Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA

Farm Sustainability provides assistance, develops tools and resources, and promotes policies that help farmers attain greater financial stability and encourage thriving and sustainable small- and mid-scale family farms. The program educates farmers about managing risk and equips them to navigate federal farm programs. Through the program’s farm advocacy work, it provides individual counseling and assistance to farmers facing financial crisis and who stand to lose their farms without immediate support.

Contract Agriculture Reform works for fair and equitable contract arrangements between individual farmers and large corporations. The program provides farmers a forum for defining their needs and advocating on their own behalf for fairness. The program engages farmers and other key stakeholders in efforts to improve national policy, force the industry to be more just and support the growth of viable alternatives for farmers. The fiscally sponsored project, Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform (CCAR) is included as part of this program. CCAR is a national alliance of organizations working to provide a voice for farmers and ranchers involved in contract agriculture, as as in the communities in which they live.

The Agricultural Reinvestment Fund supports farmers and rural communities in developing new and innovative sources of agricultural income through cost-share grants. These small capital investments help preserve existing jobs and businesses, leverage new investment, and create new jobs and income for North Carolina’s farmers and rural communities. The farm-based enterprises supported through this program represent a wide variety of lessons and experiences relevant to thousands within the state’s agricultural industry. To date, the program has disbursed more than $6 million to more than 600 farmers and collaborative farmer groups throughout North Carolina.

Come to the Table is a multi-faceted program that focuses on systemic solutions to food access that also strengthen just and sustainable agriculture. The program works with faith communities, hunger relief advocates and farmers to engage and mobilize them on issues of food access and justice in the food system. The program delivers conferences and events, technical assistance, training focuses on building equity in the food system, and collaborative networks and resources.

RAFI serves as fiscal sponsor for the following groups: National Organic Coalition- NOC is a national alliance of organizations working to provide a “Washington voice” for farmers, ranchers, environmentalists, consumers and industry members involved in organic agriculture. Durham Farmers Market’s Double Bucks Program- Double Bucks is an incentive program at the Durham Farmers Market that provides up to $10 in matching funds per customer for purchases made with SNAP benefits. Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina- VFNC is a training and education farm that provides veterans with the skills and tools needed to begin farming on their own. North Carolina Community Garden Partners- NCCGP is a volunteer-based grassroots initiative dedicated to increasing the quantity, quality and sustainability of community gardens across North Carolina.