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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Land Trust Agreement Provides Step Toward Food Justice in WA

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Tuesday, February 22, 2022   

CORRECTION: A description of this land has been changed to "land trust agreement," rather than "leased farmland." (1:19 p.m. PST, Feb 22, 2022)

A 99-year land trust agreement on Whidbey Island is part of a move to help historically underserved communities in Washington state toward food independence.

Adasha Turner founded of Modest Family Solutions as a way to grown her own food after medical complications during pregnancy prompted her to change her diet. Turner then decided to purchase a farm in 2019 and teach kids how to grow their own vegetables and fruits.

"The kids were coming over. We were seeding," Turner recounted. "We started producing about an acre every 90 days, which was about 1,400 heads of lettuce a week, way more lettuce than I can convince six- and seven-year-olds to eat."

Turner thought the farm might slow down because of COVID-19, but parents were looking for ways to get their children outdoors.

She explained the culturally relevant food they produce largely is gifted and sold to Black, Indigenous and other communities of color, and pointed out as of December, the organization has distributed more than 100,000 pounds of food per month.

Then, the community received the opportunity to farm 10 acres as part of the Agrarian Trust for the next century.

On Monday, Turner and her team introduced the Black Seed AgroEcology Farms and Village on Whidbey Island. She emphasized it is important to have a piece of land to let her group "plant roots."

"We're the first to have a 99-year inheritable, transferable lease to where we can continue to provide culturally relevant food on a consistent basis for the Pacific Northwest," Turner stated.

Turner added the partnership will help establish economic stability and dignity for the BIPOC food-supply chain.

Addie Candib, Pacific Northwest regional director for the American Farmland Trust and a board member of Puget Sound Agrarian Commons, said the U.S. is losing farmland, which means what remains is becoming more expensive. The Agrarian Commons hopes to reverse the trend.

"It's a creative way to look at, how do we hold land and protect it in perpetuity?" Candib stressed. "How do we ensure that farmers have long-term, secure and affordable access to that land in order to grow food, for themselves and for their communities?"

Disclosure: Agrarian Trust contributes to our fund for reporting on Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Wilderness, Rural/Farming, and Sustainable Agriculture. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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