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Beloved Community, As the seasons turn and the last leaves let go, I’m thinking about how much of this work depends on people who choose to show up. Food sovereignty is held together by the steady, everyday commitments of folks who believe their time can help build a more just and nourished community. Our volunteers carry our community with a kind of grounded generosity that can’t be measured but can absolutely be felt. You welcomed neighbors, supported vendors, helped distribute SNAP Gap tokens, handled surprises with grace, and made the market a place where people felt a sense of belonging. That is a rare and powerful contribution. Among these dedicated volunteers, we’re honored to recognize Matthew Bacon as our Volunteer of the Year . Matthew came to southeast Michigan without long-standing ties, yet quickly became one of the anchors of our market season. His presence was consistent, thoughtful, and rooted in genuine care for the mission. In his own words: “I chose to volunteer with Growing Hope at the Ypsilanti Farmers Market because Growing Hope’s mission greatly appealed to me, and I wanted to support the cause. What stood out to me and drew me in was the mission’s emphasis on access to nourishing food and community empowerment. I enjoyed learning about the ways the mission is carried out through the urban farm, incubator kitchen, and community outreach. I loved seeing it come full circle, bringing people together at the farmers market and other community events. As a newcomer to Southeast Michigan with no prior connections to the area, volunteering at the market has been a great way to meet and connect with people in the community. Thank you to Growing Hope for the opportunity to get involved this summer and fall, and I look forward to continuing to do so in the future!” Matthew reflects exactly what strengthens the fabric of this work: folks who arrive with open eyes, steady hands, and a willingness to weave themselves into the community’s story. We’re profoundly grateful. As we move into winter, the Ypsi SNAP Gap continues to play a critical role in expanding food access with dignity. Through the end of November, shoppers impacted by SNAP cuts and the government shutdown could receive $40 in SNAP Gap tokens each market week. Beginning in December, that shifts to twenty dollars per week so we can sustain our community through the end of the year. Tokens can be used at both Ypsilanti Farmers Markets and Old City Acres Farm Stand on Emerick Street. They’re valid on all food, fresh, prepared, hot, and remain usable through March 2026. Programs like SNAP Gap thrive because volunteers, donors, and neighbors insist on a community where everyone eats well. People like Matthew, and so many of you, turn that vision into something real and tangible. Thank you for walking alongside us, for carving out time from full lives, and for fueling the kind of food system that honors each person’s dignity. The season may be winding down, but the work continues, rooted in your care. In solidarity, Julius P.S. If you’re looking for a tangible way to strengthen food access this winter, consider making a monthly gift or signing up for a volunteer .

November 2025 Food insecurity is a quiet crisis, until it’s at your doorstep. In Michigan, one in six adults and one in five children are struggling to afford food. Here in Washtenaw County, one in seven of our neighbors face the daily choice between groceries, childcare, and medicine. This year has brought more than hardship; it has brought disruption . Federal work requirements are forcing parents and elders to choose between groceries, healthcare, and childcare. Budget cuts and policy whiplash have shredded what remains of our fragile safety net. And yet, this is not the end of the story. We are reminded, once again: hunger isn’t just a matter of policy. It’s a matter of power. At Growing Hope, we are working toward a different future. A future rooted in justice, joy, and food sovereignty. Food is not a commodity. It is a human right. It is a relationship. It is a powerful tool for reclaiming what is ours: the ability to nourish ourselves, our families, and our community. “I want to learn how to do all kinds of stuff. We live in an unpredictable world.” She paused, laughed, and shrugged. “I need to grow my own food. That’s where my head is.” —Amorita, hands in the soil at our urban farm Your gift today will double to ensure families across our region can access, grow, and share fresh, culturally-relevant food. This year, your generosity has sown resilience: Over 6,000 pounds of produce and 10,000 food plants were shared with neighbors. A farmers market that reimagines food assistance with dignity and choice. An incubator kitchen that seeds new food businesses, stitching equity into our local economy. Teens empowered to lead, teach, and grow, becoming catalysts for generational health. “I know that I’ve been able to make an impact in my community while working with the teen program, probably more than I would have if I hadn’t worked here. Part of it is because it made me believe I could. The other is probably all of the connections and opportunities Growing Hope has in the community, that I’ve been privileged to take advantage of.” —Youth Leader, Growing Hope Teen Program Together, we are not just growing food. We are growing future. When a young person harvests food for their neighbors… When an elder shares recipes that carry memory and meaning… When families gather to eat from the soil they stewarded together… That is how chaos gives way to hope. Dr. C.R. Snyder reminds us that hope is not simply a feeling. It requires vision, possibility, sustained effort, and the belief that our actions shape the future. That’s the kind of hope we are cultivating at Growing Hope, and we can only do it together. This season, you can ensure our community is not defined by chaos and confusion, but remembered as a season of hope. Your year-end gift will be doubled to strengthen our shared work for food justice and sovereignty. Will you stand with us in planting the seeds of hope that will grow for generations? In solidarity and gratitude, Julius Buzzard Executive Director P.S. Your gift will be doubled thanks to a generous donor match. Together, let’s move from chaos to hope.

