Last month, Roots4Change Co-op with REAP Food Group
launched the Farms to Families fund to bring Resilience Boxes of nourishing
locally and sustainably-grown foods from WI family farms to Latino/immigrant
families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Two weeks ago, we launched a
fund drive to raise $25,000 to support this unique and important work.
Our communities rose to the occasion! In just over two weeks, you have helped raise $45,000 for this fund! We are humbled by the generosity of neighbors for one another in this community and so grateful we are able to hit the ground running.
Over
these last four weeks, we've reached hundreds of adults, children and elderly
with fresh greens and nutritious eggs, meat, dairy and grains, even locally
sourced handmade tortillas. We've supported more than twenty local farms and
farm businesses, many of them minority-owned and operated. We have gotten
positive comments from families and producers about the program, and gratitude
for the labor put into growing this food. We are also enjoying seeing beautiful
photos of the traditional dishes and recipes being prepared with the resilience
boxes.
We
have had an outpouring of support from growers, food businesses and
organizations who donated additional items including: Rooted & Badger Rock
Community Center, Madison Sourdough & Neighbor Loaves, RE Golden, Landmark
Creamery, Roth Cheese/Crave Brothers, Victor's Farm, David Heide &
Liliana's, Agrecol and NessAlla Kombucha!
The reality is that the need for
these Resilience Boxes grows every day. Our original goal
of 100 families doubled to 200 families after the first week of resilience box
deliveries. Despite our collective efforts, we are met with a growing number of
families requiring support or/increased quantity of food/box due to their
families' composition. The impact of this pandemic will continue to affect our
neighbors and struggling farms and producers longer than we hoped. So, we're
putting your investment to work, reaching more people for a longer time. The
Farms to Families Fund is exemplifying that a truly just food system is one
where those who grow our food and those who consume it are intrinsically
linked, supporting one another's mutual well-being and health.
We are setting a new stretch goal of $60,000 by the end of May to keep creating resilience boxes into the fall and to grow the number of families who can access them. To get there, we've lined up some great incentives to give!
Two of our beloved food businesses in Dane County are stepping up to the plate to match the generosity of our communities.During the month of May, The Willy Street Coop will match every gift up to $5000. Also in May, Sitka Salmon Shares will match every gift for an additional $2,500.If you help us raise $7,500, they will make an additional gift of $7,500 which gets us to our stretch goal!
Additionally, Willy Street Co-op is also generously matching another $5,000 to the Emergency Farmer Fund set up by Dane County Farmers' Market and FairShare CSA Coalition throughout May! It's great to see this kind of support for our farmers at this time. We are grateful to everyone who has gotten involved with the project.
Every dollar you give will be matched in May, make...
