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Food Justice

Breaking Bread: SCLT’s decade-long staff lunch tradition nourishes community

At Southside Community Land Trust, the connection to food runs deeper than our agricultural programs. For over a decade, staff members have maintained a unique tradition of cooking lunch for each other three days a week, creating a ritual that builds community and celebrates culinary creativity.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at exactly noon, the office transforms into a communal dining space as more than half of SCLT’s staff participate in this rotating lunch schedule. The menu spans continents and seasons, featuring everything from hearty borscht and savory pies to broccoli rabe sandwiches and homemade pizzas. An ever-changing parade of soups, stews, and creative dishes reflects both the staff’s diverse culinary talents and their deep connection to food culture.

“This tradition is really something special,” says Sam Shepherd, SCLT’s Grants & Communications Coordinator. “In all my years working in nonprofits, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. When we take the time to cook for each other, we’re doing more than sharing a meal – we’re showing genuine care for our colleagues. The conversations and connections that happen around our lunch table are just as nourishing as the food itself.”

The tradition exemplifies SCLT’s commitment to building community through food, extending our mission beyond gardens and farms and right into the workplace kitchen. As staff members trade recipes and share cooking techniques, these thrice-weekly gatherings have become a cornerstone of SCLT’s organizational culture, proving that some of the strongest workplace bonds are forged over a home-cooked meal.

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Black Food Liberation: Understanding History, Creating Change

Southside Community Land Trust and Roots 2Empower invite you to join us for the first in a powerful series of workshops exploring the intersection of food justice, Black agricultural heritage, and community empowerment.

Led by Tarshire Battle, founder and executive director of Roots 2Empower, this inaugural session will examine the profound historical connections between Black communities and agriculture in the United States. Participants will gain insight into how the legacy of enslavement and subsequent land loss continues to shape contemporary food systems, while exploring pathways toward food sovereignty and community resilience.

The workshop focuses on practical applications, helping participants identify current challenges facing Black communities and define core principles of Food Liberation. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies for launching food justice initiatives that promote self-determination and equity in their own communities.

Tarshire Battle brings exceptional depth of experience to this workshop. As the leader of Roots 2Empower, a Rhode Island nonprofit advancing social justice across southern New England, she combines academic expertise with hands-on knowledge. Her background as a published author, herbalist, Master Gardener, artist, farmer, and community organizer informs her holistic approach to food justice work. Battle holds master’s degrees in Public Administration from Northeastern University and Mental Health Counseling from Boston University.

This workshop welcomes participants of all experience levels and backgrounds who are committed to understanding and advancing food justice. Future sessions in the series will build upon these foundational concepts to explore specific aspects of implementing Food Liberation projects.

Event Details: Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025 Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Location: 404 Broad Street, Providence, RI Cost: Free (donations accepted) Registration required: https://bit.ly/FoodJustice101

Space is limited. Register early to secure your spot in this groundbreaking workshop series.

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2024: Our Year in Review

SCLT staff and Board of Directors members gather at SCLT’s Youth Enterprise Farm in South Providence for a photo in December, 2024

 

Southside Community Land Trust marked 2024 as a year of significant expansion and deepening impact across Rhode Island’s food system. The organization’s Produce Aggregation and VeggieRx programs delivered more than 44,000 pounds of locally grown produce to 9,750 people, with 97% of recipients being low-income residents. Through its network of 40 small-scale farm operations, SCLT facilitated the distribution of fresh, culturally relevant produce to markets, restaurants, and institutions throughout the state.

The organization’s comprehensive annual program review highlighted substantial achievements in youth engagement and workforce development, with 50 young people receiving employment and education in sustainable agriculture. Community gardens continued to thrive, supporting more than 1,600 gardeners across 23 locations. The year also saw the successful expansion of partnerships with healthcare providers, schools, and social service organizations, enabling SCLT to reach more than 25,000 Rhode Islanders through various programs.

