2025 Community Food Gathering Summary - Community Food Strategies

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SUMMARY

Over 200 food system change makers came together from across North Carolina to explore solutions, learn skills, and strategize around how to create a food system built by us and for us at the 2025 Community Food Gathering September 17 – 18th in Colfax, NC.

The Community Food Gathering is an intentionally curated conference that’s 2025 theme was focused on Transformational Community: A Way Forward. In that spirit, we created vibrant, inclusive spaces that celebrated joy, uplifted community voices, and re-ignited strong in-person connections with the intent to fuel trust, accelerate collaboration, and mobilize collective action across our network.

On September 17th, the keynote panel kicked off the Statewide Community Food Gathering with four North Carolinian food leaders who shared their stories on what Transformational Community means to them and how we can lean into each other at such a time as this. From the panel, we heard that we are all connected, that we are all resources to each other, and that together we are the system of change!

On September 18th, Community Food Strategies co-curators, LaShauna Austria and Abbey Piner, hosted adrienne maree brown (amb), in conversation, as the culminating event at the Statewide Gathering. In a time of deep transformation, as our movement grapples with significant change, amb offered us a voice of imagination, reckoning, creativity, and inspiration to embody the best of ourselves, individually, and collectively. Specifically, we carried these three reminders forward from that conversation:

Small acts of care are how we liberate ourselves
Noticing the good rewires our minds and hearts
Abundance is all around us – partner with it

In addition to these powerful keynotes, we heard from more than 30 speakers across sixteen workshops. Our workshops were organized into four tracks focused on:

Elevating Community Wisdom & Accountability
Policy & Power: Transforming Institutions from Within
Building Solidarity Economies & Democratic Food Futures
Culture of Care: Connection as a Tool for Change

Find workshop names, descriptions, speakers, and presentation materials below!

Special thanks to all the Local food sourcing used by Wright Brothers Catering Group at GTCC! And to Tilde for helping us make this the first Community Food Gathering with live interpretation, and supporting us in our journey towards language justice.

“The event was organized exceptionally well. I loved the exchange of books, seeds, and totes. I also loved the inclusion of afternoon snacks! I loved all the speakers and conversations”

Participant

Keynote Panel Finding Our Strength in Each Other

From left to right

Moderator, Bevelyn Afor Ukah, Committee on Racial Equity (CORE)

Amy Elkins, NC Fields

Ree Ree Wei, Transplanting Traditions Community Farm

Elliott Royal, West BLVD Neighborhood Coalition & Three Sisters Market

CFS_Transformational Community - Day 1 Morning Plenary

Collective_Access_To_Land,_Food,_&_Community_

Cultivating_Equity_Building_Inclusive_Food_Systems_

The_Power_Of_Comprehensive_Planning_-_Schools,_Communities,_&_The_Future_Of_Food_

“I am so grateful for the heart and brilliance of your organization that made such a meaningful event/ experience. Thank you!”

Participant

Keynote Conversation Writing Ourselves Into The Future

From left to right

adrienne maree brown adriennemareebrown.net

LaShauna Austria, Comfoodstrat

Abbey Piner, Comfoodstrat

“Thank you to all the staff and orgs who made this event easy to attend, connect, and enjoy in community! I think the gathering was a great experience and maybe the best one I’ve been to. I felt like this was a very comfortable event to attend. The offerings, opportunities to connect, and options to interact in the mutual aid room, give/ask wall, & sound healing were awesome additions! I think many felt honored to attend an event that felt so caring and intentional.”

Participant

Workshops

Elevating Community Wisdom & Accountability
1. Cultivating Equity Building Inclusive Food Systems

Cultivating Equity Building Inclusive Food Systems invites participants to examine the roots of exclusion within our food systems and discover pathways toward equity through community-led agriculture. Grounded in lived experience, it explores the systemic barriers Black and BIPOC farmers face and offers a framework for inclusive food futures built on land access, cultural memory, and regenerative practices. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies for dismantling inequity while honoring ancestral knowledge and building collective power.

