In this episode of REAL Talks, Kolia Souza, Food Systems Equity & Advocacy Specialist of CRFS, and Maria Graziani, Food Systems Specialist and Food Impact Fellow with the Federation of American Scientists, discuss how federal programming and funding can be used to respond to the needs of Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic producers. Over time, there are several examples of instances where societal interruptions, such as COVID-19, have caused food systems to recalibrate in ways that unequally distribute power and resources.  

In this episode, they were joined in conversation by:  

• Marcus Coleman, Ph.D. Professor of Practice, Economics + Strategy, Leadership, & Analytics at Tulane University  

• Rachel Lindvall, Retired Extension Specialist at South Dakota State University 

• Keesa V. Johnson, M Des, Food Systems Strategy Design Specialist at MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

Resources mentioned in this episode:  

• An Annotated Bibliography of Structural Racism in the U.S. Food System  

• Local and Regional Food Systems Response to COVID 

The relaunch of this podcast series will focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, across the food and agriculture system. Through this and future episodes, different aspects of this topic will be discussed with members of CRFS and the Racial Equity in the Food System (REFS) National Workgroup. REFS brings together Cooperative Extension professionals and community stakeholders to connect, learn, and collaborate to facilitate change within our institutions and society to build racial equity within the food system. 

These episodes will explore the following questions: 

• Is there adequate funding for programs that are centering Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous voices?   

• Is the technical assistance that is being funded adequate for supporting these producers when they are scaling up their businesses? 

Listen to their discussion on the podcast!