Only $1500 for produce to finish out the year. Please give to Venmo @dollyjoseph or PayPal.me/dollyjoseph (please DOUBLE CHECK that it is person to person, and NOT for a good or service). Checks are also accepted. If you file taxes in such a way that you need a tax deductible letter, please email me for more information BEFORE sending money. 

This past week we had the joy of making a very large (for us) order for the produce for a happy Thanksgiving meal. We ordered bags of cranberries, cases of apples and oranges, and cartons of eggs, and many other fruits and vegetables. In addition, we got beautiful winter squashes and turnips from Bellair Farm. 

I say joy very intentionally. During these fraught times, fulfilling fundamental needs is joyous. Pat and Katherine and I have many conversations about how we love food. We love preparing it, talking about it, knowing about it, storing it, and sharing it. We all have our preferences in eggs and sweet potatoes and greens, and we don’t mind telling you about it. 

There’s joy in purpose and service as well. About a month ago Pat asked me if I remembered a 90+ year old that we’d raised money for in a different project. When I said yes, Pat asked if it was possible to raise $425 for a catered dinner for 9 of her family, so that this nonagenarian didn’t have to cook. I said yes, and through Facebook asks, we were able to provide a delicious dinner from Angelic’s Catering. It brings me joy that Pat feels comfortable sharing a community need, and we make it happen. 

I was hopeful that we’d get a grant that would make it possible to stop asking you for money for a long while. Unfortunately, that did not happen. We were denied. I suspect it’s because this project is lo-fi and fairly small scale. So, with $220.33 in our account, we have just enough to make one more produce order. To close out the year, we need to raise about $1500. It would be great to raise enough to get through the coldest winter months without worrying about bothering you. 

Dear Friends,

I just applied for a grant for the first time in many years. It made me so grateful for your community support which has support this food work without having to go through that bureaucratic process. I’m going to share portions of the grant narrative below because it summarizes so much of how important this work is on many fronts, and how your financial gift makes it possible. Thank you for the support you give to community. This project was launched at the beginning of the pandemic, when it was clear that our local economy was disrupted through closures and lay-offs. Black and Brown Families, were particularly vulnerable due to the historic oppressive systemic practices of our community. With rural and urban food deserts, the difficulty of safely shopping during a pandemic, loss of income, and solutions that were not inclusive, fresh produce was even harder for some families to acquire than before. Food banks and USDA boxes provide relief with shelf-stable staples, but we know that fresh vegetables and fruits are necessary for full well-being and health.

Each week we purchase food to be distributed at neighborhood drop offs, at the homes of Black Elders. We have purposefully chosen these sites because they have already been established as places of support and connectivity, due to the community leadership of these Black Women and Men. These front porch “markets” become places and times where community members connect, trade news, and access resources. While the impetus of this work was to provide produce, these front porch markets have also become places where clothes, dishwares, and other needed supplies can be swapped and distributed. During these COVID times, the front porch markets have been an important and safe way for community to gather in well-ventilated spaces with social distancing.

The requested funds would go directly to our weekly ordering of produce. We order wholesale from Bellair Farm for local, organic foods when available and affordable, and from Standard Produce during the offseason months. Additionally, we purchase in bulk from other local providers. We receive donations of restaurant overages, and gleaning from home gardens. Produce is delivered to the front porch markets, and networks are activated. On Ridge St, that looks like phone calls going out to friends and relatives, as well as calling out to neighbors walking or driving by. In North Garden, the phone lines hum as the members of two churches get calls about ripe tomatoes or particularly good-looking greens. We estimate that our weekly budget of $300 of produce ordered supports 30-40 families, as they come and choose what suits their family and situation.

Because all project members love and know food, nothing goes to waste. If for some reason there is extra produce left after all families come through, the food gets processed and frozen, or it is distributed to extended networks, including to Buckingham.

We have made many changes over the past 18 months to make this mutual aid project sustainable and suitable for community members. We continue to improve and refine our delivery model. Initially we purchased 20 shares from a local CSA and distributed these to individual families. Some of the produce grown by the CSA was unfamiliar or unappealing to the families. We chose to move to purchasing wholesale so that we would be able to provide familiar food that are more likely to be used and enjoyed. Each week, the Black Elder distributing reviews what is available and makes selections based upon what their people will likely need or want. We also recognized that having neighborhood hubs for food distribution created community power, further visibly led by Black People, specifically Black Women. 

