Both VT and NH NOFA’s have funds to help farmers
Cecily Anderson’s design for t-shirts and tote bags raising funds for flood farms.
The Vermont and New Hampshire chapters of the Northeast Organic Farming Association are calling for donations in the wake of recent flooding and the devastation it caused to farms. These donations go directly into funds that provide emergency relief to organic farmers and NOFA members. This includes climate-related natural disasters like the recent flooding.
To help bring in those donations, Cecily Anderson has introduced a limited edition 2023 Vermont Flood Farm Benefit Collection. Cecily is a graphic artist based out of Tunbridge, VT, and a creative partner on Vital Communities’ Climate Farmer Stories Project. The collection includes t-shirts, tote bags, and posters. 100% of the proceeds will be given to the NOFA-VT fund to support farm recovery. Items can be purchased online at https://www.anagramist.com/flood/.
“Many Vermont farms experienced severe flooding in July 2023, resulting in loss of crops and damage to equipment and infrastructure,” said Anderson. “NOFA-VT’s Farmer Emergency Fund provides grants to certified organic and NOFA-VT member farms experiencing emergencies that can’t be covered by insurance. Donations you make to this fund will be quickly mobilized to farms as they recover from the storm.”
People can also donate directly to the funds at these two URLs:
- NOFA-NH: https://www.nofanh.org/
- NOFA-VT: https://www.nofavt.org/farmer-emergency-fund
This project helps to shed light on the intense impacts of climate change on our local food system. As Erica Hiller, Vital Communities Project Manager, says, “There is no community resilience without farm resilience.” We can support our local farms and community resilience by buying food from them and by donating to these emergency funds. This supports our local businesses, a reliable local food system, and a deep commitment to our community farmers.
NOFA-VT’s Farmer Emergency Fund
NOFA-VT’s Farmer Emergency Fund, established in 1997, supports organic and NOFA-VT member farmers who have been adversely affected by natural and unnatural disasters, such as:
- Crop failure
- Extreme weather
- Flooding
- Fire
- Barn collapse
- Financial hardship as the price of organic milk continues to drop
From NOFA-VT’s website: “We understand that our farmers are imperative to our local food system, economy, and environment, and that they do not always qualify for federal or private assistance programs. The Farmer Emergency Fund provides farmers with the needed cash flow in times of an emergency, to help them recover and ultimately become more resilient farmers.”
NOFA-NH’s Emergency Farmer Relief Fund
From NOFA-NH’s website: “NOFA-NH is committed to supporting our community during this incredibly difficult season. It’s now more important than ever for all of us to show up for the folks who keep us fed! You can help farmers in your community who have been affected by donating to our Emergency Farmer Relief Fund, volunteering with local farms in their efforts to repair and rebuild post-disaster, and continuing to buy local.”
Published 7/28/23