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Food access is an on-going challenge in New Orleans – a city mapped by a history of segregation, and a city with a track record of inconsistent re-investment since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Aside from issues like “food deserts” and “food swamps,” another question arises: When climate disaster strikes, and transportation infrastructure goes down, how do you get food for your family or community? Mina Seck, Community Food Director at Sprout, says that this is where small-scale local farms are essential.
Sprout is a New Orleans-based organization that provides technical and social support to established and developing small-scale farmers, community gardeners, and farm workers in Louisiana. Their vision is a community food system rooted in equity — one that increases access to jobs, food, and land, particularly for farmers and growers who are Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, people of color, and women.
In this episode, Tracey and Jamie talk with Mina Seck about:
How working on food farms in other countries, and in several well-known restaurant kitchens in New Orleans, shaped her relationship to food and food farmers
Why small farms are necessary in a sustainable food system and to survive climate change
How she got almost $100K worth of locally grown food into food banks in less than 2 months when community members lost suddenly lost SNAP benefits
Ways that the Sprout farm can be a community safety hub in times of climate crisis
How Sprout ran a $500,000 reparations program that empowered 10 Black and Indigenous Louisiana-based farmers to invest in their businesses on their own terms.
Stay tuned next week when Tracey and Jamie talk with Tap Bui of Song Community Development Corporation in New Orleans East and hear about how her neighborhood is developing a water management plan to protect their homes and community culture.
Subscribe to PathBreakers on [Spotify] | [Apple Podcasts] | [YouTube]
Learn more about Sprout at sproutnolafarm.org
Listen all of Season 2 at https://pathbreakers.kresge.org
Co-Hosts: Tracey Pearson and Jamie Bennett
Producer: Juliet Hinely
Managing Editor: Krista Jahnke
Production support: Jennifer Kulczycki and Tracey Pearson
Special thanks on this episode to
Kresge’s American Cities, Health and Environment Programs, especially Monica Valdes Lupi, Alejandra Hernandez and Jan Delatorre.
Thanks for listening!
