendations for how we grow, distribute, consume, and dispose of food. Learn more at SBCFoodAction.org and find SBCFAN on Facebook.com/SBCFoodAction, Instagram.com/SBCFoodAction, and Linkedin.com/Company/SBCFoodAction.

About Clevr Blends

Clevr Blends is committed to creating absurdly delicious, highly-functional, low-maintenance drinks that help you meet modern life with energy, calm and resilience. Learn more at https://clevrblends.com/