Speaker

Kendrick Ransome, Golden Organic Farms

Kendrick Ransome is a fourth-generation Black farmer and founder of Golden Organic Farm in North Carolina. He leads with a vision of ancestral reclamation and community resilience, using agriculture to empower marginalized voices and create equitable food pathways. His work integrates regenerative farming, education, and land-based healing to build sovereignty for BIPOC communities.
2. Collective Access for Land, Food, and Community

This session will highlight models for community and collective access to land and food. It will discuss alternate structures that value collaborative, shared decision-making and mutual responsibility for the collective management of resources such as property, associated businesses, and other assets that can be used for the benefit of the community

Speaker

Annette Hiatt, Land Loss Prevention

Annette Hiatt is a Senior Staff Attorney with the Land Loss Prevention Project. She enjoys working one on one with clients to retain and preserve the connection of family to the ownership and retention of land. Ms. Hiatt received her Bachelor of Social Work from UNC-Charlotte and her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University. She is a North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission Certified Superior Court mediator, achieving that status in 2015. Ms. Hiatt is a member of the North Carolina Local Food Council and the mother to two kiddos who lead her on many adventures.

Christina Rice

Christina Rice is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Land Loss Prevention Project. Ms. Rice’s main areas of concentration are estate planning, heir property, foreclosure prevention, bankruptcy, and business entity formation. Prior to joining the Land Loss Prevention Project, Christina was a clinical fellow at the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC). During her time at FLPC, she provided legal and policy guidance to community advocacy groups, state agencies, and non-profit organization seeking to increase access to healthy foods, assist small and sustainable farmers in breaking into new commercial markets, and reduce waste of healthy, wholesome food. Ms. Rice earned her J.D., with honors from Charlotte School of Law, her Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting and Finance with honors from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and her LL.M. in Agricultural and Food Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law .

Erin Dale McClellan

erin dale mcclellan (she/her) is the executive director of The Partnership Funds, a c3/c4 funder collaborative that has defined the practice of grantmaking to advance community and independent political power. Erin brings over 25 years of experience in successful coalition work on campaigns including increasing the minimum wage, public financing of judicial campaigns and same-day voter registration. She is a mother, healer, community activist, political strategist and cultural worker in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was raised in a military family with deep roots in the south. erin dale is the executive director of The Partnership Funds, a c3/c4 funder collaborative that has defined the practice of grantmaking to advance state based community and independent political power. She is the former Executive Director of Blueprint NC where she served for 12 years. She is a founding member owner and the President of the Fertile Ground Food Cooperative in Southeast Raleigh. She served on the board of Advance NC and is the treasurer of Southern Partners Fund. erin dale started her journey to heal her family and community ancestral wounds in 2017 and was given the name denai sankofa in 2019.Her healing and cultural work as denai focus on holistic healing, tool making, art and alignment alchemy. She is a proud mother of two sons. She has a degree in Sociology from the College of William and Mary.
3. Art as Method

Art as Method is an interdisciplinary exploration of how creative expression can fuel the change we envision for our food systems and communities. Launched in 2023, it is a community-informed research project and model that demonstrates how art can open new possibilities for sharing food system experiences, building connection, and shifting institutional culture. Through art, we transcend social barriers and uplift practices rooted in equity.
In this interactive session, we invite you into the world of Art as Method—where art, justice, and equity come together to inspire transformation.

Speaker

Bevelyn Ukah, CORE

Bevelyn Afor Ukah is an artist, consultant, facilitator, and leader in food systems transformation. She serves as the Director of the Committee on Racial Equity in Food Systems (CORE) and is a member of the Community Food Strategies team. Bevelyn has designed and led statewide training initiatives, facilitated multi-stakeholder collaborations, and contributed to policy discussions that shape more sustainable and inclusive food systems. She has worked with farmers, nonprofits, and government agencies to integrate equity frameworks into food and farming programs, strengthening networks and expanding resources for communities across North Carolina. With a background in facilitation and strategic leadership, Bevelyn has co-created curricula, published research-informed reports, and developed learning tools that support food systems practitioners. She brings expertise in organizational development, team motivation, and partnership-building, ensuring that transformative food system strategies are practical and actionable. Bevelyn holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology from Guilford College, where she was a Bonner Scholar and Multicultural Leadership Scholar, and a Master’s degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management with a focus on facilitation.

