Community Partner : Farm Alliance of Baltimore Intern : Elly Ren Site Supervisors : Alison Worman
What is the Farm Alliance of Baltimore ?
The Farm Alliance of Baltimore is a membership organization of urban farms , neighborhood growers , and friends . We use connection , resource sharing , and collective advocacy with respect to food , land and water to expand communities ’ self-determination and power .
Working at the Farm Alliance of Baltimore ( FAB ) this summer has absolutely been a blast . I have been able to get my hands dirty ( both figuratively and literally ) in many types of work , such as urban farming , composting , city policy , social media , marketing , distribution , and nonprofit management . I ’ ve learned so much about urban agriculture , food apartheid , food distribution , community organizing , and co-operative ownership from witnessing these things in real-time .
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Visited and volunteered at farms and community gardens of the Farm Alliance Supported FAB ’ s shared market stand at the Waverly Farmers Market by assisting with weekly produce drop-off and staffing the stand Researched , set up , and streamlined the donor management platform and communications Supported the Black Butterfly Urban Farmer Academy ( Farm Alliance ’ s mentorship and training program for Black farmers ) field day events
One of my biggest takeaways from working with FAB is understanding what makes an organization truly be of service to the community . The charity and nonprofit industry is often criticized for creating a top-down relationship with communities , creating a toxic cycle of dependency , and suppressing imaginative ideas , none of which I saw at FAB . Their programming is driven by the needs and wants of their twenty-six farm and community garden members across Baltimore City , and people joke that FAB operates as a farm union . I witnessed the power of collective organizing as well as some pitfalls co-operatives often suffer from . The land reparation policy work , the Black Butterfly Urban Farmers Academy , Resilience Fund for Black-Led Farms , and mutual aid that I helped support illustrated to me what it looks like for a nonprofit organization to be anti-racist , community-led , empowering , and focused on self-determination . Hands down , my favorite part of the internship has been the farm visits , where I was able to speak with the farmers , volunteers , and community members while just touring or volunteering at the farms . I am truly grateful to the stewards of the land who have welcomed me into their spaces , my supervisor Alison for supervising me , my co-workers at FAB , and everyone else I ’ ve met doing amazing work to fight for food and land sovereignty . This internship has allowed me to realize how much I enjoy and find meaning in community-facing work , something which I seek to continue , hopefully in Baltimore so that I can maintain the relationships and connections I ’ ve formed beyond this summer .