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DEI and ANti-Racism Work

We must do better. This page is permanent. It's here to help keep us accountable for working to be anti-racist* and practice DEI** as an organization

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We made a commitment to DEI in our Strategic Plan. As our Board and Staff learn, have tough conversations, and engage with resources, we will update this page. 

We Urge you to Vote in all Local, State, and National Elections 

Voting is important for changing policies at all levels of government. Please register to vote (if you are able) and encourage everyone you know to register and vote. 

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Register to Vote in Oregon

Register to Vote in Washington

Resources We Are Engaging with As Food Web Staff and Board Members

June 8th - US Food System Timeline
 

  • Staff and Board Members will had a conversation about the US Food System Timeline (Oregon Food Bank). 

  • Questions: 

    • Did you learn something new from this resource? What was it?

    • Can you connect an event on the timeline to something in your daily life now in 2020? (i.e. who grows our food?, who owns farmland?, what is in the grocery store?)

    • Did anything in the timeline make you uncomfortable? or leave you with questions?

    • Future consideration: How does this discussion connect to our programs and our organization?

  • We are using this Courageous Conversations guide to help us. Video here from Courageous Conversation author Glenn Singleton. 

Anchor 1

July 16th - Self Development Assessment and White Supremacy Culture reading
 

  • Staff and Board Members completed the Self-Development Assessment quiz from Capacity Building Partnerships to better understand where we are as individuals in our efforts to be anti-racist

    • ​This resource is helpful for focusing on our work as individuals. We also want to keep in mind that our work is not "done" and we do not expect to "arrive". The point is not to get an A+ on an assessment quiz, but to have it help us understand where we can grow. 

    • Questions: How did you approach the assessment? Do you think you under- or over-estimated your own position on the scales? Why or why not? How did it end up making you feel? What did it prompt you to think about? 

  • Staff and Board Members read "White Supremacy Culture", a resource from "Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups" by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun (Change Work, 2001) 

    • Questions:​ What stood out to you in this resource? What did you react to, resonate with, or have trouble with? Can we point out ways that our organization reinforces white supremacy culture? What changes would you start to make to course correct those aspects of our org.? 

  • Reality: Our Board intented to have a conversation about these resource, but we ended up having a long discussion about our DEI and anti-racism work first. We realized we needed more background to this work so that all Board and Staff are on the same page and feel comfortable talking about DEI and anti-racism together. 

August, 2020 - JEDI Committee Formed
 

  • Two Board Members and one staff member make up the new JEDI Committee. JEDI = Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The JEDI Committee has set Q4 goal of drafting an Equity Statement and/or Equity Lens for our organization that will be useful in evaluating our organization and programs. 

December 2020 - Board and Staff discuss priorities in equity work 
 

  • At our annual retreat, Board and Staff discussed our vision for equity within our organization and in our programs. The JEDI team used the results of this session to inform equity statement drafts. 

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December 2020 to March 2021 - JEDI Committee Drafts Equity Statement
 

  • JEDI Committee drafted an equity statement to be reviewed by the Board, along with equity lens questions that will inform and evaluate our work and programs

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Actions & Goals

  • Solidarity Payments for the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition on our online ordering site, Market Day

    • While we work toward supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color farmers on the North Coast, we ​want to assist organizations that are already doing this work around Oregon and the PNW, like the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition. 
       

  • Goal: Have a DEI Committee run by Board members that will work to create a DEI Lens and Equity statement for North Coast Food Web. The Committee will work to assess our programs against this Lens and Statement, and highlight areas for improvement. 
     

  • Goal: Consistent training for Staff, Board, and Food Web volunteers and community members on DEI and anti-racism so that we are all starting with the same set of tools and a similar understanding of how food justice and racial justice intersect. 

*What is "Anti-RacisT"? 

"In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist." - Angela Davis

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Being anti-racist is:

 (1) an active and everyday choice

 (2) to be self-aware and to make change to expose and root out white supremacy, white-dominant culture, and unequal institutions and society. 

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This definition was paraphrased from this extensive resource page from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

**What is "DEI"? 

DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It's shorthand for these three principles. For more, start here and learn about practicing DEI principles here. 

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