Our Work

Growing the quality of life our neighbors deserve.

Neighbors First

Our farm is located in the heart of the Chicora/Cherokee neighborhood. The residents are our neighbors. We prioritize them in all aspects of our work. We purposely create a welcoming, safe, inspiring space filled with shiny groceries, friendly faces, and art that celebrates the history of the space we steward. Our neighbors get first access to the Farm’s produce, eggs, and value-added products. Our sliding scale grocery store model allows each resident to define what affordable groceries mean to them.

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Substance abuse is exacerbated by the prevalence of liquor stores in low-wealth communities, so we do not sell alcohol or cigarettes. Exposing the challenges people have as a means to garner support is exploitative. You will not see our neighbors' faces used during our fundraising campaigns unless we are celebrating how they enrich our work.

Sustainability

We aim for sustainability in all meanings of the term. We recognize the capacity of our staff to complete work and honor that. We offer x hours of paid time off and close every day at 12 for a 1-hour break. We center natural, irrigation-free growing practices by using limited inputs to grow nutrient-dense food. We focus on soil health through sheet-mulching and building raised beds that are also mulched.

Education

While permaculture and organic growing practices are popular, we know that many popular techniques derive from ancestral wisdom. We honor and prioritize that wisdom over institutional thinking. Additionally, many of the crops and growing methods we highlight would not be here without the skills and knowledge of West African and Gullah peoples. Our work serves as a solution to food apartheid (access without control).

Keeping Money Local

Our goal is to keep dollars in the Chicora/Cherokee neighborhood. We hire our employees and strive to amplify business in the area. Because we know that folks are aware of how to solve their problems, we train our employees to become entrepreneurs that tackle these challenges.

"Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally-appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems".

-- Declaration of Nyéléni, the first global forum on food sovereignty, Mali, 2007

Education & Agritourism

West African and Gullah cultures are celebrated in the way we grow food and teach others about agriculture. The farm educates home gardeners on natural practices both in-person and online. We’ve created Patreon and YouTube pages to share those lessons. We partner with event planners to create unique and intimate private events. Taking a class and/or hosting your party, private dinner, or company event at FFF supports our outreach work.

Farm & Sliding Scale Grocery Store

The farm’s focus on quality food access and grocery services means that families and seniors on fixed incomes can purchase basic and specialty food items at prices they can afford. Unhoused folx can pay when they can. We operate the Farm and grocery store in solidarity with our neighbors. For the duration of COVID-19, the farm store is closed to the public and we are serving our community with grocery delivery services.

Micro-Entrepreneurship

Access to capital and collateral is a challenge for disinvested community members. Indigenous people and our ancestors thrived on cooperative economics. The Farm is reviving those practices. Farm store inventory will also features products from BIPOC and LGBTQIA vendors and food entrepreneurs.

Employment & Entrepreneurship

FFF is intentional in training residents to apply affordable and replicable natural farming and exceptional customer service practices at our urban farm. Farm team members build entrepreneurship skills on the job.

"Food Justice is communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat healthy food".

-- Just Food, NYC