Community-Centered &
Collectively Decided upon
BLACK FARMER FUND IS CREATING SPACE TO PRACTICE COLLECTIVE
DECISION MAKING AROUND FUNDING BLACK FOOD BUSINESSES
The Pilot Community served as the collective-decision making body for Black Farmer Fund’s initial pilot phase from June 2020-September 2021. They determined the 8 businesses in the pilot cohort. Our next cycle of funding will introduce a new
Investment Committee to make these funding decisions.
For more information on the next cycle, sign up for our newsletter!
Alison Espinosa is a Certified Veterinary Technician of over 10 years and has devoted her career to Animal Husbandry and health. Being of Afro-Caribbean descent and coming from agricultural ancestry; some of Alison’s passions include Ancestor reverence, land reclamation, seed saving, farming, gardening, seed starting, greenhouse growing, animal tending, painting, photography, and all things creative. Alison is Owner/Operator/Farmer of Rootworker’s Croft located in West Bloomfield, NY. In 2019, Alison became a Master Herbalist with a concentration in Veterinary Herbalism and now acts as a consultant for Farmers/Ranchers regarding their livestock health, diet and holistic care. Alison advocates for self sustainability and educates others on seed starting basics, chick/flock raising, animal husbandry and Herbal remedies for humans and animals. To be a part of the pilot community for Black Farmer Fund is an honor, this is the dream of our ancestors...realized. Alison can be found in the garden, with the chickens/ducks/rabbits or updating her seed collection.
Allison Dehoney has 20 years of professional service in key areas of Executive leadership, Project Management and Business Development.
She has spearheaded four business endeavors; the latest of which is Urban Fruits & Veggies LLC. & Buffalo Go Green Inc. which is a non-profit organization. Urban Fruits & Veggies (UFV) has been in operation for five years and is involved in several projects throughout the city of Buffalo and Erie County. UFV has an urban farm, mobile produce market that services food desert areas and underserved communities bringing access to healthy fruits & vegetables and nutrition education. We sell at local farmers markets weekly from June to October, have a corporate wellness division where we imbed our services into local companies and partner with Organizations on wellness initiatives, we offer programming for elementary and high school students where we teach nutrition education and farming. Elected Chair of the Buffalo & Erie County Food Policy Council in January 2019
Ashleigh Eubanks is a queer Black femme with a tender heart and big smile. She calls Brooklyn home, but is originally from Hartford, CT. Ashleigh has been engaged in social change work for over 10 years now. She has a deep love for people and the power of collectives. Ashleigh is an experienced organizer, skillful facilitator and budding healer. In her role as Food Justice Programs Manager at RiseBoro Community Partnership she is supporting the actualization of the Central Brooklyn Food Democracy Project, a Black led, food sovereignty initiative in Brooklyn. Her passions include transformative justice, cooking, meditation and fighting for a freer world. Ashleigh is currently manifesting a QTBIPoC led, land based project with chosen fam.
Carmen Mouzon believes that the opportunity to be involved with the BFF is a gift, confirmation that the dreams of my ancestors are coming to be! Bringing the land home again, coming home to the land again, being part of creations that will uplift our collective power, community and brilliance, that is what my heart beats for. As a Black Queer descendant of ancestors forced into bondage, to labor for free in fields, day after day for multiple generations, who survived the brutal and oppressive systems of North and South Carolina and kept a determination through each generation to never forget the richness of our African ancestry.
Claudia Ford has had a career in international development and women’s health spanning three decades and all continents. I am a midwife and ethnobotanist, who studies traditional ecological knowledge, women’s reproductive health, and sustainable agriculture. I am an Associate Professor at State University of New York, Potsdam, where I teach Environmental Studies, Sustainability, Ethnobotany, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Environmental Literature, and Environmental Justice. I serve on the boards of The Biodynamic Association, promoting spiritual agriculture and a sacred relationship with land; and the Soul Fire Farm Institute, committed to ending racism and injustice in the food system. I am also a writer, poet, and visual artist, and a single mother who has shared the delights and adventures of global travel with my four children. I am honored to work in partnership with my community as we transform food and agricultural systems and we co-create new, just, healthy ways to be in right relationship with the land and with each other.
