On this episode of The Fellowship Hall, we hear from Jarred White and Michelle Osborne from the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI).

Michelle and Jarred work at Come To The Table, a program that works with faith communities to cultivate relationships and build the power of local growers in hopes of building better, more sustainable food systems. Michelle is a senior program manager at RAFI who holds master's degrees from Duke Divinity and from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. Jarred is the Farm and Faith program manager at Come to The Table. After graduating from Duke Divinity, Jarred worked as a staff pastor at a church in Raleigh where he helped lead several racial justice-based initiatives and programs. He is also a World Vision Fellow, through which he helped direct attention to issues that affect migrant farmworkers.

Through their stories and work, they share with us how race has played a part in widening agricultural disparity and some of the reasons why only 4 percent of US farm owners are people of color. We hear from Jarred and Michelle about the Farmers of Color Network and Challenging Corporate Power program, as well as other ways to get involved with RAFI’s work. If you have any specific questions or want to learn more about helping launch a local CSA to support your local farmers, you can contact them at [email protected] and [email protected].

You can also sign up for RAFI’s email list to stay informed by CLICKING THIS LINK.