Daphne Hines

Daphne Hines is a Communications Specialist, Consultant, and Social Advocate with a focus on strategy, programmatic development, marketing, and community engagement. As a member of the research team, and as Griot for Art as Method, her focus in the project has been to analyze, share, and uplift the stories, perspectives, cultures, and multifaceted communities that this project and research connects with. Before working with CORE, her interest in understanding the interconnectivity of our society, institutions, and communities was cultivated through her experience working in the fields of local politics, programming, non-profit, human resources, technology, and holistic wellness. Rooted in an educational background of Political Science and Sociology, her diverse professional experiences help make space for dynamic solutions that support transformative practices and organizations.

Isabel Lu

Isabel Lu is a painter and researcher based in Raleigh. Isabel co-developed the data collection protocols for “Art as Method” and co-curated the UPROOT community art show. Isabel holds a B.S. in nutritional science from Cornell University and a M.P.H. and R.D. from UNC Chapel Hill. Their work broadly explores binary ideas of medicine, remedy, and care through painting, writing, herbalism, and community engagement.

Niesha Douglas

Dr. Niesha Douglas is a seasoned educator, researcher, and community-based practitioner with over 15 years of experience in higher education and more than a decade of leadership in food systems work. She is the founder of Education Activate Transform, LLC (E.A.T.), a consulting and research firm that supports rural and community-rooted food enterprises through business model development, regulatory navigation, and inclusive market strategy. A committed advocate for food justice, Dr. Douglas has served on multiple advisory committees focused on food insecurity and equitable food access. In 2021, she co-authored Everybody Eats: Communication and the Paths to Food Justice, a groundbreaking text exploring the intersections of food, race, and systemic barriers to access. Dr. Douglas currently serves as a Community-Based Research Scholar with the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) at North Carolina State University, where her work centers on food systems transformation in rural southeastern North Carolina. Her applied research supports historically underserved communities, particularly BIPOC farmers, food entrepreneurs, and SNAP-eligible households. Her expertise spans grant management, curriculum development, community-engaged research, and intersectoral partnerships. Dr. Douglas holds a Doctorate in Adult and Community Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and she continues to champion inclusive, community-driven approaches to economic and food system development.

Santos Flores
4. Measuring What Matters: Building Confidence, Competence, and Courage with Numbers

In a time of shrinking support and rising need, community-based organizations, individual advocates, coalitions, and more must sharpen their ability to show impact. This session offers a practical, reflective space to rethink your relationship with data. We will explore how systemic barriers and internal dynamics affect data use, and learn how to create simple, values-aligned tools that reflect the real work happening on the ground. Whether you are overwhelmed by metrics or unsure what to track, this workshop will help you measure what truly matters and use data to strengthen storytelling, strategy, and systems change.

Speaker

Kenya Joseph, The Charlotte Mecklenburg Food Policy Council/Hearts and Hands Food Pantry

Kenya Joseph is a nonprofit leader and food systems strategist with nearly a decade of experience leading both grassroots initiatives and policy-focused coalitions. As the founder of Hearts and Hands Food Pantry and board chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council, she has helped shape community-driven responses to hunger, data, and systems change. Her work centers the lived experiences of those navigating poverty and bureaucracy while building tools that connect mission, metrics, and impact.
Policy & Power: Transforming Institutions from Within
1. Cross-Sector Partnerships to Implement Farm to Early Care and Education

This interactive workshop will explore how the Farm to Early Care & Education (F2ECE) initiative offers tools for communities to integrate policy, procurement, and programmatic change within existing institutional systems like childcare, Cooperative Extension, and local food networks. Drawing on the experience of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems’ NC Farm to ECE Collaborative, we will present strategies for building cross-sector partnerships, navigating budgetary and logistical barriers for local food procurement, and offering impactful programming for young children. Participants will gain practical insights and resources for leveraging existing resources, defining partner roles, and fostering community-driven food systems change from within their own organizational structures.

Speaker

Shironda Brown, NCSU CEFS Farm to ECE

Shironda Brown is the current Interim Project Director for the NC Farm to Early Care & Education Initiative at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, North Carolina State University. With a Master’s in Youth, Family, and Community Science and 20+ years experience in early childhood education, Shironda excels in Farm to ECE training for different community groups. She equips childcare sites, Head Start, consultants, Partnership TAs, and Extension Agents with vital knowledge and skills to improve and foster community-driven food systems change within their organizational structures through the Farm to Early Care & Education Initiative.

