Q&A: Patty Allen, Black Indigenous People of Color Food and Farming Network

Above: Patty Allen at the 2023 Black Farming Conference at Central State University and the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio.

As chair of the planning committee, Patricia “Patty” Allen says the recently concluded two-day 2023 Black Farming Conference at Central State University and the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center was a significant success, drawing attendees from as far away as Oregon, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, and Washington states.

Allen announced at the group’s fourth meeting that Black Indigenous People of Color Food and Farming Network is officially the organization’s new name after it severed ties with the nonprofit Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice in Yellow Springs, following financial problems that are still under review.

Allen responded to a list of questions from 1890 Land-Grant communications and media specialist Cyril Ibe on BIPOC Food and Farming Network’s new name, mission, and goals in supporting minority farmers, from its roots in the Miami Valley.

Q: What’s in your organization’s new name (Black Indigenous People of Color Food and Farming Network)? What’s its mission; what are the goals?

A: A critical mission of the BIPOC Food and Farming Network is ensuring the equitable access to fresh, nutritious food to those struggling with food insecurity. The network’s membership includes people in all sectors of the food systems and doing food sovereignty work, and the new name more accurately reflects our mission.

Q: In a nutshell, what led to the severance of the relationship with Agraria?

A: Agraria was going through a financial crisis that resulted in the layoff of all its employees. There were many of us who didn’t want to see the network disbanded because Agraria suspended operations. I wrote a formal request to Agraria’s board requesting the mailing list for the BFN (the former name of the organization) so that we could become independent of Agraria and continue with the important work of providing programs, such as the Black Farming Conference and other programs supporting farmers of color.

Q: Advocating for “historically marginalized farmers” in Ohio is noted as a part of your mission. Who are these farmers, and what are their unique circumstances?

A: These are farmers of color who have experienced institutional racism and have been excluded from resources, support, and benefits extended to white male farmers. That includes access to land, capital, loans, and subsidies.

Q: What do you hope would be the relationship between Central State University, as an 1890 Land-Grant Institution, with the BFFN going forward?

A: The Black Farming Conference is one example of a programmatic partnership that we have with Central State University that has been a huge success. We hope to continue to offer new and innovative educational and community activities in partnership with Central State that support the mission of the BFFN and our members’ and their food systems work.

Q: What is your role as the interim head of the BFFN?

A: I’m not really the “interim head” of the network. I simply continued in my position as the program manager for the network, which was my role when I was hired by Agraria. I am now serving as a steward for the organization, helping it to navigate the process of becoming an independent, non-profit group. We have an advisory council of 12 people who are also providing leadership as we work toward becoming an independent 501(c) 3 organization.

Q: Speak about your personal and professional backgrounds, and how they connect you in any way to the challenge of leading this organization at this time.

A: Growing vegetables and farming has always been a passion dating back to my early childhood, as well as a part of my heritage, as with most African Americans. My great-great-great grandparents co-founded a Black Agricultural settlement in Illinois called Stringtown, in the 1860s. In 2017, I seriously began to gain more experience in farming as a volunteer with an urban community farm in Cincinnati, working on an organic farm in England and in 2018, a farm apprenticeship in New York. Although I don’t currently work or own a farm, my work with the BFFN and with the Policy Fellowship allows me to support farmers of color and advocate for their issues and needs.

Q: Speak about BIPOC’s 2023 Policy Program.

A: The BIPOC Food and Farming Network Policy Fellowship will provide those working in agriculture and food systems fields an understanding of public policy, including knowledge in the policymaking and legislative process at the local, state, and federal levels. Fellows will also learn public policy advocacy and grassroots community organizing to help them become more successful in their work and to help their communities. The fellows, as a cohort, are required to develop a capstone project that will be presented at the end of the fellowship.

Throughout the six-month program, fellows will have monthly presentations from state and local officials; food and agricultural policy leaders; current and former elected officials; food policy and social justice activists and community organizers. At the same time, fellows will develop a platform for advocating for themselves, particularly with regard to current food and agricultural policies and environmental issues impacting regenerative farming practices and food production. A central mission of the fellowship is to learn strategies and tactics for removing barriers that prevent underserved communities from having access to fresh, healthy food.

Q: What are the most pressing challenges facing Black and indigenous farmers in the Miami Valley and throughout Ohio in 2023?

A: Just recently, our policy fellows participated in AgNoire Urban Farming Network’s Statehouse Lobby Day in Columbus. The policy fellows, along with other farmers of color from across the state, met with high-level USDA officials and state legislators serving on the agriculture committee. The issues they identified and lobbied for were improved land access; USDA support that addresses the specific needs of urban farmers; and for an increase in local food storage and mobile food processing facilities and discussion of zoning laws in urban cities that prohibit certain types of farming, such as raising livestock.