​Fiddleheads Food Co-op exists so that Southeastern Connecticut is a healthy, robust, just and inclusive community. It is our mission and responsibility to put in the work required to help our Black community members attain equality and justice by dismantling racist systems. Here are the actions we are taking to help do so:
  • We are organizing round up donation drives for local groups which focus on supporting and advancing BIPOC and have also committed to matching the donations made by our customers to varying amounts. Thus far these groups have included The Connecticut Bail Fund (in light of the George Floyd protests) and Step Up New London (in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate affect on the Black community).
  • We have supported protesters and their organizing parties with supplies and will continue to make ourselves available to social justice groups for nourishment in the future.
  • We are educating ourselves. In early 2019 the Fiddleheads Board of Directors issued this statement, “Fiddleheads Food Co-op strives to be safe, welcoming and inclusive to all. To this end, the Board has begun work, starting with a retreat in September 2018, on studying issues of race and inclusivity – examining particularly the history of race and systemic racism in America – and how people and institutions can cultivate change. We realize we are not perfect, and have begun doing conscious work to better achieve our co-op Ends and assess how far our ideals may be from reality. As we begin this process we, as a Board, have begun to educate ourselves and to commit ourselves to listening and being open to what we might hear.” To reinforce this education the Board has had the privilege to be advised by LaDonna Sanders-Redmond, a diversity, equity and inclusion trainer and coach with Columinate, a national consulting cooperative. Furthermore we are encouraging our staff, and providing them with the educational resources to also pursue their own education on anti-racism and inclusion.
  • We are committed to representing more diversity on our website, advertising, print material and social media platforms as well as using these channels to promote and provide educational resources to our community regarding anti-racism, Black history and social justice activism opportunities.
  • We are expanding our efforts to recruit and hire more diverse employees when staff vacancies arise.
  • We are strengthening old relationships and establishing new ones with local organizations which fight for Black lives and against racism and making ourselves available to follow their lead rather than imposing ourselves on the community.
  • As a community owned and operated grocery store we are also focused on how our energy and resources can advance the causes of food justice and sovereignty and how fighting racism in our food systems specifically can help support the health, nourishment and flourishing of the Black community.
  • We are mindful that this movement is not and should not be merely a trend and that educating ourselves and dismantling racists systems will be a long term, ever evolving challenge that requires our constant attention and commitment.
 
We encourage everyone to educate themselves on Black history, the Black experience, and how they can contribute to a better, more just world by being actively anti-racist with the resources below. 
From "Anti-Racism Resources for White People" a Document compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein in May 2020:

Find the Google doc here: bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES

This document is intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work. If you haven’t engaged in anti-racism work in the past, start now. Feel free to circulate this document on social media and with your friends, family, and colleagues.

Resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children:
Articles to read:
Videos to watch:
Podcasts to subscribe to:
Books to read:
Films and TV series to watch:
  • 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
  • American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent
  • Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent
  • Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent
  • Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
  • Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent
  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
  • Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.
  • King In The Wilderness  — HBO
  • See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
  • Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent
  • The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Available to rent for free
  • When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

Organizations to follow on social media:
More anti-racism resources to check out:


Organizations that Support Black Farmers:
Support Black Owned Farms Directly
National Index of Black Owned Farms

Black Owned Farms in New England

CONNECTICUT
Park City Harvest | Bridgeport, CT | Grows and sells produce in local markets | Instagram
Root Life | New Haven, CT | Organic produce and body products | Website + Instagram + Youtube
RHODE ISLAND
Quaintly Farm | Providence, RI | grow local seasonal crops like veggies, herbs and some fruits | Website + Facebook + Instagram
MASSACHUSETTS
Agric Organics Urban Farming | Springfield, MA | Grows and sells micro greens, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, beets and more | Website + Facebook + Instagram
Urban Farming Institute of Boston | Mattapan, MA | Develops and promotes urban farming to engage individuals in growing food and building a healthy community.  | Website + Facebook | Email: [email protected] | Tel.  617-989-9920
VERMONT
Clemmons Family Farm | Charlotte, VT | Blends farming with the arts, the sciences, and opportunities to learn and share across religions, cultures and experiences with the local community | Website + Facebook + Youtube
Rockbottom Farm – Strafford Organic Creamery | Strafford, VT | Dairy farming | Website + Facebook
 Support Black Owned Bookstores
Connecticut based, Black owned The Key Bookstore
List of Black Owned Bookstores
Interactive Map of Black Owned Bookstores

Directories to Blacked Owned Businesses
Search Engines
Official Black Wallstreet
Support Black Owned
WhereU Came From (also available as an app)
I Am Black Business (also available as an app)

Apps
Black Nation
eatOkra
GotSoul?

Black Owned Business Product Marketplace
We Buy Black

Connecticut Black Owned Business Directory via CT Collective Resistance
Local Organizations Fighting Racism and Supporting the Black Community
Hearing Youth Voices
Step Up New London
CTCORE
The Connecticut Bail Fund
New London NAACP
Know an organization we should add to this list? Are you a local CT organization in need of resources? Contact us: [email protected]