WHATS IN SEASON

CABBAGAE, COLLARD GREENS, NECTARINES, PEACHES, AND MO'.

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OUR FUTURE
BY FOUNDING DIRECTOR
DAVID ROACH


Receiving Peace award from KPFA Radio 2006

July 6th, 2008

Greetings everyone!

We hope this note reaches you in good spirit.

As food prices increase, it gives us even more of a reason to increase our particiption in the agricultural industry. California's agricultural industry, produces around 48 billion dollars annually to California's economy.

African- American farmers make up less than 1% of California's 94,000 farmers and is #1 in agricultural production in the United States. Yet, in predominately African American communities, its hard to find fresh fruits and vegetables here in California, although, California ships food all over the world.

Along with other issues like high unemployment, high incarceration, high school drop ratesl (school closures), the real estate market, war, gas prices, AIDS, hyertension, type two diabetes, global warming, it would appear that tomorrow holds many obstacles that we must overcome for our very survival.

During my last year at Morehouse College, I was given an assignment by Dr. William Sheftal, Head of Morehouse's Business Department to find economic solutions for the African American community. Just prior to this assignment, I recall reading "Up From Slavery," by Booker T. Washington, which gave me a model of self development that was rarely discussed in the public schools.

After a brief look into our past, in search of solutions, my connection to this past, became so special to me, that I felt, if others knew, it may do them some good as well. Thus, after graduating from Morehouse, I started a publication called Lunda- the idea of Familyhood. If you want mo' information on lunda visit: www.lunda.com.

After talking about solutions in the Lunda publication, there came a time when I felt, enough talk, we must do something about these issues. During my research, I had come across the land loss issues facing Black farmers in the United States. At that time, about 500,00 acres a year was being lost (taken) from African American landowners and farmers.

In 1996, we founded the Familyhood Connection, a 501 (C-3) corporation to do something about it. Our overall mission became to reconnect us to our past. We would facilitate this by promoting programs that would bring the generations together. At the time, we felt that food is a vehicle that brings everybody together. And within the African American community, food could reconnect us to all the land we are losing.

Thus in 1996, The Familyhood Connection, hosted the first Mo'Better Food Conference - "who will supply the African American communities healthy food?" We knew what the answer should be - African American farmers. But we wanted people to come together to discuss the role they could play in bringing the African American farmer back into our communities.

mobetterfood.com promotes African American farmers to bring back to our neighborhoods the fresh fruits and vegetables we need for our very own consumption.

We hope you can join us.

In peace,

David Roach

Other programs initiated by The Familyhood Connection are:

1) Friends of School

2) the Intergenerational Enterprise

Along with the Mo' Better Food Program, the above programs are designed to work together to increase community pride and self sufficiency.