Kenya Joseph, The Charlotte Mecklenburg Food Policy Council/Hearts and Hands Food Pantry

Kenya Joseph is a nonprofit leader and food systems strategist with nearly a decade of experience leading both grassroots initiatives and policy-focused coalitions. As the founder of Hearts and Hands Food Pantry and board chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council, she has helped shape community-driven responses to hunger, data, and systems change. Her work centers the lived experiences of those navigating poverty and bureaucracy while building tools that connect mission, metrics, and impact.

Dara Bloom

Dara Bloom is an Associate Professor, Local Foods Extension Specialist, and Assistant Director of Community Based Food Systems for the Center for Environmental Farming Systems at NC State University. Since 2006, Dara Bloom has conducted research and outreach about the organization and development of local food supply chains, including supply chains that connect farms to schools, supermarkets, food banks/pantries, and child care programs. She loves cooking and gardening with her five year old, and is always up for a conversation about local food systems and how important ECE educators are!

Trevor Hyde

Trevor Hyde is the Local Foods Coordinator and Family Consumer Sciences Agent for Wake County Cooperative Extension. Since 2021, he has supported the Food Systems work in Wake County, connecting residents to fresh, locally grown foods. He has worked with food hubs, farmers, childcare centers, farmers markets, food pantries, and food banks to strengthen connections across the food system. The work he’s most proud of so far is his collaborating with food hubs and other partners to increase the capacity and resilience of the Central NC Food System.

Nancy Rogers
2. Pinball policy. Lessons learned and advice for the NC General Assembly

A bill is not as simple as its title. In this session, we’ll walk through the moves the NC legislature takes to pass legislation. We learned a lot by closely tracking the North Carolina Farm Act of 2025 this year, which included many regulatory changes. One section outlined a change that would significantly impact the ability to hold pesticide companies accountable for the harms their products cause. Even if pesticide issues aren’t your focus within the food system, we’ll share lessons learned, tools, and tricks to watch out for in advocacy to make sure people are defended in our state.

Speaker

Kendall Wimberley, Toxic Free NC

Kendall has been with Toxic Free NC for almost 2 years managing the organization’s policy work. Prior to Toxic Free NC, Kendall earned a Master of Environmental Management in Environmental Economics and Policy at Duke. Kendall’s role includes tracking the pesticide policy landscape in NC and nationally through many coalitions, participating in public comment periods, developing policy resources, supporting communications and action alerts, connecting community members with decisionmakers, and lobbying legislators. Toxic Free NC has engaged in policy advocacy since our founding in 1986.

Ashley Daniels, Toxic Free NC

Ashley brings years of issue organizing, coalition building, and facilitation to her role as Program and Organizing Director with Toxic Free NC. In her previous role as Regional Organizer with the Carolina Federation, Ashley worked with community members to establish New Hanover for All, a non-partisan organization committed to building grassroots political power in New Hanover County. She also served as a Field Organizer with the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network where she supported environmental justice communities impacted by CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations). Ashley is a southeastern North Carolina native and attended Appalachian State University.
3. What Just Happened? Demystifying State and Federal Budget Connections following HR1

This session will share the latest analysis of Congressional funding choices in HR1, or the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and the harmful impacts it will have on our state budget and food security in NC. Participants will be able to map how cuts to food assistance will affect their communities and learn about the choices key budget writers must make to preserve state revenue to survive the looming federal cuts.

Speaker

Moriah Collins, NC Budget & Tax Center, Community Food Strategies

Moriah coordinates campaigns and partner activities that mobilize people to advance policy change at the state and local level. She develops policy campaign plans, collaborates on implementation and programs, and sustains connections with partners throughout the policy process.

Sally Hodges-Copple

Sally produces research and analysis to deepen understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and systemic racism in North Carolina, and builds the will to act on policy solutions that advance the well-being of all people and communities. Before joining the NC Budget & Tax Center in 2023, Sally was the Data, Evaluation, and Impact Specialist at the Emily Krzyzewski Center, where she worked to support continuous improvement in programs that help Durham youth access and complete higher education. Born and raised in Durham, Sally received a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University and a B.A. in Economics and Policy Studies from Rice University.
4. The Power of Comprehensive Planning: Schools, Communities, and the Future of Food

What do you have? What do you want? What do you need to move between where you are and where you want to be? Join us to learn about powerful planning tools that can help sustainably transform school food systems; discuss collectively how to bring comprehensive planning to your local school district; and participate in a hands-on activity to understand the challenges, and rewards, of engaging in comprehensive school planning for sustainable regional food system transformation.

