DETROIT BLACK FARMER LAND FUND REMOVES BARRIERS TO BUYING LAND

MEGAN KIRK ,Tostada Magazine contributor

DETROIT BLACK FARMER LAND FUND 2020 AWARDEES

On Juneteenth 2020, a coalition of Black farmers banded together to form the Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund, an effort to empower Black farmers who have otherwise lacked access to capital to purchase land in Detroit.

The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, along with Keep Detroit Growing and the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, launched a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of raising $5,000 to help Black local farmers to buy land. In just one week, they raised over $20,000 and, eventually, they raised more than $54,000.

“Access to capital, such as if you owe any property taxes, (not being able to) get a loan, there are so many barriers,” says Jerry Hebron of Oakland Ave. Urban Farm. “We want to help them work through those barriers. We want to also help them build goals and business plans; what to grow, how to sell it, and how to grow.”

Out of 60 applicants, 30 were chosen to receive funding based on their relationship with the community, site plans, and knowledge about the land they planned to purchase. Travis Peters, the founder of Greenthumbz Consulting Incorporated which operates Green Boots Veteran Community Horticulture Gardens and Marketplace, was able to purchase two plots with the help of the land fund.

“I’m a veteran who suffers from PTSD, anxiety, and depression,” Peters says. “Horticulture therapy is a great way to relieve those things and relieve those ailments.”

Peters plans to create a community hub where other veterans who have experienced PTSD can live, work and heal. In addition, he hopes to increase food access by delivering his fresh produce to the homes of fellow Detroiters.

Another Black Farmer Land Fund recipient, Brenda Sharpe, told Planet Detroit that she has had a personal garden for years, but for the last two has grown a community garden on lots adjacent to her home with hopes of expanding into an urban farm and to begin keeping bees. The Black Farmer Land Fund is allowing her to actualize that dream.

“We wanted to do this as a way to bring something back to the community, to stop the blight,” Sharpe told Planet Detroit.

Because of the momentum of the fund, organizers hope to continue providing muchneeded resources to more Black farmers. The fund has proven that this work is about more than just individual farms. It’s about connecting communities and creating a pipeline toward generational wealth.

To read more stories about the farmers who received funding and their plans, go to tostadamagazine.com or planetdetroit.org.

Applications for assistance from the 2021 Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund will be released this summer. If you wish to contribute to the Fund, 2021 fundraising efforts will officially launch on Junteenth but you can make a donation anytime through the Cashapp account at $Detroitblackfarmer. You can follow the fund on Facebook @DetroitBlackFarmerLandFund or contact detroitblackfarmerlandfund@gmail.com