Archives of Uncategorized

HEAL Statement on USDA Equity Commission’s Final Report

February 26, 2023: Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Equity Commission issued its final report of recommendations for the USDA to “address historic and current discrimination and promote equity.” The Commission’s report provides the USDA and Congress with a guide to righting past wrongs and ensuring it provides programs and services equitably to […]
2 months ago

Together We Thrive! HEAL’s 2023 Year in Review

Download “Together we Thrive” – HEAL’s 2023 End of Year Report! Everywhere we look, we see beautiful acts of resistance. Hundreds and thousands of people upending their own lives. Saying no genocide, yes to land back. We see poetry and prayer. Protests and possibility. People making meals for each other, giving each other car rides, […]
5 months ago

Bills, Bills, Bills: Nine pieces of legislation that could push the Farm Bill in the right direction

As part of the farm bill process, members of Congress introduce “marker bills” to try to get provisions included into the larger bill. We do not expect Congress to pass marker bills as standalone bills – they are often not politically feasible to pass on their own. But they do get people talking and help build momentum for policies that should be included in the larger (“omnibus”) bill. Marker bills are also an opportunity for advocacy, enabling community groups and legislators to work together to address issues that impact our food system and our lives. 
6 months ago

HEAL Statement of Opposition to Genocide

HEAL Statement of Opposition to Genocide HEAL is rooted in the understanding that stolen land, genocide, and the forced removal of peoples from their land is the foundation of today’s destructive U.S. food system. What we are witnessing in Palestine is a genocide that mirrors the brutal occupation of what is now the United States. […]
6 months ago

We must center BIPOC farmers & producers in the farm bill!

For many Black, Indigenous, and other people of color in the US, land and water stewardship play a central role in our culture, way of life, economic livelihoods, and the sustainability of our communities.  However, due to white settler colonialism, the opportunity to farm has been unjustly stripped from the majority of BIPOC communities in the US through many avenues, including government policies and programs. 
10 months ago

Farmers, Food and Farm Groups Applaud New Federal Rule Addressing Discrimination in Agricultural Lending

For Immediate Release Contact: Shane Tan (shane.tan@berlinrosen.com)/Neshani Jani (neshani@healfoodalliance.org) Farmers, Food and Farm Groups Applaud New Federal Rule Addressing Discrimination in Agricultural Lending  Washington D.C. (March 31, 2023) – Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its final rule under Section 1071, requiring financial institutions, including lenders in the Farm Credit System, to track […]
1 year ago

HEAL Food Alliance Shows Up Big in DC for a Transformative Farm Bill

By Eloni Porcher, Communications Manager at HEAL Food Alliance Food is our most intimate and powerful connection to each other, our cultures, and the earth. How we produce, process, and consume food has a larger impact on our wellbeing than any other human activity.  That’s why, earlier this month, HEAL members joined over 500 farmers […]
1 year ago

HEAL Releases New School of Political Leadership Alumni Report

When we first conceived of HEAL, we recognized the enormity of the task ahead: our current food and agriculture systems are controlled by a handful of powerful corporations whose ethos of extraction and exploitation is rooted in a history of chattel slavery and genocide. By design, the very laws that established the United States excluded […]
1 year ago