EFOD
CHAMPION #5 — EFOD Collaborative
Backing the local leaders growing food justice from the ground up.
In Durham, North Carolina, Camryn Smith helped turn an old gas station into a neighborhood food co-op. In El Paso, a group of women transformed an empty warehouse into a cultural kitchen. In Boston, residents are reclaiming vacant lots to grow their own produce. These aren’t side projects. They’re serious efforts to rebuild food systems in communities that have been locked out of ownership for generations. What ties them together? EFOD. The Equitable Food Oriented Development Collaborative isn’t one nonprofit — it’s a national network that supports local food projects across the country. These groups are turning vacant lots into farms, opening neighborhood kitchens, and creating small businesses that bring lasting jobs and stability to communities that have been left behind. What makes EFOD a champion is what it does behind the scenes: it gets funding to these local projects — and lets the people doing the work decide how it’s used. EFOD has raised over $12 million and uses it to help local groups buy land, open kitchens, and build neighborhood food systems — with fewer hoops, more trust, and full control in community hands. And while it may look small today, it’s modeling the kind of resilient, locally owned infrastructure the entire country may need tomorrow.