In 2023, The FruitGuys Community Fund awarded grants to our largest class of farm grantees so far: 18 small-scale farms and agricultural nonprofits received a total of $83,757 in grant awards for projects impacting water conservation, energy efficiency, biodiversity, pollination, seed preservation, and ecological land management. The majority of funds were directed to farmers of color, LGBTQ+ farmers, women farmers, and beginning farmers to provide critical support to under-represented farmers and communities that have been historically marginalized. Our award total grew by more than 17% from 2022 and we extended our regional impact to support farms in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky for the first time.
The 2023 grant awards were made possible thanks to donors to our Small Farms, Big Impacts campaign, a grant from National Philanthropic Trust, and continued program support from our major donor, Aramark. Aramark is a Philadelphia-based food and facilities service provider. In 2022, it made a three-year commitment to fund at least ten nonprofit farms led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) farmers each year. The FruitGuys covers all administrative and staffing costs of the Community Fund in addition to contributing to the annual grant budget.
Thank you for joining us as we strive to bolster the sustainability of small-scale agriculture!
