Dear Friend:
Happy Labor Day! I write to you on this beautiful, sunny day
from the Castlewood Park in my new community in Lexington. I’m watching my
family and another family exercise by engaging in one of Kentucky’s great
legacies – that of basketballJ.
If you would allow, I would like to take this time to share
with you some reflections I have on my time spent with Community Farm Alliance
(CFA) and hope to solicit your financial support for our fall campaign.
I have been involved with CFA for 10 years now. As a recent
graduate of the University of Louisville, I found myself desperately trying to
figure out what path I wanted to take my life. I had decided that I no longer
was fit to be a middle school teacher and I was looking for the opportunity to
utilize my leadership skills in a way that helped people. I soon discovered the
best kept secret in Kentucky in CFA.
CFA is a 27 year old state-wide, membership organization
committed to the development of a food and fiber system in Kentucky that provides
nutritious food for human consumption that also is friendly to the environment
and provides a stimulus to our economy. We do this through encouraging
cooperation between urban and rural communities using community organizing
techniques to bring people to this work.
CFA has been a much-needed voice and ally for Kentucky’s
family-scale farmers. As a non-farmer, CFA has supported my professional and
personal growth too and enabled me to be a part of some great work in Louisville.
When I joined CFA’s staff in 2003, I came
on as a community organizer and managed the development and operations of the state's first urban farmers markets to accept EBT
benefits. I recruited new members to CFA – both farmers and urban residents. I led
the creation of a community food assessment of West Louisville that has led to
many initiatives that help to get food to consumers (i.e. the YMCA’sHealthy in a Hurry program and the creation of other farmers markets acrossLouisville) and has inspired other communities across the state to do similar
assessments. I believe CFA’s work in
Louisville also influenced Mayor Greg Fischer to run part of his mayoral
campaign based on supporting the region’s local food economy. Personally, CFA
has helped me find my
voice and place as an actively, engaged citizen leader.
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| Frankfort - Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture (Fall 2012) (from left: CFA Board member and farmer Todd Howard; State Representative Reginald Meeks; Cassia Herron) |
Without CFA, I may not have ever testified before a state legislative
committee. Without CFA, my state representative probably would not know me by
first name nor call me on a Sunday afternoon to seek my input on an important
bill that he’d be voting on the following week. Without CFA, I would not know
how essential the passing of the Farm Bill is to all Americans and how influential our
congressional leaders are in the process.
Last week, I began a Masters program in
Agricultural Economics at the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture,
Food and Environment (don’t you love the
college’s new name?). I never would have imagined that my life would take this
path. That my great-grandparents’ roots as tobacco farmers in Madison County
would lead me to a life of being a food and farm lover; that my children would have
dreams that we would one day own a farm; or that I will soon do work as an
economist providing essential analyses on food and agriculture policy during a
very pivotal moment in our country’s history.
 |
| Fundraising Dinner @ Harvest (Dec 2012) with CFA members Lisa Osanka and Carla Wallace |
Come December, I will have had the honor of serving as CFA’s
Board Chair for a year and half. I take great pride in knowing that I have been
leading an organization that represents not only our state’s small farmers, but
all Kentuckians and continues to be called upon to be the convener and catalyst
for all things food and agriculture related. I will always be a CFA member and
I hope the legacy I leave is one that inspires other young people and
non-farmers to become staunch supporters of Kentucky’s local food economy – as farmers
and entrepreneurs, as consumers and as engaged citizen leaders.
While our history and accomplishments are great, CFA’s
financial health is struggling. Like many non-profits, businesses and families,
CFA is still recovering from the national financial downturn that took place
several years ago. CFA’s foundation and grant support work as well as our
internal operations continue to be in transition. As these changes take place, so do our efforts to reclaim and recruit individuals who can
support our organization. This is where you can help!
- Become a CFA member – dues are $30 a year
- Make a donation - above or below the amount of membership dues. As witnessed through President Obama’s campaigns, any sized donation helps!
- Share CFA’s story! Ask a friend or local business to support CFA
- Sign-up for our e-newsletter - follow our work and learn about events near you
I thank you for taking the time to hear my CFA story. I hope you can join with me in ensuring the
rightful place for family-scale agriculture, democratic processes and true
citizen engagement in Kentucky by supporting Community Farm Alliance!
Sincerely yours,
Cassia Herron
Community Farm Alliance
2013 Board Chair