Speaker

Linden Thayer, Maya Systems Design LLC/ NCSU ITRE SchoolCAM

Linden Thayer has 20 years experience leading cross-functional teams to develop and deliver policies and plans that support aligned systems in public education and food for students. Linden leads with collaborative, interdisciplinary planning that identifies all stakeholders and institutions to ensure everyone has a seat at the table. She uses a mixed methods design approach to support institutions as drivers of positive systems change, connecting local communities to resources that improve public education and create thriving communities for children and families.
Building Solidarity Economies & Democratic Food Futures
1. Charity Reimagined

What if food wasn’t just a tool for relief but a driver of lasting, community-rooted change? This session will challenge traditional charity mindsets and invite participants to reimagine food as a social enterprise—place-based and people-focused. We’ll explore how food can support local economies, create jobs, improve health outcomes, and restore dignity—without relying on handouts. Grounded in the lived experience of Main Street Marketplace & Meeting Place, this workshop offers a fresh framework and real-world insights for those ready to think differently about hunger, equity, and transformational change.

Speaker

Hope Oliphant, Main Street Marketplace & Meeting Place

Hope Oliphant is the Executive Director of Main Street Marketplace & Meeting Place in China Grove, North Carolina, where she has led a transformation from traditional charity to a place-based, people-focused model of community development. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership, she has helped pioneer food as a social enterprise through innovative programs that increase access, support local farmers, and create sustainable impact. Hope brings both strategic insight and lived experience to her work, grounded in deep relationships with the community she serves.

Susan Blume

Susan Blume, a North Carolina native, serves as the Food Pharmacy Coordinator at Main Street Marketplace & Meeting Place in China Grove, NC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition from Appalachian State University and a master’s degree in Nutrition from UNC Greensboro. With a holistic approach to lifestyle medicine, Susan helps individuals shift from processed, sugar-heavy diets to fresh, whole-food meals, making the connection between daily choices and long-term health.
2. Grounded in Dignity: Standing with Farmworkers

In this session we will lift up the experiences of farmworkers with a panel discussion on challenges farmworkers are navigating, who in the state is working to provide support, and how we can act in solidarity with farmworkers in our state. Toxic Free NC is joined by panelists from El Futuro Es Nuestro/It’s Our Future and NC Field.

Speaker

Eduardo Paez, Toxic Free NC moderator

Maria Mejia, El Futuro Es Nuestro

Leti Zavala, El Futuro Es Nuestro

Vidal Lormendez, NC Field
3. Southern Agricultural Cooperatives: History, Impact, and Possibility

This session will explore the history of Southern Black agricultural cooperatives as models of community self-determination and economic resilience. Participants will learn how cooperatives can be used to build local control over food systems in both rural and urban contexts. Through interactive discussion, real-world examples, and a reflective activity, attendees will explore how cooperative economics can be a tool for advancing equitable, community-owned food systems. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of agricultural cooperatives and practical ideas for incorporating cooperative practices into their own food and economic justice work.

Speaker

Naomi Thompkins, Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund

Naomi Thompkins is the Senior Cooperative Development Fellow with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund. She supports Black farmers and rural cooperatives across the South through cooperative education, governance training, and business development. Naomi works directly with agricultural cooperatives to build sustainable, community-owned food systems.

Jacqueline Figg

Ms. Jacqueline Figg is the Owner and Operator of JC Ranching LLC, in central Texas where she functions as the Chief Financial Officer. Jackye is a 2nd generation producer where she manages both a cow/calf and a stocker calf operation. She is committed to modernizing and expanding our operation while staying true to its foundation, producing beef. Ms. Figg has always marched to the beat of her own drum, and has found a niche in the cattle industry. She applies a “boots-on-the-ground” approach, working alongside the USDA and their practices to gain deeper insight into our land and livestock. This hands-on experience provides clarity for my vision—expanding productivity, protecting their resources, and building a value-added beef operation.
4. Growing Together: Building Healthy Relationships to Revitalize Communities and Local Food Systems

Discover a detailed blueprint on how to build a functioning and profitable network that strengthens food systems through creating authentic, profitable and supportive relationships between essential organizations. This informative and interactive workshop will explore how to strengthen local food economies by fostering meaningful relationships between farms, schools, nonprofits, local government, businesses, corporations, churches, and other essential community organizations by including steps, ideas, resources, testimonies, and measurable feedback that can be used to design an alternative blueprint for one’s own local community.