When we were doing individual family distribution, several young mothers were initially excited to get fresh produce, but then asked to be removed from the distribution. They shared that they wanted the produce, but that they didn’t have the knowledge or time to prepare the food, and did not want the food to go to waste. This caused us to specifically look to Black Elders, who did know how to prepare the food, and could share that knowledge person to person through the front porch market, or prepare the food directly for younger community members through informal family networks. Our decisions throughout have been influenced by the philosophy that food is not just sustenance, but a resource, and its presence builds power. By supporting Black Women and their food expertise, we are building Black Power.

While this project is centered around food, it is also integral community work. Auxiliary, complementary work is being done to ensure that the Black Elders’ can continue to remain in their homes. This includes bringing community resources to do home repair, problem-solving around legal and financial issues, and the indefinable strengthening that community connectivity provides. While we are not asking for financial support for this work, or explicitly including it within the purview of this ask, it is critical to name the context within which we are working.

We are an all volunteer project. In the 16 months since the onset of this project, we have distributed over $20,000 in fresh produce directly to Black and Brown Families, with the lowest of barriers. 85% of funding has come directly from individual donations from community members in our area. This is our first grant application for this work. Receiving funding would greatly reduce the labor involved in raising funds through individual giving, releasing energy for other community work. 

Our direct service providers, Katherine Burton, Pat Seay, and Dolly Joseph, have a combined ~200 years of living in the North Garden, Covesville, and Charlottesville areas. We each have deep experience working and living within our community. We have complementary and shared personal and professional experience that make us well-suited to undertake this work. Katherine grew up in Covesville and has lived in the North Garden area for over 60 years and has deep connections with her church and others in the area. Pat grew up in North Garden and has lived on Ridge St for over 30 years. Pat has deep expertise in hospitality and service. Dolly grew up on 29 South and has connections within the nonprofit sector. All 3 are community connectors and leaders and have deep knowledge of food and food preparation. 

We need $4000 to continue weekly food distribution until the end of the calendar year. Please give to Venmo @dollyjoseph or PayPal.me/dollyjoseph (please DOUBLE CHECK that it is person to person, and NOT for a good or service). Checks are also accepted. If you file taxes in such a way that you need a tax deductible letter, please email me for more information BEFORE sending money. 

Dear Friend and Community, 

We are starting the second year of providing fresh produce and other goods to community families free of charge. To give: Paypal.me/dollyjoseph Venmo @dollyjoseph To give via check or you itemize financial donations on your tax returns, and need a tax letter, please contact BEFORE YOU GIVE.

May 3 will mark 52 continuous weeks of distributing fresh produce and eggs to our community. This project has been a gift in this year of sorrow and transition. There is something grounding and fundamental about sharing and distributing food. 

There has been so much community in this evolving and growing project. Community delivered produce to redistribute, and have delivered to the individual homes. Community gleaned and harvested from fertile gardens. Community delivered venison the hundreds of miles from Martha’s Vineyard. Community provided networks and logistical support. Community has given financially to the tune of $18,900. Thank you.  

This is satisfying, gratifying, nourishing community work. Friendships and connections have been strengthened. Having fresh produce and other food has nurtured people, and allowed them to put resources towards other needs.

Initially, we distributed the summer and fall shares from Bellair Farm CSA to individual families. We switched to purchasing wholesale from Standard Produce once the local season closed. We also were given goods from individuals and businesses to redistribute. 

This work is intentionally working to dismantle white supremacy and systems of oppression, and working within the paradigms of mutual aid and community building. In that spirit, we have concentrated on the connections and consistency, rather than having precise counts of pounds of food, or number of families.

• Between 20-40 families were provided produce and eggs each week, 
• Weekly produce and egg budget was in the range of $300-350, with 20 local, organic shares provided, or 8-10 cases of wholesale produce
• Stipends were provided to drivers  and redistributors in order to dismantle the culture of volunteerism

The work has evolved over the past year, and we have begun the shift from delivering to individual households, to sharing through neighborhood redistribution. Beginning the week of May 10 we will shift to the neighborhood model only. We have Black Women Elders supporting the neighborhoods of Ridge St and North Garden. They are connected to other unseen community leaders who are able to further redistribute extra food. By working this way, we dismantle oppressive systems further:

• Families can select food that suits their weekly needs,
• Black Women are further seen as the community heart and foundation that they are, and have further autonomy and decision making,
• Community connections are strengthened,
• Institutional structures are not required– you gift money, we buy produce, we distribute, without rent or salaries, with minimal fees/overhead
• White community members and donors are decentered and release power and resources.

Hi friends, 

I actually had put off asking for food distribution money because I was nervous about Pat’s surgery yesterday. Since December she has lived with the looming surgery, postponed because of needing to be healthy enough to go under anesthesia. Pat has remained upbeat, but it was still scary. I spoke with her earlier this morning, and she sounded good– her voice firm. The doctors say that they removed all of the cancerous cells in her liver, and that she might go home tomorrow– two days earlier than predicted. 

We currently have  $247.92 in our food distribution fund– enough for a modest week. We buy in wholesale from Standard Produce, and provide food for redistribution sites in historically Black Communities of Ridge St, North Garden, and Buckingham County. A typical produce order is 8 cases of fruits/vegetables/eggs– oranges, local apples, potatoes, onions, greens, eggs, kale, collards, mustard greens, sweet potatoes, grapefruit, cabbage are all on our regular rotation with seasonal/celebratory add-ons. Additionally friends bring us excess food from local farms and grocery stores that might go to waste. Clothes and household goods also get distributed amongst our community. 
I hope that if you can, you will support our work. To celebrate Pat, and to support her recovery, 10% of all money received in this drive will be given directly to her for whatever is healing for her. Knowing Pat, this might mean catching up on bills, giving to others, but likely won’t actually go to any of the pampering that any of us might engage in. 

This week was the first week that we ordered from a wholesaler. There are pros and cons to each method, and I would prefer to support local farms and food shed, but we do what is possible. $275 provided over 50 people with sweet potatoes, greens, green beans, cabbage, carrots, apples, and oranges. Additional funds went to support elderly Black Families in North Garden that a friend of Katherine Burton had identified. 

It is gratifying to be able to deliver fresh produce to families. Last week Pat Seay arranged all families to receive free Thanksgiving kits, including a turkey. People were so happy because the need for a holiday meal was looming, and the logistics and expense was challenging. Thank you for what you are doing for community. There are so many ways to support one another. I send this email out I send it out to a wide swath of people– wanting to let you know what I’m up to– the impact of your gift– or give you a moment of joyous solidarity. 

If you are able to financially support, Thank You! Information is below.

If you would like to be part of receiving delivered wholesale vegetables, and you are in Cville, please be in touch. It’s so much more affordable than grocery!

Hi all, 

I hope you’re okay enough. I don’t even have words for the last 6 months. 

TL;DR: We can feed 25 families organic produce and eggs for 5 weeks for  $1552.50. venmo me @dollyjoseph or PayPal.me/dollyjoseph 

I can say that the weekly highlight for me has been picking up and distributing food that our community has come together to provide. Picking up the bounty from Bellair Farm CSA, and from various people with overflow from their own gardens. Reconnecting with so many people from all different parts of my life. Making new — even just momentary–  connections with people. Calculating the everchanging delivery loops through greater Cville.  An ad hoc front yard community center on Ridge St. where clothes and food are free for the taking. All of those who have helped deliver including Emma, Raven, Julie, Janiya, Kelly, and my dog Hank. I’ve been remiss in not sharing more often. Attached are some pictures of a car full of produce. Repeat every week. 

We’re continuing our partnership with Bellair Farm for a fall 5 week vegetable and egg share. They are giving us a deep discount– for 25 families we need to raise $1552.50. When their season ends the week of November 9 we plan to continue to source food for 25 families through local farms and distributors. Any excess beyond $1550 would go towards these families. 

To contribute to this community effort you can venmo me @dollyjoseph or PayPal.me/dollyjoseph (make sure to indicate it’s a GIFT when using PayPal). Please be in touch if you want to write a check and/or you need a tax deductible letter. (If you are expecting a letter from me for a previous gift, I have NOT forgotten. You will get one by December.)

This is not the only way food is being provided to the community– there are food banks, community meals, shares, etc. There is a diversity of ways to make sure that our community is fed and safe. I appreciate ALL of the things that I know you each do for our community. 

We keep us safe. Thank you for keeping community safe.