Welcome to the HEAL Food Alliance quarterly newsletter! To stay up to date on what’s happening in the food and farm justice movement, subscribe now »
August 2022
We’ve witnessed the urgency of the climate crisis firsthand this summer— from the wildfires in California and western water crisis, to heat stress burdening working people. In response, HEAL members have been building movements of resistance and healing: pushing for bold climate and agriculture policy, greater worker protections, and fighting for debt relief for Black and Indigenous farmers of color, among so much more!
Movements of resistance require community care— our members are also actively caring and nourishing their communities with mutual aid. Check out our summer update to learn how you can join us in healing and take action.
ICYMI— did you notice the stinging nettle*? The HEAL newsletter has a new look this season— each newsletter will feature a medicinal plant as part of our Alliance’s ‘recipe’ for resistance and healing! Scroll down to learn more about stinging nettle.
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- Our alliance is growing! Join us in welcoming our newest members: Nihikeya, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, EarthJustice, Food Animals Concern Trust
- Farmers, if you’ve experienced discrimination while trying to get a loan from a bank, share your story » and help us end discrimination in lending practices!
- Explore HEAL’s Resource Kit on Phasing out Factory Farming »
- Watch HEAL’s Webinar Farms, Not Factories! The hidden costs of CAFOs and pathways to healthier animal agriculture »
- Farmworkers deserve better! Oppose the Farmworker Modernization Act with Food Chain Workers Alliance>>
- Sign Pesticide Action Network’s petition & demand the EPA track “forever” chemicals!
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- How the Inflation Reduction Act Affects Food and Agriculture
- HEAL and other environmental justice, climate groups call on EPA to rein in the harms of factory farms
- EPA Must Re-Assess the Risks of Glyphosate: 3 Things to Know
- Local leaders urge Desantis to declare climate emergency in Florida
- Senate Committee Holds Hearing to Discuss Western Water Crisis
- The Asuncion Valdivia Bill can speed up heat stress regulations to protect workers from deadly temperatures
- Minnesota dairy farmer advocates for regenerative ag at congressional hearing
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- Vibe to our “Joy Heals” playlist, featuring songs that bring our staff and alliance joy 🌌🎵
- Check out Union of Concerned Scientists’ Got Science? podcast episode with Soul Fire Farm’s Lean Penniman on regenerative farming while Black 👩🏾🌾
- Read Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science by Jessica Hernandez, PhD 🌿
- Read NBFJA’s statement on the Inflation Reduction Act 👩🏾🌾
- Cook from I-Collective’s A Gathering Basket (Wild Harvest) virtual cookbook for Indigenous folks to reclaim food, language, and ceremony ✨
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Jamaican Sorrel (Chicha de Saril) 🌺
Celize Christy, our new Organizer at HEAL shares a recipe for Sorrel / Saril – a Panamanian holiday drink made with hibiscus flowers and spices Celize learned how to make with her parents.
“Sorrel is one of the many Hibiscus teas and drinks found in recipes across the Caribbean and Latin America. As a person of African descent, who is bilingual, with ethnic roots in Latin America and the West Indies, and a child of immigrants, Sorrel / Saril speaks to my soul – it reminds me of family, home and of the complexity of my Blackness.”
Check out this recipe and story from NPR to learn more about the history of Jamaican Sorrel.
Apply to the Young Black Climate Leaders Youth Futures Fund! The fund is accepting applications to support young Black leaders in their community work on social justice, climate, and their intersections.
Support reforestation in Oaxaca’s Mixteca region! To replenish the decimation of the rich, biodiverse forests in Mixteca, HEAL SoPL alum Neftalí Duran, his family and community are leading a critical reforestation project in the region. Donate to Proyecto Rosenda >>
Thanks to your donations, HEAL distributed $52K to eight organizations bringing critical care to their communities through our Rapid Response Fund!
Black Farmer Fund
CATA
Community Food Strategies
Cultivate Charlottesville
Illinois Food Justice Alliance
Food Empowerment Project
Frontline Farming
Healthcare Without Harm
La Semilla
Kitchen Table Advisors
NATIFS
North Carolina Farmworker Advocacy Network
Public Justice
Sioux Chef
Urban Growers Collective
Urban Tilth
Warehouse Workers for Justice
**Stinging nettle is a herbaceous shrub which blooms in the late summer to early fall, that is a common ingredient in food, teas, and tinctures. When touched, nettle agitates and burns the skin. But also nourishes, heals, and brings balance.