Dear John,

Yesterday, President Biden signed The American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package. The bill is bold in its efforts to address COVID’s incredible toll on working class people in the United States, including rural community members and farmers.

Relating particularly to Farm Aid’s mission, The American Rescue Plan supports rural communities, from assisting farms and small businesses to making healthcare–especially COVID vaccinations–more accessible to rural residents. Learning lessons from the impact of COVID on our food system, this bill supports measures to increase the resiliency of our food supply chain. Additionally, it makes historic strides to address the longstanding racial inequities in federal farm programs.

We learned about Father Bryce Lungren from our partners at the  Center for Rural Affairs. Before Father Bryce was a priest, he was a cowboy. Today, he gets to be both, thanks to the support—and to the benefit–of his congregation. Father Bryce purchased land for his cattle from one of his parishioners, and with support from parishioners, he also put together a processing unit. Not long after he was signing contracts for shares in his beef, butchering that beef, and selling high-quality, grass-fed, finished animals to his community at a decent price. Local food systems grow strong through community relationships and this story illustrates that beautifully!

• Listening to: We're spending lots of time tuning into some of the incredible women who have graced the Farm Aid stage over the years. Check out our International Women's Day playlist and jam out with us.​

• Watching: We're sweet on Queen Sugar. The show, created and produced by Ava DuVernay, highlights issues of agriculture, Black land loss, racism and discrimination. Tune in to learn about issues of inequity in our farm and food system, while being entertained by complex characters.

• Cooking: Looking for a new recipe to try? We are thrilled to have been included in The Marigold Project’s cookbook, Meet Me At the Table, which was published last fall and features recipes from musicians and profiles of food justice organizations. One of our favorite recipes is a peanut okra stew from lead singer of the Seratones, AJ Haynes. 

• Reading: This article about farm women protesting in India caught our attention. “This is not just the men’s protest. We toil in the fields alongside the men. Who are we—if not farmers?”