Here in Ypsilanti, food isn’t just something we eat, it’s how we connect, how we create opportunity, and how we build community. At Growing Hope, we’ve long believed that when people have the power to grow, prepare, and share their own food, they’re stepping into sovereignty over their health, their economy, and their future. That belief is taking shape in a big way with our latest project: Cooking Up Futures – the Accelerator Kitchen & Food Hub . We’re transforming a downtown building at 16 S. Washington Street into a fully equipped commercial kitchen and community food hub. In this place, small food businesses can grow, people can learn culinary skills, and Ypsilanti residents can access fresh, healthy food. And here’s where the community of builders comes in. We’re now accepting sealed bids from qualified contractors to bring this vision to life. The work is ambitious: it includes roof repairs, mechanical and electrical upgrades, ADA accessibility improvements, interior build-outs for retail and wholesale operations, landscaping, and of course, all the infrastructure that makes a commercial kitchen safe and functional—from fire suppression systems to grease management. This is more than construction. It’s an investment in economic mobility, in local food entrepreneurship, and in generational health . Every nail, every pipe, every stainless steel counter will support someone’s dream of starting a food business, sharing their culture through food, or learning a skill that can sustain a family. Key Dates: Bid Packet Released: November 1, 2025 Bids Due: December 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM EST Public Bid Opening: December 12, 2025 at 1:00 PM EST Contractors can submit digitally (preferred) or by hard copy. Complete bid instructions, federal compliance requirements, and detailed project plans are included in the formal bid packet. We are looking for contractors who are not only technically skilled but who share a commitment to community-centered, equitable development . Our evaluation will consider cost, experience with commercial kitchens, DBE participation, schedule feasibility, and federal compliance. I’m often reminded, in conversations with the makers and entrepreneurs we serve, that food is a gateway—it’s how people enter new opportunities, connect across generations, and reimagine what’s possible for their families and communities. With your expertise, your craftsmanship, and your commitment, this building will become exactly that: a gateway. For questions or to request the full bid packet, reach out to me directly: julius@growinghope.net . Let’s build something that feeds more than stomachs—it feeds futures.

Beloved community, There’s a phrase I keep returning to: We are the safety net. With the federal government shutdown now halting SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits across Michigan, that phrase feels less like a metaphor and more like a mandate. Beginning November 1st, thousands of Washtenaw County households, nearly 9% of local families, will lose access to the benefits that help them keep food on the table. These aren’t strangers. It’s our neighbors. It’s our friends. It’s the families who fill our markets, who grow alongside us, who deserve far more than the uncertainty this system has handed them. At Growing Hope, we’ve always believed that food sovereignty runs deeper than access. It means dignity, interdependence, and self-determination. When the systems built to care for people fail, our community steps forward to weave that net ourselves. To ensure that no one goes hungry during this crisis, we’re launching a new local initiative: the Ypsi Market SNAP Gap. This community-based program temporarily replaces or supplements SNAP for anyone who uses an EBT/Bridge Card. At the Ypsilanti Farmers Market, participants can receive $40 in market tokens to spend on any fresh or prepared foods. Simply bring your Bridge Card to the Market Info Booth and shop with dignity from local farmers and producers who nourish our community every week. We will not allow our neighbors to go hungry while food surrounds us. This program keeps local food moving through local hands, strengthening both Ypsi families and Ypsi farmers. With a mix of foundation, corporate, and individual support, this is mutual aid in motion. Folks are in need, and our community is stepping up in some incredible ways. Here are just a few, and some ways you can get involved: 1. Double Up Food Bucks has temporarily lifted its cap, allowing unlimited matches for Michigan-grown produce for anyone still receiving SNAP benefits, while also offering limited $40 vouchers. 2. Food Gatherers is expanding pantry hours and sites across the county. 3. Our Free Produce Stand at the Growing Hope Urban Farm remains open, stocked by community members and local growers who share what they can. No one will be turned away. If you have extra harvest from your garden, we invite you to share it directly with your neighbors. It’s not about waiting for systems to restart; it’s about creating systems rooted in care, justice, and belonging. Each Ypsi Market SNAP Gap token moves through our local food economy twice: once when it nourishes a family, and again when it supports the farmer who grew it. This is how we resist scarcity: by practicing abundance. We raised emergency funds earlier this year to prepare for moments like this, and they are already hard at work. But as need grows, so too must our response. Our community is what makes this pivotal movement work possible; thank you for being part of our community. “The land and the people are meant to take care of each other.” -Leah Penniman That’s what we’re doing now. Through shared harvests, through small acts of generosity, through the quiet conviction that no one should go hungry. In this moment of uncertainty, we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done: growing hope, together. In solidarity and care, Julius P.S. Shop the market, contribute to our Free Produce Stand, or share this with a neighbor who could use a helping hand; together, we keep our community fed and supported.

