For a truly fair food system, BPOC farmers need to flourish
Written by Dora Taylor. Photo by Dora Taylor.
In October 2022, a group of BPOC growers from London were walking among tall, wind-whipped stalks in Hertfordshire.
We were visiting David and Brenda Mwanaka, who grow white maize, a staple of southern African diets that is not grown commercially elsewhere in the UK. The trip was organised by the Rootz into Food Growing (RIFG) network, and funded by Manchester-based cooperative Unicorn Grocery. This network emerged from a report, published in 2021, to address BPOC growers’ experiences of ‘going it alone’, and it now meets regularly to socialise, share offers of work or funding and exchange tips.
The Mwanakas have become spokespeople for culturally appropriate veg…