Midwest Farmers of Color Collective grew out of a series of farmer listening sessions about what farmers needed to increase local food purchasing at public schools and other institutions in 2018 and 2019. 

In those discussions, farmers named the glaring racial disparities in access to land, technical assistance, capital resources and infrastructure across the Midwest. We also discussed the necessity for racial equity in agricultural policy and grassroots organizing.

2020 Racial Justice & Farm Policy Convening

With the seeds planted by those early discussions, 45 of us urban, rural, and suburban farmers and gardeners came together from across Minnesota and Wisconsin for our first gathering at the Racial Justice & Farm Policy Convening in 2020. This convening created a space to connect about farmer-led policy and the need for continued space to organize socially, economically, and politically. From this first convening, Midwest Farmers of Color Collective began to put down roots.