Fostering allyship and community in the midst of chaos

Knowing Thy Neighbor

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What is food insecurity and what can we do about it?

The most foundational language for guiding your impact

Your Vision and Mission statements deserve more attention

Sometimes, social media feels like a horror show. Can we defeat the monster and save the day?

Escaping our Social Media Spirals

Picking up the pieces and finding our voice.

We are all we've got.

Sometimes sharing our deepest thoughts is enough to give someone else the courage to move ahead.

Robert Bullard 2020 Champion of the Earth - Lifetime Achievement

How to support environmental justice for Black neighborhoods.

The Segregation of Pollution

Black motherhood is targeted by racist systems. Midwives can make all the difference.

Honoring The Black Midwife

Soul Fire Farm: Uprooting racism in the U.S. food system with agriculture | More in Common

Haus of Hoodoo: Jessyka Winston Wants To Teach The Truth About Vodou

WGTA PODCAST- EP. 9 PART 2: OUR LITTLE RED ONE SHOP

The Healing Power of Plant Based Living with Afya Ibomu | Koya Webb

How Black herbalism became a hashtag, and the true history behind it.

The Cultural Theft of Medicine

How Black herbalism became a hashtag and the true history behind it.

Balancing mourning with collective ritual and celebration

Acknowledging the violent history behind the Thanksgiving celebration we've come to know and expect is critical, and in an age where preserving tiem for family and friends is increasingly important, it might be time to incorporate new traditions to your Thanksgiving repertoire. Here are a few things you can explore this year to embrace the preservation and memory of the indigenous people affected by imperialism in the history of the United States.

Now is a great time to incorporate new traditions to your Thanksgiving celebration.

What the heck does it mean to be a ‘B Corp’?

People over profits: the B Corp Series

Or, “What the heck does it mean to be a ‘B Corp’?”

Care loudly and often, especially when others don’t want you to. Dissecting the extremes of American activists, and why you don't need to fit an exaggerated role to make a difference.

Activism is for Everyone

Care loudly and often, especially when others don’t want you to.

Help Out With Hurricane Ida Recovery Efforts

We are actively collecting resources for rebuilding in the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Help Out in Hurricane Ida Recovery Efforts

Resources for rebuilding in the Gulf Coast

Here’s to Book Lovers and their Libraries

Libraries have long given us a feeling of wonder and excitement, and they're so important to us still today. Join us in celebrating the magic that libraries provide our young, adult and aging minds. Protect your public libraries!

Join our celebration of books and the public spaces that support them 

Hear from the Emancipation Park Conservancy, in coversation with The Black Sheep Agency, about the historical significance of Juneteenth and how this celebration continues into present day.

A Juneteenth Story and Celebration

How Emancipation Park Conservancy is making its mark on the community

Allyship comes with an ongoing commitment to addressing communities authentically.

Here's to All Women

Women’s History Month might be coming to a close, but we’ll be celebrating women all year long.

Lifting as we climb: Shining a light on a woman who helped shaped the Houston we all love

Christia Adair's lifelong commitment to expanding equity and access for her community is an inspiration. Adair championed women's rights and equality for African Americans.

Christia Adair had an immeasurable impact on Houston.

For the Love of Third Ward: An Interview with Marc Furi

Hear from artist Marc Furi on how branding and art have helped bring attention to Houston's Third Ward.

How Marc Furi turned his love of art and his city into a local movement

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: WHERE OUR PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE COLLIDE

American history is Black history. This February, we're celebrating how our nation's past—and future—is tied to the Black experience.

Welcome to the first day of February and the first day of Black History Month in 2021. 

Last week (read: for the last two months), all eyes were on Georgia as they decided who controlled the senate for the first two years of President Elect Joe Biden’s administration. Georgia has been a red state since 1992, so its sudden flip to blue came as a shock to many. 

An Ode to Grassroots Organizers

The key to a free and fair democratic system is making sure that everyone can vote.

Giving Tuesday has raised a lot of eyebrows at Black Sheep over the years. But nonprofits are in dire straits across the country—and it's time to think through how we can give back when we're tapped out from 2020.

