Soul Fire Farm: Growing Food Sovereignty for Black and Brown Farmers

Soul Fire Farm was founded in 2010 by Leah Penniman and Jonah Vitale-Wolff on land in Grafton, New York, to end racism and injustice in the food system and reclaim ancestral farming wisdom for Black, Indigenous and Latine communities. The farm uses Afro-Indigenous regenerative practices across roughly 80 acres to grow vegetables, fruit, medicinal herbs and pasture-raised meat, distributing much of it through no-cost 'Solidarity Shares' to families facing food apartheid. Its BIPOC farmer immersion programs have trained more than 350 aspiring farmer-activists since 2011 in everything from soil health to land access and farm business planning. Soul Fire Farm's model has become a national reference point for the food sovereignty movement, with alumni going on to found their own farms and food justice organizations across the United States.