Anti-racism in community food growing: Signposting

We've gathered together information on anti-racism and community food growing to highlight issues, spotlight good practice and inspire action.

Credit: Zoe Warde-Aldam

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What information and why?

Below is useful and inspiring information, which showcase several organisations leading the way in the community food growing sector. The aim is to:

highlight some inequalities in our sector (and the individuals and organisations challenging it)
share issues and learning opportunities relevant to community food growing, such as Decolonising the Garden and culturally appropriate food growing, to further promote racial justice
inspire food gardens to take action to create racial justice and become more inclusive, welcoming spaces that reflect their local communities.

For info about the practical steps we’re taking across our food growing networks, contact the Capital Growth team.

Sustain is working towards a number of organizational goals to tackle racial injustice in the food system. To find out more about Sustain’s commitments read our blog by Chief Executive, Kath Dalmeny, and our statement on diversity, equalities and inclusion.

Practical resources
Useful terms
Sustain’s Community Food Growing Diversity Survey
Capital Growth Diversity & Inclusion Sub-group Survey
Organisations leading the way
Sustain recordings
Podcasts or recordings
Campaigns
Reading

Useful terms

Culturally Appropriate Food Growing: Increasing the diversity and variety of food plants in our growing spaces. Adopting practices of growing different types of fruits and veg led and decided by the users of the growing spaces, is vital to make these spaces more welcoming and appropriate for everyone in our communities.

Decolonising the Garden: For hundreds of years, colonialists brought back economically profitable plants to their home countries, exploiting indigenous knowledge and claiming ‘discovery’ of many plants in the process. This has created false histories and led to food and plants in the global north to be steeped in colonialism. Decolonising the Garden is understanding the historical context of the spaces and the plants to provide a more accurate portrayal of history and identify how existing structures can be exploitative.

Practical resources

If you are a Black or Minoritised food grower in London, join the Rootz into Food Growing (RiFG) London network to connect with others and join seasonal gatherings by emailing Pauline Shakespeare to request to be added to the online Google group.
Inclusive Volunteerism: What you can do right now to be a better champion
Climate in Colour: an educational platform and community for the climate curious standing at the intersection of climate science and social justice making climate conversations more accessible and diverse.
Inspiring multi-ethnic involvement at community farms and gardens (Chillies and Roses report by Social farms & Gardens)
Creating an inclusive volunteering environment (from Volunteer Scotland)
Culturally Appropriate Food Growing (International: Green Thumbs, Canada)
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Community Planning Guide, Goals and Activities (International: USA)
American Public Gardens Association: Employee Development, Diversity, Inclusion (International: USA)

Sustain’s Community Food Growing Diversity Survey

As part of Sustain’s work to better understand how we can create racial justice and inclusion in community growers, gardens were surveyed in Autumn 2020. Read our survey summary.

Capital Growth Diversity & Inclusion Sub-group Survey

From late 2020 to mid 2022, Capital Growth convened a Diversity and Inclusion sub-group on a quarterly basis within its Working Party structure. Based on feedback from the group and upon reflection of its purpose and effectiveness, the group collectively decided to wind down these meetings in September 2022 in favour of integrating this agenda into the main Working Party group rather than side-lining this agenda into a smaller meeting. Read the survey results reflecting upon the group's learning and experiences here.

Organisations leading the way

Disclaimer: These organisations are exemplary examples of movements and enterprises that you may draw inspiration from, however, not all may have the capacity to give advice and accommodate external needs.

@Liberationpermaculture (on Instagram): a diverse group of permaculture practitioners exploring the topic as a tool for social justice.
Black Environment Network work to enable full ethnic participation in the built and natural environment, by reaching out to ethnic communities and stimulating participation, as well as supporting mainstream organisations.
Black Rootz, within Ubele Initiative, is the first multigenerational black led growing project in the UK.
Blak Outside is a grassroots led project that contributes to vital community work.
Bloom series, a series of inspiring events, activities and training connecting BIPOC and minority ethnic communities with nature, led by outstanding BIPOC nature practitioners.
British Islamic Gardens is a non-profit based in Reading, run by volunteers who wish to create sustainable garden spaces around mosques.
Grow2Know, created by a group of community members in response to the Grenfell disaster, aims to build gardens to inspire, educate, heal and empower diverse communities.
Kew Gardens seeks to understand and protect plants/fungi, for the sustainability of society and the environment. Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter marches, Kew is on a mission to challenge and enhance their Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy.
Land in Our Names, a grassroots Black-led collective committed to reparations in Britain by connecting land and climate justice with racial justice.
May Project Gardens, a London-based grassroots organisation empowering marginalised groups in addressing poverty, disempowerment and access to resources and influence.
Social Farms & Gardens is a UK wide charity supporting communities to farm, garden and grow together.
Soul Fire Farm (International), based in USA, this is an Afro-Indigenous community farm committed to uprooting racism in the food system)Wild in the City is a non-profit CIC who encourage urban community engagement and well-being through activities within nature.

Sustain recordings

Growing Culturally Appropriate Food (hosted by Capital Growth)
Diversity and inclusion in the food and farming sector (webinar hosted by Sustain)

Podcasts or recordings

Rootz into Food Growing report launch event (hosted by Land in Our Names)
Other Voices in Garden History (hosted by The Garden Trust)
Race and Farming in the UK (webinar hosted by Dee Woods and the Landworkers Alliance)
Building an Antiracist Farming Movement (webinar hosted by LION and Landworkers Alliance with Leah Penniman)
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Principles (reflections from Jacqueline Lim from She Leads Change)
Reflections on Diverse Recruitment (from Public Interest Research Centre)
Farming While Black (Leah Penniman: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming and Food Justice)
Unearthed – Dirt on our Hands (Overcoming botany’s hidden legacy of inequality with James Wong)
Welcoming Diversity in Community Farms and Gardens (webinar hosted by Social Farms and Gardens with Monica Tyler, Vauxhall City Farm)
Land, Race and Empire - Oxford Real Farming Conference 2022 discussion with Sam Siva, Corinne Fowler, Josina Calliste

Campaigns

Black Land and Spatial Justice Fund (crowdfunding campaign fund led by Amahra Spence, to redistribute resources, including finance and knowledge, engaging in decolonial frameworks and collective organising to redefine our relationships to land and space)
#decolonisethegarden Instagram account bringing anti-racism to the garden
#digitoutcampaign launched by Mothin Ali (of My Family Garden YouTube videos) to address racism in gardening and horticulture
Climate Reframe project have highlighted the best BIPOC (Black, Indigenous (UK-based) People of Colour) who are climate experts, campaigners and advocates, working and living in the UK.
#SowingRoots is a free exhibition at the Garden Museum running until 6 March 2022 with a first of its kind journey into the history of the gardening cultures and traditions that Caribbean people carried with them when they moved to the UK after World War II.