Beloved community, There is something both ordinary and sacred about food. It is in the smell of bread fresh from the oven, the snap of beans pulled from the vine, the way a shared meal can turn strangers into neighbors. Food is how we survive, but it is also how we connect, how we celebrate, and how we remember who we are. That is why we hold this truth at the center of our work: food is a human right. It is not a privilege. It is not a bargaining chip. It is not to be withheld, leveraged, or weaponized. Food is life, and everyone deserves access to it. And yet, at this very moment, that truth is being denied. Just weeks ago, the USDA quietly canceled its long-running Household Food Security in the U.S. report. For nearly three decades, this report has been one of the few consistent tools we have to measure hunger in this country. It has named the millions of households, disproportionately Black, Brown, Indigenous, and rural, that struggle to put food on the table. Without it, the crisis of hunger becomes easier to hide, easier to dismiss, easier to erase from the public record. Why does that matter? Because when we lose the data, we lose the visibility. When hunger is invisible, so too are the families who face it. And without that accountability, policymakers can claim progress where there is none, and corporate food systems can continue to profit while communities go without. But here is what we know in our bones: hunger is not inevitable . It is not an accident. It is the result of choices. If there are communities around the world who recognize food as a human right in their laws and policies, then it is possible here, too. In a country of such abundance, how can we allow hunger to persist? Every market we host, every meal we share, every seedling we pass into the hands of a neighbor is a refusal to accept that contradiction. These everyday acts help repair our community. Together, we are investing in a food system that reflects our values : one where fresh, local produce is available to all, where education builds resilience, where policies affirm food as a right, and where resources are shared freely, from our produce stand to the gardens sparked by our seedlings. Food connects us. It grounds us. It carries the possibility of dignity, sovereignty, and joy. And in this moment, when the truth about hunger is being stripped from the record, our collective action matters more than ever. Through solidarity, we can build a system rooted in abundance and belonging. In solidarity, Julius P.S. We’ve just released new Food is a Human Right shirts! You can grab yours as part of our Fall Harvest Auction . Take a look and see some of the other items you could take home to help our community achieve the right to food.

