Donate to the Land and Food Justice Fund

SUPPORT RESILIENT AND EQUITABLE FOOD SYSTEMS

HELP BUILD BETTER FOOD SYSTEMS
FOR OUR PLANET, OUR PEOPLE, AND A NEW GENERATION OF FARMERS.

Farmers are at the foundation of a resilient, diverse food system — from where food is grown, to how it is distributed. Today there is a groundswell of young people committed to sustainability and local food production. Through access to land, and by growing food using ecological methods, food production can regenerate air, water, soil and biodiversity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and conserve healthy forests, wetlands and waterways.1

Yet, securing access to land is a major barrier to new farmers. In the next few years, half of Canada’s farmers will retire. The majority have no succession plan in place and their farms are at risk of falling into the hands of agribusiness or developers for other uses, threatening both our food security and our environment.

$33,734

$ amount raised

172

# of Supporters

CREATE MORE EQUITABLE FOOD SYSTEMS

Poverty, racism, and other forms of oppression create barriers that prevent equitable access to food and restrict participation in the food system. Much of Canada’s food is grown by Black and racialized people, and Indigenous and Black households are more likely to be food-insecure than similar white households.2 Yet when it comes to creating food policy, these groups are rarely at the decision-making table. These issues demand systemic solutions, starting with access to land, linking farmers and eaters, and supporting community food programs.

“We must start seeing hunger, farming practices and land access, government policy, and racial justice as interconnected pieces of a broken system. By supporting leaders and initiatives making change on the ground — farming, organizing, building community — we’ll see a growing movement for food justice.”
—Ama, Natasha, and Lauren, co-curators

JOIN THE MOVEMENT: A RESILIENT FUTURE OF FOOD

Help ensure everyone has access to healthy, culturally appropriate food. Support strong Indigenous foodways — the intersection of food in culture, traditions, and history — and local food systems. Plus, assist in rebuilding community food security, and fostering greater participation. Public awareness is growing about the importance of land, seeds, ecology, and culture as central to resilient and healthy communities but more work is needed.

In communities across Canada, young farmers are transforming the way food is grown and distributed. Land and food justice advocates, particularly Indigenous, Black and other communities of colour are organizing around food justice and food sovereignty, advocating for the Right to Food. Your gift will advance this work.


 

ABOUT THE LAND AND FOOD JUSTICE FUND

Support the leading organizations that are improving access to land and promoting ecological food systems. The Land and Food Justice Fund includes more than 40 charities from across Canada that are substantially focused on land access, ecological food systems, and food justice.

The charities in this fund are connecting organizations, farmers, and community leaders across Canada to build resilient, equitable food systems. Organizations in this fund support access to healthy and culturally appropriate food, while preserving the ecological and cultural heritage of the land, enhancing health and well-being, and stimulating the local economy. They are working towards food sovereignty and food justice in Canada and addressing the underlying structural issues that lead to land and food insecurity.

The list of charities was curated by issue experts working in the areas of land access and food justice. To see the current list of charities included in this Fund, click here.

ABOUT THE CURATORS

NATASHA VAN BENTUM

Natasha van Bentum, CFRE (Ret.) Director, Give Green Canada, is an international legacy and outreach advisor with a focus on farm/foodland access and the environment. Over the years, Natasha has been instrumental in promoting the creation of legacy programs both in Canada and worldwide. This has resulted in millions of dollars being put to work by conservation and environmental organizations to address the vital issues of our times.

READ MORE

Natasha’s philosophy and commitment to mentoring a new generation of practitioners, including Foodlands Cooperative of BC, Farmland Legacies and Ontario Farmland Trust, as well as producing and freely sharing high quality, publicly-available resources and tools for the sector, is well recognized.

LAUREN BAKER

Lauren Baker, PhD, has more than 20 years of experience leading cross-sectoral research, policy and advocacy for sustainable food systems in non-profit, academic, business, policy and philanthropic contexts. Lauren is currently the Senior Director of Programs with the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, an alliance of philanthropic foundations working to transform global food systems, and the Chair of the Board for People’s Food Institute.

READ MORE

Previously, Lauren led the Toronto Food Policy Council, a citizen advisory group embedded within the City of Toronto’s Public Health Division. She was the Founding Director of Sustain Ontario — the Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming. Lauren lectures and teaches in the Global Food Equity program at the University of Toronto.

LETICIA AMA DEAWUO

Ama has been a leading activist for food sovereignty and food justice for the past 15 years. She previously was the Executive Director of SeedChange, which supports small-scale farmers in Canada and around the world. She also served as the Director of Black Creek Community Farm, an organization that works to increase access to healthy food and food justice in the Jane and Finch community of Toronto through food distribution and training programs.

READ MORE

Ama was also instrumental in the creation of a number of community groups and initiatives including, Jane Finch Action Against Poverty, Jane Finch Political Conversation Café, Black Creek Food Justice Network, and many more.

Ama brings a unique perspective on food sovereignty, agroecology and food justice. Having been raised by her grandmother, a small-scale farmer, in Ghana, she grew up on a farm much like the ones that SeedChange supports around the world. She also brings nuanced insight into the food system and social justice issues that prevent many Canadians from accessing healthy food, having lived and worked in Toronto’s Jane and Finch community for most of her adult life.

Ama is currently completing a Master’s Degree at York University, looking at how decolonization, agroecology, and the expertise of women elders in small-scale farming communities can support much-needed shifts in the way we think of our relationships with each other and with other living beings.