“We can take great pride in the accomplishments of the past few years, but we also carry a deep concern for the future of our work,” said Margaret DeVos, Executive Director of SCLT. “The wells of pandemic crisis response resources – major drivers of much of our recent growth – are drying up. We find ourselves at a critical juncture that demands immediate attention and support.”

Supporting these initiatives, SCLT secured several significant grants in 2024, including funding from the Governor’s Workforce Board’s Real Skills for Youth program, the Rhode Island Foundation, and the Papitto Opportunity Connection, among others. These investments strengthened core programs in youth development, produce aggregation, farmer training, and community garden support. The organization also received crucial general operating support from foundations including the Island Foundation, enabling flexible response to community needs.

Looking ahead to 2025, SCLT’s program review process identified opportunities for growth while acknowledging the challenges posed by expiring pandemic-era funding programs. The organization remains focused on sustaining its momentum through new funding opportunities, including potential support through Senator Reed’s proposed EAT Local Foods Act, while maintaining its commitment to building a more equitable and sustainable local food system for Rhode Island.

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SCLT Featured in Rhode Island Spotlight

 

This January, Rhode Island PBS will air a 10-minute video documentary on Southside Community Land Trust’s four-decade journey of transforming urban spaces into productive agricultural sites across Providence and supporting statewide food access efforts. The documentary, produced by Jim Hummel of Rhode Island Spotlight, chronicles SCLT’s expansion from its 1981 beginnings with two community gardens to its current network of 60 farms and gardens serving over 1,600 community gardeners and their families annually.

Featured in a writeup in The Providence Journal as well as upcoming PBS broadcasts, the piece explores SCLT’s comprehensive approach to food security through innovative programs like VeggieRx: healthcare partnerships providing veggie prescriptions for food insecure patients. The documentary includes interviews with longtime SCLT staff member Rich Pederson, who discusses City Farm’s role as a demonstration site growing 80 varieties of vegetables, and Charlotte Uwimphuhwe, who operates a successful farming enterprise at Urban Edge Farm in Cranston.

The Rhode Island Spotlight documentary will premiere on Rhode Island PBS on January 11th at 9:47 PM, with additional airings throughout the following week. For more information about SCLT’s work and impact, viewers can read the complete feature article in The Providence Journal or visit RhodeIslandSpotlight.org.

Catch the video on RIPBS:

  • Sat 01/11/2025 at 9:47 PM
  • Sun 01/12/2025 at 2:52 AM
  • Mon 01/13/2025 at 3:16 AM
  • Mon 01/13/2025 at 3:43 PM
  • Tue 01/14/2025 at 4:51 PM
  • Tue 01/14/2025 at 10:46 PM
  • Wed 01/15/2025 at 03:52 AM
  • Thu 01/16/2025 at 4:16 PM
  • Fri 01/17/2025 at 4:46 PM
  • Fri 01/17/2025 at 12:44 PM
  • Fri 01/17/2025 at 10:46 PM
  • Sat 01/18/2025 at 7:44 PM
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Acknowledging a history of discrimination at the USDA

Farmer and SCLT Board Member Edith Paye, harvesting with her son at Urban Edge Farm

In a historic move to address decades of systemic discrimination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently distributed $2 billion to nearly 43,000 Black farmers across the country – just two in RI. This payout, while a significant step, represents only a fraction of the long-standing injustices faced by Black farmers in their interactions with the USDA.

The roots of this discrimination run deep. As far back as 1965, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights confirmed that the USDA discriminated against Black farmers. However, little was done to address the problem and it became systemic over decades. The consequences were devastating: the number of Black-run farms dropped by 96% over the last century. In that span, acres owned by Black farmers dwindled from 20 million to just 3.5 million. Today, a staggering 98% of all agricultural land in the US is owned by white people. Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of Legal Defense Fund, values the land loss alone – never mind the incalculable ripple effects of generational wealth robbery inflicted on Black farmers – at $326 billion.

