Letters From Our Readers

Farmer Advocacy

Anne Baker form The New Orleans Food & Farm Network here. Since the Big K, I’ve been working hard with my board to help get folks in our food & farm communities back on their feet. One of the things that I am working on is a training program with the help of groups like Farm Aid, the Farmer’s Legal Action Group (FLAG), The Federation of Southern Cooperatives, The Market Umbrella.Org (operators of The Crescent City Farmer’s Market), the Louisiana Interchurch Conference and several other organizations. We noticed that a lot of the rural areas affected by the hurricanes and drought did not get as much aid as the more urban areas. We are putting on trainings to attract interested individuals, extension agents, educators, consultants, staff of community-based organizations, horticultural groups, farmers, and any concerned others to become advocates for the farmers who may not have gotten the immediate help that they needed from crop insurance, as well as federal and other programs.

This seminar is taught by professional and legal advocates from all over the country that give experienced direction on available programs, training on how to deal with farmers, ranchers, and growers in real-life situations, invite co-learning and advice with local and national agricultural professionals, and in addition, provide a cllinic on the second day of training that invites the local farmers, growers and ranchers to ask questions, get help, and team up with the new and experienced advocates to work with them through any related problems they may have (legal, form filling, who to contact for further aid, or whatever). There is room for exchanges by local professionals working with existing growers to add more info to the pot and help improve the trainings based on local incidents, needs, available regional programs or aid, and direction.

I personally have attended one of these trainings in Epes, Alabama and found it a wealth of information. The manual included with the seminar (Farmers Guide to Disaster Assistance) that has been compiled as a result of past disaster relief is helpful. In addition to the Alabama training, there were seminars held recently at the Southern Sustainable Agricultural Working Group’s Conference in Louisville, KY, another in Brookhaven, Mississippi, and then the one that’s coming up in Loranger, LA that is open for current registration. The seminar is on February 7th and 8th, from 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.. The cost is $75 including meals, and $60 per night lodging at the conference center. There is a scholarship available for registration and travel, especially for farm advocates from hurricane impacted areas.

If you would like to attend, please contact Lorraine Grout at (225) 344-0134 at the Louisana Interchurch Office, or go to www.LAInterchurch.org to register. For information or directions to the Solomon Episcopal Conference Center, please visit www.solepisc.org . These are not faith-based trainings. More information about The New Orleans Food & Farm Network can be found at www.noffn.org or we can be reached at (504) 363-1105.

Please help our local farmers so that we can help ourselves to fresh locally grown food!

Regards,

Anne Baker

The New Orleans Food & Farm Network