Beloved Community, The last golden rays of summer linger on the farm, leaves rustle in softer winds, and mornings carry a crispness that hints at fall. Children return to school, gardens slow their growth, and the rhythm of the season invites reflection. In this quiet turning, we pause to dream, plan, and sow the seeds of what comes next. Our North Star illuminates this journey: a food system built by and with our community. Together, we will nurture Equity in Food Access, spark Youth Power & Leadership, champion Entrepreneurship & Economic Justice, weave Education & Capacity-Building into all we do, strengthen Infrastructure for Resilience, and cultivate deep Community Belonging & Joy. These principles are alive in every action in our Strategic Plan 2023–27. We want every voice in the community to help shape this work. Keep an eye out for program surveys, attend listening sessions, reach out to staff directly, or email us with ideas and feedback. Your insight ensures our programs reflect real community needs and strengthens our collective path forward. Already, our work is taking shape: Expanding Farm & Garden programs , delivering fresh produce, upgrading infrastructure, and growing community composting. Empowering youth through the Teen Leadership Program , developing gardening, cooking, advocacy, and leadership skills. Relaunching and expanding the Ypsilanti Farmers Market , growing vendor participation, and increasing SNAP/Market Match access. Supporting minority- and women-owned food entrepreneurs via the Incubator Kitchen , business coaching, and workshops. Launching the Cooking Up Futures Accelerator Kitchen , a downtown hub creating jobs and celebrating community food culture. This vision is built together. Your insight, experience, and leadership are essential. By centering those most affected by inequities and fostering shared decision-making, we grow stronger, more resilient, and capable as a community. As leaves begin to turn and the season shifts, let’s carry this momentum forward; tending our vision with care, cultivating collective energy, and transforming dreams into tangible, community-rooted change. In community, Julius P.S. In our latest Snap Story, Where You At?, we journey with Ayanfe Jamison, our Garden Manager. Her story underscores our collective move from mere food access to true food sovereignty. Dive into her story ! 

Dear Growing Hope Community, August 7th marked the last day of our eight-week Summer Teen Leadership Program! Over the past eight weeks, 12 Ypsilanti teens joined us as part of our farm staff for an intensive summer program of farm work and workshops on food justice, community organizing, social identity, and cooking lessons. The teens worked hard this summer caring for their Oasis Garden, Children’s Garden, and the Sharing Garden, harvesting food for our free produce cooler, and partnering with local organizations to deepen their knowledge about the Washtenaw County food system. The Teen Leadership Program is an integral part of Growing Hope, and we are so proud of and grateful for this incredible group of young people! This Summer, four of our teens, Josephine Smith, Tuula Martínez, Jaylah Cotton, and Eli Harris, graduated from High School and will be moving on from the Teen Leadership Program. They have a few reflections on their time in the Teen Leadership Program that they would like to share. We are so proud of their work at Growing Hope and wish them all the best in their future endeavors! Josephine Smith, YCHS Hi, my name is Josephine Smith, and I was with Growing Hope for 2 years. Before coming, I did not know how to actually think of myself as a person. I was aimlessly drifting through life, not knowing what to do with myself or knowing my future goals. After joining Growing Hope, I was awakened to feelings of hope because I became aware that I have worth in my life. I can use myself to help others. I gained experience by doing lots of work for the community, the most impactful being that we helped distribute delicious food for people who need it the most. Growing Hope is a beautiful and life-changing program for teenagers, and can help guide them as they grow into people who understand that they have worth in this crazy world. I love you, Growing Hope! Eli Harris, WAVE My name is Eli. As of writing this, I am coming to the end of three long years with Growing Hope. It’s a bittersweet experience for me, as my time with this amazing organization — and the even more amazing people who run it — has been the best three years of my life. When I joined the Teen Leadership program, I questioned why I was there. My stance on people was poor, and my attitude poorer. I would say I didn’t take the program seriously at first. Often being grouchy and pedantic about the work we did, and the people around me. But I wasn’t treated as such. I was still given as much care, space, and voice as everyone else. Over time, I began to feel like my attitude towards things for the last couple of years had been fueling my grief and anger — and I started to try and change how I approached things. The amazing advisors, Jenny and Esha, were the cornerstone of that growth. It wasn’t just their welcoming attitudes towards the large group of unruly teenagers (myself included) — it was their consistency. When I needed support, they gave it. When I needed guidance, they offered it. When I wanted to share about my day and what I had been up to outside of the program, they listened. And when I slipped back into old habits or wasn’t being the version of myself they believed in, they were direct — they told me, made me aware, and helped guide me back to who I was working to become. I’ve grown more than I sometimes realize with Growing Hope. The workshops, especially, have taught me more skills than I could list — and more importantly, they’ve helped connect me to the Ypsilanti community, our food system, and the amazing people who keep it all running. I wouldn’t be who I am today without joining this incredible program or without meeting all the amazing people I’ve had the chance to grow with. If you’re reading this and have the opportunity to join: do it. I can’t recommend it enough. Tuula Martínez, ECA Hi Saplings/Everyone! 