Hans Hageman is a social entrepreneur. He has developed visionary solutions to improve education from Harlem to India. Hans grew up in El Barrio, New York. His home was Exodus House, a pioneering residential drug treatment center started by his father. He went on to work as a prosecutor, chief counsel to a U.S. Senate subcommittee and as a defense attorney. In the early 1990s, he shifted his mission to work with children who had been under-served by the education establishment. This led to his founding of the East Harlem School at Exodus, an independent school that predated charter legislation in New York. There he worked as a teacher, basketball coach, fundraiser, head janitor, and cook.
In August of 2018, Hans became the Executive Director of Land to Learn (formerly known as “Hudson Valley Seed”). Land to Learn works in 11 elementary schools in the Hudson Valley where they build vegetable gardens and provide curriculum and experiential education based on those gardens.
Mavis-Jay Sanders began mastering southern cooking before she could even see over the counter. Legend has it, she perfected poundcake before her abc’s. Looking to cultivate her talent, Mavis-Jay attended the Culinary Institute of America after receiving a BS in hotel and restaurant management from Georgia Southern University. Later, she would impress with her ability and natural leadership at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Blue Hill, and Untitled in New York. She went on to be part owner of the award winning food truck Pico House in Los Angeles. Frustrated witnessing good food as a luxury for the rich, Mavis-Jay moved back to NYC to join the team at The Brownsville Community Culinary Center as Director of Operations to provide free, paid, world class culinary and hospitality training to marginalized communities in Brooklyn that culminated in guaranteed career placement. Most recently, she joined the team at Drive Change as Director of Culinary Development and Education.
Mavis-Jay is a chef who believes in sustainably raised ingredients, thoughtfully prepared. She is a social equity advocate that has dedicated her career to fighting for food justice in black and low-income communities. In 2019, she was honored as one of Star Chefs’ New York Rising Star Chef.
Rhyston Mays is a Hudson Valley transplant from Chicago, and graduate of Vassar College in Sociology. They aim to build upon their experiences in agriculture to engage with issues of land access and food sovereignty in Black communities. Rhyston is eager to find out what kinds of futures we can manifest from the seeds that we sow! Currently, Rhyston is working their third season at Phillies Bridge Farm Project in New Paltz, NY.
Wil Moss brings over 30 years of farming experience. His farm is Moss' Fresh Fruit & Vegetable; 40 + years, independently black owned & operated. We are an immediate 'family of 10' business. My experiences are in: future plant planning; cultivating, attending and harvesting the land/ produce. We primarily sell our produce at the Rochester, NY, Public Market (over 40 years). Recently, we started to expand by distributing/selling our produce to cooperatives & other organizations. We partner with other major farmers in our area, working together, procuring land & planting. I have a business/finance background, allowing me to help with the book keeping of our farm operation. All of my experiences & background, I believe will help with deciding on which applicants will receive financial assistance through the BFF.
Rebekah Williams is a community organizer and trainer from Western New York (WNY), and is co-founder of Food for the Spirit, an organization committed to racial healing towards ecological justice and equitable food systems. Rebekah is also coordinator for the Good Food Buffalo Coalition working to bring the Good Food Purchasing Program to WNY. Rebekah is a skilled facilitator focused on creating just food systems, cooperative development, racial and economic justice, youth leadership and advocacy, environmentalism, and the arts. Rebekah has a degree in Social Structure, Theory and Change from SUNY Empire State College; and has completed training with the Buffalo Montessori Teacher Education Program, Movement Generation, North American Students of Cooperation, and Training for Change.
Steph Wiley is a New York City born and raised, founding member of Brooklyn Packers worker-owned cooperative. He has over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience and has been a past member of the Board of Just Food, the NYC NoWC Advocacy Council, and the NYC NoWC Training Collective. Along with his work with at Brooklyn Packers, Steph is helping to develop a network of cooperative homesteads. He believes that aligned movements working together in solidarity is the best way to seek justice for all in our lifetime.
Freedom means collective self-determination and building sovereignty together.
Our Pilot Community (democratic governance body) is made up of community members from their 20s to their 70s, with a diversity of gender and queerness, knowledge, and life experiences. Learn more about this incredible group below.