#GivingTuesday2020

We were over it. Now it's all we can think about.

Condensed

An invitation in these strange times.

There are times when you just have to get something—anything—down on paper to figure it out. When you need to have a moment to just take all of the chaos and think through it as clearly as possible, line by line.

No matter your impact space, the last few years have taught us that our causes are interconnected. Researchers are now dealing with what the White House calls “converging crises” across industries. As a purpose-driven organization, we’ve spent years discussing everything from environmental racism and climate change to education and housing. But until recently, we hadn’t yet looked into an issue that’s affected by all of the above: food insecurity.

Food insecurity affects millions of all ages and backgrounds across America, particularly impacting the BIPOC community and hitting kids especially hard after millions have lost access to free school lunches. 

The pandemic has only exacerbated the fragility of the inequitable American food system. In 2022, the Census Bureau reported a 41% increase in households saying they did not have enough to eat after Congress stopped pandemic relief programs. 

That's over 40 million people who are experiencing hunger—or the fear of hunger—on a regular basis. With rising food and housing costs, that number is only expected to grow. 

Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food to maintain an active and healthy life. This can include not having enough money to buy food, living in an area without access to healthy food options or experiencing disruptions in food supply due to natural disasters or other crises.

According to Feeding America, the causes of food insecurity are complex and include:

Systemic racism and racial discrimination

The devastating effects of food insecurity

Access to fresh, healthy food is a basic human need and a social determinant of health and wellness. Without equitable access, we see an impact on:

Health: Without nutritious foods, people are at an increased risk for chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and mental health disorders—particularly as many turn to cheap, caloric-rich foods in lieu of fresh, prepared meals.

Education: Children who experience food insecurity are more likely to have lower academic achievement, be suspended or expelled and suffer from behavioral and emotional problems. 

Financial wellness: Food-insecure households often spend over 25% of their income on food, making it challenging to budget other expenses like housing, healthcare, education and utilities. This is more harrowing given that food-insecure households also spend more on healthcare due to their poor diet.

Words matter. Food deserts and food apartheid are related terms you have probably heard but are distinct concepts.

Food deserts refer to geographic areas where residents lack access to affordable, healthy and fresh food, often due to a lack of grocery stores or other food retailers. These food deserts can occur in both urban and rural areas and affect people of all races and income levels.

Food apartheid, on the other hand, refers to a systemic and intentional form of discrimination in the food system that leads to unequal access to healthy food based on race and income. This terminology recognizes that food access is not simply a matter of geography but a result of historical and ongoing inequities in the food system, including racism, poverty, and systemic inequality. 

There are organizations across most major cities to fight these issues, namely urban farms and dedicated neighborhood markets. However, given the multiple converging crises, issues like food insecurity are often overlooked in favor of more hot-button issues. That’s where all of us can step in.

What can social justice-minded people do to help solve food insecurity?

While food insecurity offers no easy solutions, there are many ways to get involved.

Poverty USA offers some smart systemic change recommendations:

Reduce food waste - we throw away 30% of the food we produce

Here are a few ideas you can engage with at the individual level:

Find your nearest co-op (like Plant It Forward) and volunteer and shop there

Call your representative to advocate for policies that support access to healthy, affordable food.

Support local farmers and community gardens

Educate yourself and others about the causes and consequences of food insecurity

Donate to organizations that are working to address food insecurity, such as Feeding America or the World Food Programme

Food insecurity is incredibly complex, but it’s one area we can actually make great progress on as individuals. Supporting these local, fresh food sources improves the entire community’s health—AND it means more delicious, interesting meals on your plate. That’s a win for everyone. 

Food insecurity is a complex issue affecting millions of Americans, with systemic factors like poverty, racism, and geography playing a major role, but there are steps we can take to combat it.

The Black Sheep blog is turning up the volume on community engagement, social media strategy, Houston happenings and what it means to lead a purpose-driven life.

The Black Sheep Agency | Social impact and nonprofit blog

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We're not shy.

The Politics of Food Access