Speaker

Salina Brown-Artis, TRUTH- To Really Understand Thy Health

Salina Brown-Artis is the Founder and Executive Director of T.R.U.T.H. – To Really Understand Thy Health, a nonprofit organization focused on improving community wellness through hands-on education, culturally relevant health literacy, and access to nutritious foods. She also founded The Goldsboro Gardening Group, a virtual platform and local food council initiative that connects community members to free gardening resources, expert advice, equipment exchanges, and local food events. As the Southeast Regional Representative for the NC Local Food Council, Salina works at the intersection of community care, food equity, and economic development—empowering residents to grow their own food, build resilient networks, and transform local systems from the ground up.
Culture of Care: Connection as a Tool for Change
1. “Picture This: Using Photovoice to Uplift Community Voices in Food Systems”

This interactive workshop shares the story of Guilford County’s Framing the Future Photovoice exhibit—a powerful project that used community photography and storytelling to spotlight food insecurity and inspire local change. Participants will hear firsthand how this project was developed, curated, and shared with the public, and why centering lived experience is critical to advancing food justice. Attendees will also engage in a mini Photovoice activity and leave with practical tools, ethical considerations, and step-by-step guidance to launch a similar initiative in their own communities. Whether you’re a community organizer, educator, or policymaker, this session will equip you to uplift local voices through visual storytelling and spark meaningful dialogue around food access.

Speaker

Alyssa McKim, Guilford County Cooperative Extension

Alyssa McKim has over 15 years of experience designing community-rooted programs that advance food sovereignty and environmental resilience. She currently serves as the Food Security Coordinator for Guilford County, leading countywide efforts in participatory research, coalition building, and sustainable food systems planning. Passionate about equity and systems change, Alyssa blends design thinking, land-based education, and policy strategy to drive lasting impacts.

Samira Dahdah, UNCG Recipe for Success

Samira Dahdah is a SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator and Policy, Systems and Environmental Intervention Coordinator working with Recipe for Success at UNC Greensboro. She builds and sustains partnerships and programming rooted in shared meaning, trust and collaboration. Samira enjoys facilitating experiential and mindful learning around food, and believes any effective and equitable change is co-created alongside those she is working with.
2. Recipe for Change: How One Kitchen is Redefining Reentry with Love

What happens when a kitchen becomes a space for healing, not just cooking?This workshop introduces Recipe for Change, a soulful culinary reentry program born from lived experience. Through stories, reflection, and community-rooted tools, we’ll explore how food, faith, and second chances can reshape what reentry really looks like. This is a session for anyone who believes in transformation, equity, and the power of showing up with love; one plate, one person at a time.

Speaker

Tanisha Carter, The Foosic Experience (Arise Collective)

Tanisha “Chef T” Carter is a classically trained chef, reentry advocate, and founder of The Foosic Experience. Drawing from her own lived experience with incarceration, she helped mold Recipe for Change a culinary program rooted in healing, faith, and real-world skill-building. Through her leadership, the program creates space for justice-involved women to grow, rebuild, and reclaim their futures one plate at a time.

Taloria McDonald

My name is Taloria McDonald, I have been a participant in the women re-entry project at Arise Collective after returning from incarceration in 2024. I enjoy seeing how food brings people together from all walks of life I am inspired by how food and recovery shape lives.
3. More than a Seat: An Emerging NC Food Is Medicine Coalition for Collective Power and Culture

It has never been more important to organize together for healthy food and community power, and we need you involved. This will be an interactive session to support the planning and building of a North Carolina Food Is Medicine Coalition, which we intend to launch in 2016. For two years a cohort of community-based food is medicine organizations has been planting seeds of cohesion and vision for a larger statewide network for advocacy and shared learning. Now we’re ready to start engaging more key partners from diverse aspects of the food and health systems. Participants will be asked their experiences (good, bad, and ugly) with coalitions, as well as specifics on goals and membership ideas for this FIM coalition, to help us co-design it so it really works. Participants will have the opportunity to sign up to stay involved.