The recent payout is part of the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP) established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Tom Vilsack, USDA Secretary, emphasizes that the payouts are, plainly, an “acknowledgement by the department,” and should not be seen as “compensation for anyone’s loss or the pain endured.” To be eligible, farmers had to document their experiences of discrimination in working with the Department of Agriculture, prior to 2021, in a 40-page application that was due this past January.

John Boyd, a fourth-generation Black farmer and founder of the 40-year-old National Black Farmers Association, describes this as “a very, very historic payout for Black farmers,” but recognizes systemic changes will not be solved by the payments. Boyd, who has been organizing and educating Black farmers in the fight for justice, including assisting hundreds to complete their DFAP applications, shared his personal experiences of being spat on, called racial slurs, and having his loan forms torn up in front of him by USDA officials.

The scale of the payouts varied significantly. Over 23,000 individuals who have or had a farming or ranching operation received between $10,000 and $500,000, with an average of about $82,000. The hope is that this financial assistance will help many farmers stay on their farms, contribute to the nation’s food supply, and continue doing what they love. Another 20,000 individuals who planned to have a farming operation but were unable to do so due to USDA loan denials received between $3,500 and $6,000, with an average of $5,000.

Despite this acknowledgment, the fight for equity in agriculture is far from over. Boyd and other advocates are still pushing for a $5 billion debt relief program for “socially disadvantaged” farmers that was initially promised by the USDA in 2021 but now stands blocked by ongoing lawsuits from white farmers who decry it as discriminatory.

As the USDA continues its efforts to address historical injustices, the agency intends to use information gathered through the DFAP applications to fine-tune program equity at national, regional, and local levels. These efforts are reported to include diversifying agency leadership, streamlining loan processes, and implementing new procedures to reduce human discretion in loan decision-making. Lucious Abrams, also a fourth generation Black farmer, expressed his distrust in the USDA’s claims of reform to the Duke Law Journal: “You go and stick your hand in a hole and a rattlesnake bites it the first time; then you go back there a second time, it bites you the second time. What do you think you are going to do the third time?”

The payout, while significant, is just one step in a long journey towards equity in American agriculture. As John Boyd puts it, “The arc of justice bends slow; it bends slower for Black people, but I never give up.”

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SCLT connects more people to more food in 2024

SCLT Youth Representative to the Board, Anini, gives out produce at the 2024 Trinity Square Together block party

SCLT’s Produce Aggregation and VeggieRx programs are making significant strides in the fight against Rhode Island’s growing food insecurity crisis. Over the seven-month 2024 growing season, these initiatives will deliver more than 44,000 pounds of locally grown produce to 9,750 people, with 97% of recipients being low-income residents. This effort represents a crucial intervention in a state where one in three residents – and half of all Black and Latine households – faces food insecurity. Across our programs, we expect to feed more than 25,000 Rhode Islanders before the year ends.

The success of our Aggregation and VeggieRx programs stems from a robust collaboration between SCLT staff,  small scale farmers of color, and more than a dozen partners building community-driven solutions to pressing social issues. Partners include institutional buyers like the state’s Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Sodexo, servicing Providence Public Schools; childcare and senior centers like Beautiful Beginnings and St. Martin de Porres; social services organizations such as Amos House, Project Weber/Renew, and Youth Pride Inc.; and three of RI’s largest healthcare networks: Lifespan, Integra and Clínica Esperanza.

As a modest pilot in 2017, SCLT’s Produce Aggregation program worked with five small-scale farmers to sell $3,500 worth of their fresh produce to three local food enterprises. By 2023, we enrolled 28 farmers in the program and revenues paid to farmers skyrocketed to $190,000, not only supporting local agriculture and local producers, but also enhancing food access for vulnerable communities.

A significant boost to the program came through funding from the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program. This initiative supports the flow of locally grown crops into the emergency food system, providing the funding to compensate farmers at fair market rates for their produce. The LFPA program, emerging in response to the pandemic, aims to procure and distribute local and regional foods that are healthy, nutritious, and unique to their geographic areas. But LFPA funding runs out in the early part of the 2025 growing season.