🌱, My name is Tuula Martínez, I am an eighteen-year-old youth of Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti, and I have been working in the Growing Hope Teen Leadership Program for almost three years. The first two summers I was simply a (paid) teen intern, and in my last summer I was ‘promoted’ into a crew leader, where I took on more leadership opportunities and responsibilities. This summer was really the time for me to not only deepen the knowledge I had gained from my previous two summers (and after-school programs), but also to apply said knowledge and leadership skills as I entered a new stage within the program. Working in the teen program has taught me a lot about impact. Before working here, I didn’t really think I had an impact on people or places, and I often doubted my own ability. Growing Hope does an amazing job of teaching you about the work that needs to be done to help our community, and giving you resources or opportunities to take part in it (whether through the program or outside of it). Through these opportunities, I have been so lucky to see the community come together. I have been able to talk to people and hear how much they appreciate the work Growing Hope does, and it really makes you proud of the work you’re a part of. My confidence has also significantly improved while I’ve worked with the teen program. Being in a leadership role this summer, and realizing the people who came before also didn’t have everything figured out, has surprisingly really comforted me. I think confidence comes when you, of course, 1. Start trusting in your abilities and knowledge, but also 2. When you realize that everyone is trying their best, and no one does things perfectly. I suppose I hope, as I leave this program, that perhaps my coworkers can look up to me in the same ways I looked up to my past crew leaders. And I hope that through watching me figure out and grow into this leadership role, I can in turn teach them that they are also just as capable, even if they haven’t figured everything out. The community itself is also something I’d like to touch upon. I feel it is such a treat to work somewhere where you’re genuinely excited to see the people. Over my three years working in the program, I have gotten the opportunity to meet so many awesome people and really befriend everyone. That is something that I love so much about the program, as you get the chance to get to know everyone and build your own dynamic with each person. The culture is something so special, because it bred an environment of comfort, which made it feel like a second family in a lot of ways. In the future, I hope to study at the University of Michigan, majoring in Archeology and minoring in Art History. My plan for the near future is to do one more semester of free college classes at my high school (the ECA), and take the next two semesters off from school (to apply to the UofM for the following fall, and look for museum-based internships). This upcoming summer, I hope to become involved with archaeology fieldwork through the UofM Museum of Archeology (which may involve travelling, exciting!). Though my choice of career will most likely be museum/history related, I know that I would love to stay connected to Growing Hope, as Environmental education and stewardship have become very important to me through working here. Thank you to everyone I’ve had the privilege to meet, get to know, and work with. You’ve all had a profound impact on me. 🩵 Tuula Martínez Jaylah Cotton, Skyline I applied to the Teen Leadership Program because I already loved plants and gardening. I didn’t realize how much I would learn outside of farmwork, but it’s all helped me grow tremendously as a leader, a member of my community, and just as a person. I’ve also found that it’s kept me very grounded and taught me to appreciate what I have and what I can do. The overall work I’ve done is truly my proudest accomplishment in life so far. From selling herbal tea bags at the farmers market, to digging out our new wildlife pond, and leading weekly social identity workshops, I can’t pinpoint a single favorite thing! However, I can express how grateful I am for the opportunities that working with Growing Hope has given me. Because of the Teen Leadership Program, I was awarded one of AAACF’s 2025 Young Citizens of the Year. The award recognizes leadership and community service among Washtenaw County teens. Thanks to Jenny and Esha’s nomination, I was selected and got to participate in an MLive interview (which went to print/online in May) about my work with food insecurity and Growing Hope. I received a scholarship as well. This has meant so much to me because it feels great to have the work I’ve done be recognized, but it’s also helping to further my education! Soon, I’m headed off to Michigan State University to major in Elementary Education, meaning all the leadership skills I’ve learnt will be put to great use! I’m so excited to go somewhere new and keep learning, too, but I’m forever grateful that I have a place back home in Ypsi where I am always welcome. - Jaylah

Growing Hope, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, is a food systems organization that works on ushering folks into more intimate, just, joyful relationships with their food systems. Their mission is to foster food sovereignty . Food sovereignty means different things to different people, but according to the executive director, Julius Buzzard, food sovereignty means people having autonomy within the food system at all points–from seed to belly. For communities, this means being able to have self-determination over everything from the treatment of workers to the nutrition of produce, and to have both local and culturally relevant produce available. Growing Hope has a multi-pronged approach to promoting local food sovereignty. Their programs include a farmers market, both youth and adult education programs, an incubator kitchen, and some direct food aid. The Ypsi Farmers Market is the most visible component of Growing Hope’s work, held in downtown Ypsilanti every Saturday, May