Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, Inc.

The Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, Inc. is a place-based nonprofit dedicated to building a thriving and just food economy that supports USVI farmers and producers, and ensures healthy good food is accessible to every resident in the territory. Established in 2012, VI Good Food Coalition is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a fiscally-sponsored project under the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development. Our agency's work focuses on improving food security, food sovereignty, and agro-sustainability through market creation, services for farmers, education, and advocacy. We aim to cultivate an equitable food system that represents our cultural heritage, increases ... read more The Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, Inc. is a place-based nonprofit dedicated to building a thriving and just food economy that supports USVI farmers and producers, and ensures healthy good food is accessible to every resident in the territory. Established in 2012, VI Good Food Coalition is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a fiscally-sponsored project under the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development. Our agency's work focuses on improving food security, food sovereignty, and agro-sustainability through market creation, services for farmers, education, and advocacy. We aim to cultivate an equitable food system that represents our cultural heritage, increases our self-sufficiency, and protects our natural resources for generations to come. In the US Virgin Islands, food insecurity is severe and an everyday stressor. An alarming 97% of the food we eat is imported. This means that almost all of the food that Virgin Islanders consume comes from a container on a barge, and from a factory, processing plant, or a farm, located hundreds and thousands of miles away - assuming it arrives on time. Even in 'normal' circumstances, Virgin Islanders are accustomed to finding empty shelves in grocery stores due to ships arriving late or major weather events and natural disasters. In 2017, St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John were hit by devastating back-to-back category 5 hurricanes. The ensuing disaster recovery efforts, and the speed of economic development, resulted in real estate price-gouging, increased land loss, and an urgent need to secure agricultural land and protect our natural resources. St. Croix is also still recovering, and facing repeated risk, from the explosive oil and chemical contamination and pollution from the 2011 oil refinery incidents that affected aquifers, air, soil, and water collection sources for thousands of residents and hundreds of farmers and farms. The US Virgin Islands has had its fair share of setbacks, notwithstanding the impacts of the pandemic felt across the globe. Yet our farming community remains committed. We have a resilient group of over 540 small-scale farmers and agriculturalists who push hard every day to produce 3% of our food - which is substantially more fresh and nutritious than the food we import. VI Good Food Coalition is committed to lifting up USVI producers that provide the 3%, and providing services and strategies to foster an increase in local production, and put more locally sourced food in the hands of the Virgin Islanders. Our organization serves a unique role in bridging the gap between food system stakeholders by collaborating with local, regional, and national partners to address the root causes of food insecurity and facilitate long-term changes to strengthen our food economy. We provide USVI farmers and producers with technical assistance and solutions to access new markets and funding, improve agro-business infrastructure, conserve resources, and incorporate environmentally-friendly farming practices. As one of the founding members of the St. Croix Foundation's Nonprofit Consortium's Environs Sector, we are on the frontlines of environmental justice efforts in the USVI, working with partners to conduct crucial community impact surveys and outreach, while advocating for farmers, sustainable farming practices, community health, and clean air, soil and water. In 2023 VI Good Food Coalition looks forward to expanding our programs and services and launching several exciting new projects. We will continue providing farmers with one-on-one assistance with applying for USDA funding through our "Resources for Resilient Farms" program, with partner Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA). Our "FoodFind VI" project, which includes the geo-mapping of all farms and food-related businesses in the territory, will transition from geo-location and data collection to integration with USVI emergency and disaster preparedness agencies. We are proud to share that in late 2023 we will be launching our largest project to date, a brand new Virtual Farmer's Market for the territory which aims to increase equitable access to local food, online sales and commerce. This year we have planted the seed and are actively building networks and designing impactful programs with food agencies in US territories and rural remote locations, near and far, to build an even stronger network of support to help grow a resilient food system in the Virgin Islands.