Dear Friend,

From mile-long lines of people waiting for food at food banks in the US, to the lockdown of local markets across the globe, to border closings and unemployment of millions of low-wage workers … the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the pre-existing hunger crisis to the brink. The UN World Food Program warns against a hunger pandemic resulting in 130 million more people facing acute food insecurity and mass starvation due to COVID-19.

This is why we need to fundamentally change the food system. Will you join our partners?

Small-holder farmers and Indigenous People have been working to create a new approach called food sovereignty that puts control of food production and markets in the hands of communities, not corporations. It’s a system based in agroecology and sustainable techniques that is healthy for farmers, farmworkers, consumers, and the planet. And it’s a system that produces more food per square foot than industrial agriculture!

It’s the system we need to end the food crisis and now is your opportunity to support the creation of a “new normal” that will have long-term, lasting impact.

Although the pandemic and closed markets are threatening farmers’ livelihoods, our partners are responding with immediate social support and demands where governments have failed. They are fighting back against agribusiness encroachments on land and small farmers’ rights, defending territory, seeds and water, and demanding sustainable prices. For example:

• In Mexico, our partners are coordinating an effort to purchase seeds and vegetables from local farmers that have a surplus and redistributing them to communities in need during this crisis. Families can count on fresh food produced in their own homes, farmers are able to sell their goods, and the food shortage is counteracted locally.
• A Palestinian partner is creating 2,500 home and rooftop gardens and is distributing more than 300,000 vegetable seedlings to kickstart the gardens and provide vital food  to families struggling amidst both COVID-19 and the Israeli occupation.
• Grantees in Burkina Faso are reallocating funding to support home gardens since families are unable to get to their farms or to access local markets because of governmental lockdowns. 
• In Puerto Rico, our partner organized a Caravan for Life demanding automatic Food Stamp approval and stable food prices even as they continue to organize volunteers to cook and feed the community with the slogan “We don’t eat austerity. We cook dignity.”

Now is the time for us to show our solidarity beyond our borders and with the movements that are expanding food sovereignty, that will not only feed their communities during this pandemic, but build a lasting community-led food system for the future. And your donation will have twice the impact when it’s matched (up to $20,000) by one of our generous donors!

In solidarity, Chung-Wha Hong Executive Director

P.S. I know you are probably receiving lots of requests from organizations. Any amount that you can give today will have twice the impact when it’s matched by one of our generous donors. Please give what you can to create a “new normal” based in hope, community, sustainability, and regeneration.