through October. They pride themselves on being a market that is accessible to the people who live in the community around them, and whose diverse community is reflected in the vendors that sell at the market. The market has much lower vendor fees than other farmers markets, which in turn allows vendors to charge less for their produce than they would at a high-fee market. The market also has multiple food assistance programs: they were the third market in the state to accept federal food assistance benefits, and it also has the Power of Produce club for children. By participating in activities such as painting farmer’s market tote bags and sampling vegetables, kids earn $5 in market tokens, which they can then spend on whatever they want. Another component of engaging youth in the community is the youth education programming. The Growing Hope farm hosts field trips for students from Ypsi Community Schools, Lincoln Community Schools, and other youth-serving organizations such as Corner Health. The goal is to reach community kids in order to build a foundation of generational health that the kids can carry on to the rest of their families and communities. Another component of youth education, the teen leadership program, is the longest-standing program at Growing Hope, and has been a central part of the organization since its inception over 20 years ago. It started as a school garden program, and over time has grown into a paid after-school leadership program where teens work at the farm and receive a mix of hands-on agricultural training, workshops on community organizing and food sovereignty, and guidance on job skills such as how to track and submit weekly hours and how to read the different parts of a paycheck. Regardless of whether they end up continuing to work in the food justice sector, the teens learn the crucial skills of 1) caring about the community around them and 2) knowing how to act on that care. When it comes to adult education, Growing Hope teaches a wide variety of skills through the expertise of its staff. There is a home vegetable garden program, run by Ayanfe Jamison, which provides both the physical resources and the knowledge needed for working-class Ypsilanti residents to start or strengthen their home gardens. The teens who are part of the teen leadership program also put on workshops for the rest of the community, such as a recent corn nixtamalization workshop. Much of the adult education is community-driven or community-led; folks who are affiliated with Growing Hope but not part of its staff present on subjects that they’re passionate, experienced, and knowledgeable about. These workshops are often in response to specific requests or identified needs within the community. There was also recently a Stepping Stones to Food Entrepreneurship workshop series organized by Deante Bland, the Incubator Kitchen Manager. Workshops covered topics such as Cottage Food Law, food business licensing, business planning and goal setting, menu and recipe optimization, and marketing and branding. The series culminated with a panel of makers who had graduated from the Incubator Kitchen sharing their experiences. The incubator kitchen can, in some way, feel divorced from the rest of the food sovereignty work that Growing Hope does, but Julius sees local food entrepreneurship and having circular food economies as integral to creating communities with food sovereignty. He says that it is an essential step in creating new systems to empower people currently in the community to share their hopes, passions, and dreams, and to bring life to their communities in ways that are special and unique. The more that we can encourage people and give them options to spend money in ways that support their neighbors and invest in people who are part of the community, the more autonomous we make our food system. Through the shared space and programming, the incubator kitchen provides a more accessible entry point into food business creation for people of color or anyone else who doesn’t have access to money and resources to start or scale up their food business. The kitchen supports makers in keeping their values as they build their businesses, and many of the businesses collaborate with other elements of the local food system. About 70 businesses have used the kitchen, 15 of which have graduated out to other places (and all but one of which are still local). One of these makers is Bird Dog Baking, which now has a brick and mortar space in Downtown Ypsilanti and which sources its grains locally and gets its produce from a Growing Hope-affiliated farm, Old City Acres. Another business just around the corner is Bearabakes, which also sources its fruits and vegetables from local farmers. The incubator kitchen doesn’t just foster food businesses; it fosters food businesses that are deeply integrated into the local food system. Growing Hope’s emphasis is on food sovereignty and changing food systems, but the organization also recognizes that sometimes people need their direct, immediate needs met before they can engage in autonomy-building programs. The Growing Hope Urban Farm is located next to and across the street from some of Ypsilanti’s low-income neighborhoods, and has an on-site (recently rebuilt and expanded) free farm cart where they distribute both the produce they grow and food donated by other farms and food assistance organizations. Growing Hope alone produces and distributes more than 6,000 pounds of produce, and through donations from Old City Acres, We The People Opportunity Farm, Community Farm in Ann Arbor, and Food Gatherers, they feel like they are able to meet at least some of the needs that their community has. The need is so much more than what they can directly provide, but Growing Hope does what they can to support people in getting to a place where they can pursue food sovereignty. This post is part of a series by Emma Rose Hardy, a PhD Candidate at the University of Michigan and the Rackham Local Food Systems Intern at Growing Hope. The series aims to highlight the essential role that SNAP and other food assistance programs play in the Washtenaw County local food system.

