Dina Newman wanted to reclaim Black growers’ seat at the table — helping an overlooked community in Kansas City create their own healthy and affordable food systems to nourish themselves.
“When I’m talking food system, I’m talking from a seed to plant,” said Newman, founder ofKansas City Black Urban Growers (KCBUGS). “When you look at that whole process, there’s not a lot of Black people involved on the industrial side of it. Without representation, our voices are not being heard.”
With many urban farms in the city’s predominantly Black third district — but with a disproportionate absence of Black farmers — KCBUGS aims to close that systemic gap by financially supporting growers, and offering workshops and training, she said.
“It’s our communities; we have to be there,” Newman said.
Given the disproportionately high rates of chronic diseases within the Black community, she also advocates for greater representation of Black growers in cultivating nutrient-rich food systems to enhance overall health and well-being.
“Food is medicine. We need to know where foods are coming from, how we’re growing our food, and how it’s been distributed to our communities,” said Newman. “Those are the foundations of having a healthy community, healthy families, and healthy lives.”
From the ground up KC Black Urban Growers came to fruition in 2011 when Newman started her own small affinity group to create a shared community for Black growers. Noticing that Black faces were missing in the urban agriculture space, she and the group wanted to plant solutions.
Click here to read more kcur.org
Photo Credit: gettyimages-johnbraid
Categories: Kansas, General