Before I get started, I'd like to make the exciting announcement that Alicia Harvie, our stellar new program manager at Farm Aid, will be taking over the reigns of this column beginning in January. I'm not going anywhere, just fully assuming my new role in the office of program director, and very confidently passing the torch. It has been absolutely wonderful to hear from so many of our readers over the past two years and I will truly miss digging in to some of your toughest questions online. You've challenged me to explore pressing issues that really get to the heart of why our work here at Farm Aid is so relevant and the countless contributions family farmers make to our lives everyday. Thank you for keeping me on my toes, and giving me the opportunity to deepen my knowledge and commitment. Keep your great questions rolling in – Alicia's one mean researching machine. I know you will love what she has to say.

Hi Hilde,

I've heard that a lot of the money Farm Aid raises is turned into grants. What's Farm Aid's grant program all about? Where does all the money go? Just curious to learn more about this part of your ongoing work.

Thank you,
Samantha P.

Hi Samantha,

This is a fantastic question that, as you might imagine, we get quite often. It also is a question that we love answering, as it gives us the chance to explain the nuts and bolts of a really important piece of our work – financially supporting family farm and rural service organizations across the country that are working hard to keep family farm agriculture alive and well.

As 2009 concludes, we are happy to announce that we have granted over half a million dollars this year ($503,500 to be exact) to 72 organizations across the country working to strengthen family farm agriculture.

It is a fair and common misconception that the money raised by Farm Aid passes straight into the pockets of family farmers in need. Goodness knows there are plenty of farmers out there facing dire circumstances and unable to find the immediate funds they need to make it through the week, let alone the year. While we would love to be able to fully meet this need and then some, there are both practical and philosophical reasons for why we direct the bulk of our grant money to farm and rural service organizations.

For starters, Farm Aid doesn't grant directly to farmers because we can't. Sounds a bit ironic, I know, but Farm Aid's IRS charter restricts us from granting to a for-profit business. While family farms are made up of families, they are first and foremost a business and put a heck of a lot of effort into having a profit. Even though we're unable to assist with on-farm operating expenses, we can and do provide important emergency funds to struggling family farmers for groceries and basic household utilities – funds that have been just the boost many families have needed over the years to make it through some trying times. We also provide assistance to farmers facing natural disasters. Through Farm Aid's Family Farm Disaster Fund we provided $61,700 in disaster grants and emergency relief to farm families in 2009.

In the absence of this IRS restriction, however, our granting program would remain more or less the same. And this is why: If all the money Farm Aid had raised up until this point ($36 million) were to be divided evenly amongst the more than 2 million farms in operation, we'd be able to grant a little less than eighteen dollars to each farm. Considering farm business debt was forecast at $239 billion in 2009, it is easy to see how a series of small grants to farmers might not be the best use of our donor's money or the most effective means of fulfilling our mission.

At the core of Farm Aid's work we are building a movement. For the past (going on) 25 years we have been pushing for deep systemic change: change that will take the industrial agriculture model from its roots and shake the good people and good land free of the corporations and chemicals and factories that have taken hold of our food supply. This is a big task, and not one any single group can undertake on its own. Instead, we've enlisted and supported a network of farm and rural service organizations across the country, what we call our Farmer Resource Network. Only together can we effectively provide the immediate assistance farmers need to get on their feet in the face of natural disaster and crisis; advocate for policies that protect the rights of family farmers and the environment; build and strengthen the infrastructure needed for supporting local and regional markets; and provide the space and opportunity for innovative ideas to take root and grow. In order to create the sort of change we envision, we need to inspire transformation from the top down, the ground up, and everywhere in between. The Good Food Movement demands the efforts of all.

To this end, Farm Aid is committed to supporting a wide range of activities and programming necessary to build a movement. Through our grant program, we do so in three core areas of work:

The first, Helping Farmers Thrive, addresses many of the here-and-now challenges facing family farmers by supporting groups that provide credit counseling, natural disaster relief, legal guidance and business planning assistance. In addition, these grants aim to provide farmers with the tools and resources they need to access new markets and transition to more ecologically sound and economically viable modes of production.

The second category, Taking Action to Change the System, is geared toward groups promoting fair farm policies and grassroots organizing campaigns designed to defend and bolster family farm-centered agriculture on a local, state and federal level. This activity includes beginning farmer initiatives, fighting factory farms, challenging corporate concentration, and monitoring Farm Bill implementation among other policy oriented activities.

The final category, Growing the Good Food Movement, seeks to develop the awareness and infrastructure needed for local and regional food systems to prosper. Through “buy local” campaigns, farm-to-school programs, distribution networks, and education programs, the grants we issue in this category are creating and strengthening markets for family farmers in their own communities.

We are very proud of 2009's batch of grant recipients, and feel thoroughly energized and inspired by their work. We hope all of our readers will take a few minutes to learn about these crucial organizations working across the country to support family farmers and ensure good food today, tomorrow, and for generations to come. We couldn't do our work without them, and we certainly wouldn't want to!

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