As food insecurity continues to be a pressing issue, the eyes of many are on how to sustain this crucial funding. With ongoing efforts at both federal and state levels, there’s hope that the next Farm Bill may include provisions to continue supporting these vital programs.

Looking ahead, the future holds some promise for these initiatives. The introduction of the Expanding Access To (EAT) Local Foods Act by RI Senator Reed in 2024, with widespread support, could provide dedicated funding for purchasing food from small and local farmers for free distribution through community partners by codifying the successful LFPA model. Additionally, the State of RI Department of Health’s request for a waiver to add healthy food prescriptions and medically tailored meals as new covered benefits under Medicaid could further expand the reach of programs like VeggieRx.

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SCLT’s Youth Program deepens its roots

Youth Staff Leaders James and Aaliyah at Pawtucket’s Galego Community Farm

In South Providence and Pawtucket’s Woodlawn neighborhood, SCLT is nurturing more than healthy soil and robust crops. We’re cultivating the next generation of urban farmers, environmental stewards, and community leaders with our Youth Program. As these youth grow and take root in their communities, they carry with them the seeds of change, promising a brighter, greener future for Rhode Island.

While youth engagement and education have remained foundational throughout SCLT’s four decade history, our Youth Program was first formalized in 2015. Through academic year and summer intensive sessions, the program compensates youth and emerging adults to gain hands-on agricultural experience and valuable work readiness skills. 

But it’s more than just a summer job. For many participants, like 18-year-old Aaliyah, it’s a radical experience. “This has been a huge transformation for me,” she shares. “It’s changed my attitude on life and brought me out of some dark places.” Aaliyah’s journey from a 14-year-old newcomer with a detestation for dirt, to a knowledgeable and networked Youth Staff Leader exemplifies the program’s profound impact.

SCLT’s Youth Program is designed to meet the developmental needs of historically underserved youth, operating with a trauma-informed and compassionate approach and creating safe spaces where youth are heard and can explore their interests in a supportive environment. The program is managed by three trusted SCLT staff who, intentionally, live in and are representative of the communities they serve. Nearly 100% of the participants identify as Black, Latine, or Southeast Asian.

The power of the program is thanks, in large part, to its experienced staff and a growing list of partners who share SCLT’s vision. We are grateful for our longstanding funders, like the Governor’s Workforce Board, the Providence Rotary Charities Foundation, Amica Companies Foundation, Papitto Opportunity Connection, the City of Providence’s One Providence for Youth program, Groundwork RI, the Partnership for Providence Parks, University of RI, RI Food Policy Council, the Northern RI Conservation District, and the Mary Dexter Chafee Fund, who have shaped this program into the unique experience it is today. We thank new funders, including the Rhode Island Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Bannister Fund and Bloom Rhode Island, for recognizing the importance of sustaining SCLT’s Youth Program. SCLT staff continually work to build new relationships with diverse partners who can offer valuable perspectives to our Youth Staff as they move into adulthood.

SCLT’s Youth Program offers participants, aged 14 to 22, a rich and diverse experience. Field trips in 2024 included visits to Open Farms Retreat, Maisey’s Tree Farm, the Brown Design Workshop, the Steel Yard, and the Blackstone River. These excursions provided opportunities for outdoor guided meditation, kayaking, learning about medicinal plants, and exploring sustainable forest and pest management techniques practiced by Indigenous people of Rhode Island. We welcomed visitors from Zero Waste Providence, People’s Port Authority, Harvest Cycle Compost, and Amaryllis to SCLT’s Youth Enterprise Center at our South Providence Healthy Food Hub, to expose Youth Staff to the interrelated issues of environmental justice, urban agriculture, and food systems.

