RowCal’s Post

Continued Growth

Finsen Yu and his family are transforming lives through their community garden in Montgomery, Alabama. Their foundation, named Help a Brother Out, provides residents access to free, fresh foods and a place to learn about self-sufficiency and self-growth. Aside from getting produce, people can also take classes in gardening, meditation and financial literacy. “We try to help the community help itself by instilling values and developing future leaders,” Finsen said. Finsen and his family recently received support from the Red Cross through its Community Adaptation Program to help the foundation expand its efforts and be more resilient against the climate crisis. With the provided funding, they purchased a new greenhouse, storage shed, four-wheeler, and other equipment to broaden the garden’s reach. Through this partnership, the Yu family's foundation can help more families access nutritious food and continue serving the community in the face of disasters. “The community knows that we’re here and that the Red Cross is behind us,” Finsen said. “Knowing that, they come to us because they know the Red Cross can help.”

Our latest Ohio Porkline magazine provides a great overview of what our team and great producer leaders have been doing to promote all things pork in Ohio over the past few months. Check out the link below. #OHPork #PorkMonth

Business can be a force for good…

Want the world to be a better place? TAKE ACTION!! There are thousands of non-profits that serve every aspect of our society. Find one that resonates with your heart and your passions, and make it a priority to give back some of your time. Imagine if every business in the world made giving back to their LOCAL communities a priority in their business? Hour by hour, day by day, year by year communities around the globe would get a little bit better. And that’s (one way) how Business can be a Force for Good in the world! #businessasaforceforgood #Lippert

This kind of circularity should be obvious.

Reposting this in order to point out one reason a lot of kids leave the ag industry: a consistent attack on the character of the next generation with the good ole “you don’t know hard work, kid” mentality. No doubt comments like that can be playful and simply a healthy interaction between men when on the work site. But blow guts like a couple of them in this comment section show their true colors. They don’t want the next generation to take over the farm unless it means they have to struggle just as hard as they did (if those same blow guts actually did struggle as much as they claim in the first place). No, they want to b!tch and moan about the next generation’s relative ease of life. After all, isn’t our goal to hinder quality of life improvement? These same worked-harder-than-thou guys would have been the same guys complaining about the invention of the tractor, claiming “Ah, these kids these days just sitting on they’re a$$ when plowing the field. Cushy, soft-handed nances. Why don’t they get behind a team of horses like real men, and do real work?” And don’t be fooled, the same mentality will carry over to the next generation who will talk all about those lazy youngins sitting in an office remoting in to work on their autonomous tractors who know nothing of the hard work it took to actually be in the cab. My favorite part about two of these ccommenters is that one of them looks no more than 60 and has his profile description as “Trying out retirement.” I grew up watching our local farmers work their a$$es off well into the’re late 70’s, even 80’s or at least until they died. My, how times have changed. Another commenter gave up his “I’m a hard working man” card at the door by listing his pronouns like the pussy he is. All this to say whether you’re in ag our outside of it, just know you’ll never see an increase in hard working young people coming to the industry if their hard work is always blown off as posh living. #agriculture #farming

Rooted in Liberation We’re excited to share footage from a three-part series in the making, created by our grantee partner, Self-Evident Education Education, on the vital history and future of Black land ownership and agriculture. In this video clip, Executive Director Michael Lawrence-Riddell speaks with Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm to discuss the transformative work happening at Soul Fire Farm and across the movement. Leah and so many other Black and Brown farmers are redefining our relationships to land, food, and community. Their work is a testament to the power of reclaiming land and reimagining our collective future. Stay tuned for this inspiring series, and join us in uplifting this critical work! #BlackFarmers #SoulFireFarm #AgrarianFutures #SelfEvidentEducation

Whilst the challenges of getting new #affordablehomes built are perhaps more challenging than at any time since WW2, it is vital that all #housingassociations continue to do their bit in the #nationalinterest. #HousingCrisis #Housing #Development #NewHomes #Devon #Cornwall #SocialValue #Construction

What makes a goal different from a dream? We are feeling inspired (and happily caffeinated!) after a staff gathering at Front Seat Coffee to discuss our goals/dreams for 2025. We used a strategy called backcasting. This requires first identifying your goal and then considering the incremental steps necessary along the way. This circumvents staying on the well trodden path and rather allows for ambitious thinking that remains grounded in reality. It prioritizes visioning and imagining as essential parts of creating a future reflective of the world we aspire to. It is a helpful approach for long term, complex work including that done by Salvation Farms. Salvation Farms #gleaning is prioritizing the #volunteer experience, safety and operations in the field through creating standard practices that will set their program on a course of continual improvement. The Vermont Commodity Program is outlining plans tied to hiring, operations and partnerships during this time of anticipated expansion. Without imagining the positive impacts, the path would feel impossible to navigate. And without knowing our “why”, the effort would feel empty and meaningless. We continue to ground into our mission based-work in service of farmers and eaters. Salvation Farms is committed to fostering a future where local farms feed local communities. “Each person is an activist. Each moment is an opportunity for hope and transformation.” - Dolores Huerta “Cada persona es un activista. Cada momento es una oportunidad para dar esperanza y transformar.” - Dolores Huerta #vtfarms #vermont #northeastkingdom #lamoillevalley