Ivanhoe Farmers Market Turns to Community as the U.S. Government Wages War on Black Farmers  

For Executive Director Alana Henry, the sudden cancellation of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council’s federal farming grant was not just a blow to her organization — it was a direct assault on Black self-determination, economic empowerment, and the right to feed one’s own community. “We are under attack by a hostile government,” she said. “But that has been our experience for many centuries. We have navigated it many times and iterations before.” On February 14, Henry received a notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture informing her that the agency was rescinding a grant awarded to the Ivanhoe Farmers Market for being “too DEI.” That money was meant to support Black and brown farmers, expand community markets, and provide accessible food to seniors and mothers on WIC. Now, Ivanhoe’s mission has been thrown into uncertainty.& “If we can’t, as a society, care for those groups, then we have really lost our way,” she said. “And arguably, America has never lived up to the promise of caring for not just those of means, but those without means.”& “Growing Food Is Revolutionary” – The Fight for Black Food Sovereignty The Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council was awarded the now-canceled grant from the USDA’s Farmers Market...