In addition to field work, Youth Staff team up in SCLT’s commercial kitchen, learning safety, food preparation, and storage techniques. Twice each week, they prepare lunch for fellow Youth Staff using produce they have grown at the Somerset Hayward Youth Garden and the Galego Community Farm in Providence and Pawtucket, respectively.

Professional development is a key component of the program. Weekly sessions utilize the Roots of Success (ROS) framework, a nationally recognized education and workforce resource. ROS helps participants build skills needed for today’s workforce, including critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and leadership, as well as environmental, financial, and civic literacy.

In a survey at the end of their summer session last year, one Youth Staff reported “The learning opportunities were immense, the education on life skills was very good, and the balance between helping the community and staff was excellent.” Another noted, “The instruction style worked well in creating a community among the staff of different ages. I liked the field trips that had us learn and experience new things, and the cooking lessons because it showed how we could actually use the produce we grew and make something delicious.” In total, 88% of Youth Staff found their experience with the Youth Program to be very good or excellent.

Looking ahead to 2025, the program plans to expand its offerings and deepen partnerships. New additions include First Aid, CPR, and overdose prevention training for program staff and youth, as well as partnerships with St. Martin de Porres Multiservice Center and Southside Cultural Center for intergenerational urban agriculture programming.

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SCLT Announces Exciting 2024 Workshop Series

All workshops are free | Registration is required | All materials provided to registered attendees Click the links below, or check out our Upcoming Events page for more information on each workshop.

 

Southside Community Land Trust is gearing up for an enriching summer and fall with the announcement of our 2024 workshop series. The series, featuring seven diverse workshops, kicks off Saturday, June 22, and runs through November 15. These free events offer a unique blend of gardening, art, and food justice education, catering to both families and adults.

The series begins with a Container Gardening Workshop on June 22, perfect for urban dwellers and those with limited space. Participants will create their own container gardens to take home, learning essential skills from SCLT’s Director of Special Projects and Master Gardener, Tarshire Battle. As summer progresses, attendees can look forward to EcoArt workshops, including Cyanoprinting at City Farm on July 25 and Landscape with Tape at Good Earth Farm on August 23.

For those interested in food preservation, an Introduction to Canning workshop is scheduled for August 14. This hands-on session will guide participants through the process of making and canning tomato sauce. The workshop will be co-hosted by Tarshire Battle and Andraly Horn, an organic farmer at Open fArms Retreat.

As autumn approaches, SCLT continues to offer creative opportunities with Mixed Media and Papermaking workshops in September and October, respectively. The series concludes with a thought-provoking Food Justice Workshop on November 15, exploring the historical context and contemporary issues surrounding food justice in Rhode Island.

These events not only offer practical skills and creative outlets but also promote environmental sustainability and community engagement. Whether you’re a gardening enthusiast, an aspiring artist, or someone passionate about food justice, SCLT’s 2024 workshop series promises something for everyone.

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RI’s small & urban farmers paying outsized taxes for decades

The Small & Urban Farms Success bill was introduced to the RI House and Senate earlier this year by 10 State Representatives and was heard by the RI House and Senate this spring. Championed by a coalition of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, SCLT, and a network of farmers, including Open Farms Retreat‘s Andraly Horn and Sienna Viette, this legislation has the power to level the playing field by creating tax relief programs for small and urban farms that are similar to the programs that have been available for more than 30 years to larger, rural farms in our state.

RI’s current tax programs don’t meet the food or economic needs of our communities, and they don’t match our coalition’s commitment to equity. These programs need an update so that more Rhode Islanders can eat fresh, healthy, and affordable food grown right here in our tiny state, where the cost of agricultural land keeps going up, and the size of farms keeps going down.

Hear from several small and urban farmers on what this change would mean for the future of their farm businesses and the resiliency of our local food system:

 

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SCLT granted $100K from UNFI Foundation to address food inequity

By  Providence Business News
PROVIDENCE – The Southside Community Land Trust’s quest to get more food out to the community received a significant financial boost, courtesy of United Natural Foods Inc.
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