Speaker

Merry Davis, Blue Cross North Carolina

Merry Davis serves as Director of Health Through Food at the Blue Cross NC Foundation, where she helps lead efforts to improve health through better access to nutritious food across North Carolina. Guided by a belief that everyone—no matter where they live—should have access to healthy, affordable food, Merry works with partners to support community-driven solutions and system-level strategies. Since joining the Foundation in 2016, she has drawn on her experience in strategy, program design, project management, and communications to support initiatives that expand access to healthy food, grow Food is Medicine efforts, and make the healthy choice the easy choice. Merry’s commitment to this work is rooted in the wide-reaching impact food can have—not just on individual health, but also on local nonprofits, farms, and economies. Over the past 20+ years, she’s worked at leading organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, California HealthCare Foundation, Duke University, and RTI International. Outside of work, Merry enjoys hiking near the Eno River, visiting farmers markets, and discovering North Carolina’s hidden gems. She is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Henry Crews, Green Rural Redevelopment Organization

Henry Crews is a dedicated social entrepreneur and community advocate with a lifelong commitment to economic empowerment and social change. As the Executive Director of the Green Rural Redevelopment Organization (GRRO) in Henderson, NC, Henry leads efforts to revitalize rural communities by tackling poverty, food insecurity, and chronic disease. A North Carolina native, Henry co-founded GRRO in 2012 with his wife, Ardis Crews, to address the pressing challenges facing Henderson, Vance County, and an expanding 11-county region. Under his leadership, GRRO has forged strategic partnerships to foster economic development, strengthen rural agriculture, and expand access to fresh, healthy foods for vulnerable populations. Additionally, he works closely with healthcare providers to improve health outcomes through nutrition education and food access programs.

Henry’s passion for community development extends beyond North Carolina. He has worked extensively in Africa and through Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OICs) across the country, promoting workforce development and economic opportunities for underserved communities. With decades of experience in nonprofit leadership and grassroots advocacy, he remains committed to building resilient, thriving rural communities.

Sonya Jones

Sonya Jones is the founder and Executive Director of Caja Solidaria, a community-rooted nonprofit committed to ensuring everyone has access to the abundance of the Southern Appalachians. She is also helping launch Field and Kitchen, a shared kitchen, retail, and cold storage hub designed to strengthen small producers and build a circular food economy. In her statewide role, Sonya serves as a strategist with the Blue Cross NC Foundation’s Community of Practice for Food is Medicine, where she facilitates learning, strategy, and coalition-building to advance food and health equity. She has worked with partners across North Carolina to support food pantries in adopting healthy options and to expand insurance-reimbursable food prescription services. Through a long list of publications, courses, and presentations, Sonya studied deeply to become a community servant. More importantly, as a descendant of seven generations of Henderson County subsistence farmers, farmworkers, and vending machine attendants, she feels is called to work for food justice every day.

Daniel Ross

Daniel is CEO and Principal of DAISA Enterprises LLC (www.daisaenterprises.com), which works at the intersection of food, health, economic and community development, building cutting-edge initiatives and enterprises. DAISA works extensively in the growing field of Food as Medicine, with research, technical assistance, and a focus on community-driven solutions to health. As an innovator for healthy and equitable community food systems, he has been recognized with fellowships from Ashoka: Innovators for the Public Good, MIT Legatum Institute and others. Daniel approaches systems change from various angles and sectors, he was Visiting Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Hampshire College, as Chief Operating Officer he helped Wholesome Wave Charitable Foundation Ventures, and 16 years as Executive Director of Nuestras Raíces, a food and cultural development grass-roots organization in Holyoke, Massachusetts, helping start over a dozen food and agriculture businesses, co-founding Energía worker & NGO-owned energy-efficiency services company, and various local and MA state-wide food systems and environmental policy coalitions. He holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
4. Unearthing Stories, Cultivating Change: Community-Based Participatory Research for Food Justice Advocacy

This session explores how storytelling can shift power and influence policy within food justice movements. Participants will learn how community-based participatory research (CBPR) supports equitable, collaborative approaches to change, with a focus on real-world examples from across North Carolina. Through story-sharing and reflective practice, the session invites participants to bear witness to community narratives and consider how personal and collective stories can be powerful tools for advocacy. Attendees will leave with a richer understanding of how policy, power, and narrative intersect in the pursuit of more just food systems.

