FARM AID DISTRIBUTES NEARLY $1.2 MILLION IN 2022 GRANTS

Investments Support Family Farm Organizations Building a Climate-Resilient, Equitable Farm and Food System

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of a successful festival this past September, Farm Aid announced that it distributed nearly $1.2 million in grant funding in 2022. Farm Aid prioritized grant proposals from organizations that facilitate farmer-led solutions to climate change — which was the focus of the annual Farm Aid festival — as well as organizations that support family farmers, advance racial equity and social justice, and build power for systemic change in our farm and food system.

"Thanks to the continued generosity of supporters from across the country, today Farm Aid is able to send critical funds to hardworking organizations who share Farm Aid's mission," said Farm Aid President Willie Nelson. "The real power of Farm Aid's grants is in the network of changemakers they knit together, in cities and rural areas across this country, who are working to build an equitable and sustainable farm and food system for us all."

In December, Farm Aid made grants in the amount of $1,014,000 to 88 family farm, rural service and urban agriculture organizations. Farm Aid granted an additional $173,100 through various grantmaking programs, including emergency, leadership, disaster and strategic grants. The grand total of Farm Aid grantmaking in 2022 is $1,187,100.

Farm and ranch families impacted by record historic flooding in Kentucky and a destructive hurricane in Puerto Rico received $40,000 in assistance. A $12,000 grant to Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (MOFGA) helped them administer emergency funding to farms as a replacement for lost business income due to contamination of their soil and water by widely used, long-lasting chemicals called PFAs. Strategic grants totaling $67,000 enabled long-term Farm Aid partners to address pressing needs or take advantage of unique opportunities to advance family farm agriculture. Emergency grants totaling more than $42,500 were made to date in 2022 to farm families to cover essential household expenses. These $500 grants are recommended on a case-by-case basis by Farm Aid hotline managers who operate the 1-800-FARM-AID hotline and connect farmers with helpful services, resources and opportunities specific to their individual needs. Finally, $11,600 supported farmer participation in leadership trainings, policy advocacy and other gatherings where their perspectives and knowledge are essential to tackle some of our nation's biggest farm and food challenges.

In 2022, Farm Aid's grants to farm, rural and food organizations supported work to:

• Grow the Good Food Movement: Efforts that build local and regional food systems and connect family farmers directly with consumers. 
• Help farmers thrive: Programs that provide family farmers with support and resources to start farming, transition to more sustainable farming practices, and/or continue farming in the face of financial crises and natural disasters. 
• Take action to change the system: Work that promotes fair farm policies and organizes grassroots campaigns to defend and bolster family farm agriculture on a local, regional or national level. 

In the Southeast, where the organization convened its annual music and food festival in September, Farm Aid invested $217,000 in 15 programs across six states that met this year's priorities. Awardees include Agricultural Justice Project, Gainesville, FL; Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network (ASAN), Birmingham, AL; Appalachian Sustainable Development, Duffield, VA; Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA), Pittsboro, NC; Community Farm Alliance, Berea, KY; Farmworker Association of Florida, Apopka, FL; Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, East Point, GA; Georgia Organics, Atlanta, GA; Local Food Hub, Charlottesville, VA; North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project, Durham, NC; Operation Spring Plant, Oxford, NC; The Southwest Georgia Project, Albany, GA; The Veteran's Farm of NC, Inc., Cameron, NC; Transplanting Traditions Community Farm, Chapel Hill, NC; and RAFI-USA, Pittsboro, NC.

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; to bring farmers, advocates and activists together to build capacity for family farmers to grow change in our farm and food system; to advocate for policies that serve farmers and eaters and protect our natural resources; and to invite everyone to participate in a thriving family farm system of agriculture.

For a complete listing of Farm Aid's 2022 grant recipients, visit www.farmaid.org/2022grants.

Farm Aid welcomes donations at www.farmaid.org/donate.

For updates throughout the year, follow Farm Aid on 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 $64 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.

SOURCE Farm Aid