FARM AID DISTRIBUTES MORE THAN $1.3 MILLION IN 2023 GRANTS

Funding Aims to Strengthen a Climate-Resilient, Equitable Family Farm-Based Food System

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of a successful annual festival, held this year in Indiana on September 21, Farm Aid announced that it has distributed more than $1.3 million in grant funding in 2023.

Farm Aid prioritized grant proposals from organizations that facilitate farmer-led solutions to climate change — which was the focus of the Farm Aid festival — as well as organizations that support family farmers experiencing crisis and farm stress, advance racial equity in agriculture, and stop the growth of industrial and corporate power in agriculture.

"Folks are stepping up to do their part to shift agriculture to benefit farmers, rural communities, our climate, soil and water, and all of us," said Farm Aid President Willie Nelson. "It's thanks to the generosity of so many people who purchase Farm Aid festival tickets and donate to our work that we're able to send these funds to organizations working to grow an equitable and sustainable farm and food system."

In December, Farm Aid made End of Year grants in the amount of $955,500 to 97 family farm, rural response and urban agriculture organizations, bringing the grand total of Farm Aid grantmaking in 2023 to $1,346,015.

Throughout 2023, Farm Aid granted $390,515 through various grantmaking programs, including:

• $35,500 in emergency grants to individual farmers who struggled to make ends meet. These grants are given with the assistance of Farm Aid's Hotline team members, who answer farmer calls on 1-800-FARM-AID, connecting them to appropriate resources and recommending emergency grants when support is urgently needed.
• $23,015 in farmer leadership grants for the development of farmers' leadership skills and the elevation of their voices in decision-making circles in which their expertise and experience are essential.
• $120,000 in disaster grants in response to record flooding in the Northeast and California, and to assist farmers recovering from hurricanes that hit the Southeast in late 2022.
• $194,500 in strategic grants to support Native American producers, farm advocates and rural communities organizing against factory farms. These include a grant to the Intertribal Agriculture Council to support work with partner lenders to identify financially distressed Native American borrowers and restructure their loans by eliminating debt, interest or fees to increase equity, improve Native lenders' loan portfolios and make viable credit available to more Native producers. A grant was made to the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA) to strengthen the Farm Advocate community by codifying the work of farm advocates and training the next generation. Farm Aid grantmaking to the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) in Minnesota supported organizing efforts in Winona County fighting against a large-scale dairy factory farm that would have had detrimental impacts on the health of their land, water and community.
• $17,500 in scholarship funds to support university students majoring in agriculture and related fields.

In Indiana, where Farm Aid convened its annual music and food festival in September, Farm Aid invested $83,000 in 10 community-based organizations that work to advance this year's priorities. Awardees include Flanner House in Indianapolis; Northwest Indiana Food Council in Crown Point; People's Cooperative Market in Bloomington; Soul Food Project in Indianapolis; Families Anchored in Total Harmony, Inc. in Gary; Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition in Bloomington; Human Agricultural Cooperative in Fort Wayne; Legacy Taste of the Garden in Princeton; Partners IN Food and Farming in Crothersville; and Teter Retreat and Organic Farm in Noblesville.

Farm Aid's grantmaking is one aspect of its work to keep family farmers on the land, growing good food for all. Other work throughout the year includes efforts to increase demand for family farm food; bring farmers, advocates and activists together to build capacity to change our farm and food system; advocate for policies that serve family farmers and eaters and protect our natural resources; and invite everyone to participate in a thriving family farm system of agriculture.

For a complete listing of Farm Aid's 2023 grant recipients, visit farmaid.org/2023grants.

Farm Aid welcomes donations at farmaid.org/donate.

For updates throughout the year, follow Farm Aid on X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FarmAid), Facebook (facebook.com/FarmAid), Instagram (@FarmAid) and visit farmaid.org/festival.

Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 35 years, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $78 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

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SOURCE Farm Aid