Speaker

Victoria Yunez Behm, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Victoria is a PhD student in the Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a Pre-Doctoral Fellow in the Program on Integrative Medicine through the UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Victoria holds dual master’s degrees in Nutrition and Integrative Health from the Maryland University of Integrative Health (MS) and Theological Studies (MTS) with a concentration in Ethics from Duke Divinity School. Her research focuses on integrative nutrition, food and ethics, moral formation for health care workers, and health equity and advocacy.

James Marriott, UNC Chapel Hill

James Marriott is a Nutrition PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and research assistant at the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact. His work includes supporting SNAP-Ed funded programs throughout North Carolina, as well as evaluating federal and state public health nutrition programs, such as GusNIP. When he is not studying or conducting research, he spends time gardening and enjoying the outdoors.

Rev. Bill Kearney, Coley Springs Missionary Baptist Church & United Shiloh Baptist Church Association

Rev. William (Bill) Kearney is a partner in several community-engaged research partnerships and engages and consults with universities, organizations, and partnerships across the United States. His consulting company, Bill Kearney & Company, LLC, organized and serves as the Director / Board Chair of the Warren County Environmental Action Team, Inc and the Warren County African American History Collective. Rev. Kearney serves as associate minister and faith & health ministry coordinator at Coley Springs Missionary Baptist Church and has served as faith and health ministry coordinator and vice president of the United Shiloh Missionary Baptist Association Church Union. Rev. Kearney is also a research associate and community outreach manager at University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. He has co-authored numerous research manuscripts and articles and has co-produced various oral histories and documentaries. He is also a managing partner of The PRIME Collective Consultants, LLC.

Mutual Aid Space

As we journeyed A Way Forward together, this mutual aid exchange space was a small act of transformation — reducing waste, sharing resources, highlighting stories and carrying community care with us. Leave a book, take a seed pod, and keep the movement flowing.

Offers & Needs Wall

People shared what they had to offer and what they needed to fulfill a collective dream, posted it on the wall, and responded to what other people had posted. We invite this exchange to continue throughout our network – virtually. Share your offers and asks to our network here. We have all that we need to resource ourselves.

Network Asks & Offers

We invited participants to write their vision for an ideal food system and seal it in the Okra Jar. Together we can create bold changes, innovations, and connections where we can all thrive.

Okra Jar - Community Food Gathering Sept 2025

Gallery

Listen to our Community Food Gathering Playlist

Playlist

Vendors

North Carolina Local Food Council

North Carolina Budget & Tax Center

NC Food Systems Advocacy & Coalition

Center for Environmental Farming Systems

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

Graphic Recording By a visual approach

A Visual Approach is a woman-founded firm specializing in graphic recording, group facilitation, and strategic illustration. We collaborate with clients to draw out ideas and make them shine. Whether you’re generating new ideas, developing a vision, strategizing, or sharing solutions, skillful facilitation and visual tools will ease the way, making it easier to engage with big ideas, see connections, and make decisions.

SUMMARY

Over 200 food system change makers came together from across North Carolina to explore solutions, learn skills, and strategize around how to create a food system built by us and for us at the 2025 Community Food Gathering September 17 – 18th in Colfax, NC.

“The event was organized exceptionally well. I loved the exchange of books, seeds, and totes. I also loved the inclusion of afternoon snacks! I loved all the speakers and conversations”

Participant

Keynote Panel Finding Our Strength in Each Other

“I am so grateful for the heart and brilliance of your organization that made such a meaningful event/ experience. Thank you!”

Participant

Keynote Conversation Writing Ourselves Into The Future

Participant

Workshops

Mutual Aid Space

As we journeyed A Way Forward together, this mutual aid exchange space was a small act of transformation — reducing waste, sharing resources, highlighting stories and carrying community care with us. Leave a book, take a seed pod, and keep the movement flowing.

Offers & Needs Wall

We invited participants to write their vision for an ideal food system and seal it in the Okra Jar. Together we can create bold changes, innovations, and connections where we can all thrive.

Gallery

Listen to our Community Food Gathering Playlist

Vendors

North Carolina Local Food Council

North Carolina Budget & Tax Center

NC Food Systems Advocacy & Coalition

Center for Environmental Farming Systems

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

Graphic Recording By a visual approach

Support: