2020 brought seismic shocks for our food community. Facing COVID-19 and the California wildfires, food workers and changemakers were met with immense challenges. In response, Real Food Real Stories created the Resilience Fund, offering microgrants to our friends in food impacted by the pandemic and wildfires. We invited our fellow community members to join us in supporting those who have been taking the risks to grow more just food economies and help envision a more equitable and abundant future. And in November of 2020, we announced all contributions to the organization’s winter fundraising and 2021 Storyslam benefit would go to Resilience Fund.
All donations contributed to the fund were distributed by application to cover personal, family, living and business expenses. Priority in grantee selection was be given to food changemakers who had previously shared their story with the RFRS community, however anyone from our community was welcome to apply.
Like healthy ecosystems, a thriving food community is made up of contributions from everyone. Supporting those who have nourished us, when times are tough, is part of growing the culture and relationships for true community resilience.
Resilience Fund Recipients
All of our grantees are connected to our Real Food Real Stories community––they are alumni storytellers, facilitators, and event attendees. They have fed us through the food they make, the stories they share, and the spaces they hold for their communities.
Kayla Abe – Ugly Pickle Co.
Azalina Eusope
Nafy Flatley – Teranga
Ruthie King – Headwaters
Sarah Kirnon
Aruna Lee - Volcano Kimchi
Wendy Lorenzana
Reyna Maldonado – La Guerrera’s Kitchen
Fernay McPherson – Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement
Vincent Medina – Cafe Ohlone
Siska Silitonga – ChiliCali
Crystal Wahpepah – Wahpepah’s Kitchen
Nite Yun – Nyum Bai
Resilience is a Commitment to Our Future
We are hopeful that the events of 2020 and 2021 will inform larger shifts towards the food economies we need. Still, our community’s food changemakers face many unknowns.
The majority of folks working in food, including many who have previously shared their stories with our community, had to make big pivots in their business strategy. Many lost all income. Some lost significant assets to wildfires. Business owners who were able to operate faced increased costs with business down 50-90% and some stopped paying themselves in order to keep paying employees.
The Real Food Real Stories community of food workers, changemakers and storytellers make up a diverse community of farmers, makers, chefs, educators, and community leaders in the SF Bay Area and beyond that face significant obstacles to break through dominant cultural norms in the food world, even without the additional challenges of this year.
They self identify as:
68% Women
50% People of Color
34% Immigrants
25% LGBTQ+
Our actions – big and small – collectively create our shared future. Let’s make it a more resilient future, where this visionary community of food changemakers are supported to lead the way!
Apply for a Microgrant
Applications are now closed.