Ayanfe Jamison’s current role is the Garden Manager at Growing Hope in Ypsilanti, Michigan, but her roots in agroecology, permaculture, and food sovereignty are far deeper than her current role. She grew up in a very intergenerational environment in East Tennessee, watching her older relatives work the earth, engaging in subsistence farming and traditional skills such as making pickles and homemade wine. However, her mother wanted her to pursue more “professional” skills and “move up” through education, so these ancestral skills were not passed on to Ayanfe. Since then, she has spent the past 30 years seeking out knowledge and understanding of the practices she grew up surrounded by. As part of her lifelong education process, Ayanfe spent an “eco urban year” as an honors student at Miami Dade College, where her cohort lived together, made meals together, and maintained a garden together. Each Tuesday, one person was responsible for preparing a vegan meal, and their “class” was their dinner time. They read texts on deep ecology from writers such as Wendell Berry. As much as Ayanfe enjoyed the subject, she was deeply bothered by the fact that the “world literature” collection didn’t include any Black authors. She pushed back, and new material was introduced. To this day, she treasures her heavily-annotated copy of Literature and the Environment: A Reader on Nature and Culture . Edited by Lorraine Anderson, Scott Slovic, and John P. O’Grady, this was Ayanfe’s first real exposure to ecological literature written from perspectives that resonated with her. One of her favorite pieces in the collection is “Touching the Earth,” by bell hooks. Another favorite is “Where You At? A Bioregional Quiz,” which aims to raise people’s awareness of how much they really know, or don’t know, about the place they call home. Through questions such as “Trace the water you drink from precipitation to tap” and “How long is the growing season where you live?” quiz-takers are scored on a scale from “You have your head up your ass” to “You not only know where you’re at, you know where it’s at.” This kind of straight-speaking evaluation is typical of Ayanfe. One of her continuous sources of frustration is that almost all of the “rewilding” she has engaged in as an adult has been dependent on learning skills from White folks–skills which she recognizes as part of her heritage, such as cob construction (building with mud and straw) and permaculture. When she first started rewilding, her friends were all “earthy crunchy white kids that lived teepees, school buses, and yurts” and who didn’t need to make money to sustain themselves. Ayanfe became focused on finding a way to reintroduce rewilding practices to people of color in ways that were realistic and acknowledged and respected the origins of these practices. One of the ways Ayanfe passes on this knowledge is through running the Home Vegetable Garden program at Growing Hope. The program is focused on working-class folks in Ypsilanti and provides the materials and knowledge needed to have a robust home vegetable garden. Ayanfe and her interns (when she has them) install raised beds at people’s homes, and by the time they leave, they have a garden assembled, filled with soil, and with starter plants. Participants also receive seed packets and additional plant starts throughout the year. People who qualify for food assistance programs are prioritized, but other factors that are considered for program selection are whether there are seniors or children in the household, whether anyone in the household has a disability, the income scale of the household, and the racial demographics of the household. Participants in the program are able to grow whatever they would like to, and do whatever they want with it, whether that’s personal consumption, selling, or giving away the produce to the community, or feeding it to pets. This freedom is essential to the program's role in promoting food sovereignty. To Ayanfe, food sovereignty means that food is a human right that cannot be bestowed or revoked. This includes the right not just to have access to food, but access and agency over your personal food system. Food assistance programs such as SNAP and WIC often do not provide options for people with different dietary restrictions, and when she was receiving benefits as a vegan, she felt like she had no agency over her food choices. Food sovereignty isn’t about just having access to whatever food the government determines you deserve, but about having the freedom to decide what kinds of food are appropriate or not appropriate for you and your household, freedom to use food as medicine, and the freedom, knowledge, and capacity to grow your own food and medicine. For Ayanfe, the Home Vegetable Garden program is an important route to providing community members with this kind of no-strings-attached sovereignty. This post is part of a series by Emma Rose Hardy, a PhD Candidate at the University of Michigan and the Rackham Local Food Systems Intern at Growing Hope. The series aims to highlight the essential role that SNAP and other food assistance programs play in the Washtenaw County local food system.