The Food Justice Fund is a community grantmaking project (sometimes called “participatory grantmaking”)(https://globalhumanrights.org/commentary/fund-101-intro-to-participatory-grant-making/). That means that the final awardees of this fund will be selected by a vote that is open to anyone over the age of 14 who resides in Syracuse, Onondaga County, or Onondaga Nation. The application process and selection criteria have been designed by the Food Justice Fund Leadership Council (FJFLC)  – a diverse group of community leaders committed to building a more just and equitable food system in our region. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b70b56_2817f018fb534568ae4661f898cf65d1~mv2.png

• Provide flexible funding to projects through an accessible and community-driven selection process. • Drive public awareness around food justice issues locally. • Learn about creative food justice solutions that YOU think will make meaningful changes in our community. • Create a pipeline for great ideas to connect with funding resources beyond the Food Justice Fund. • Maintain SOFSA’s commitment to redistributing a minimum of 15% of the revenue we bring in to support partners across the network.

Since 2023 for its annual “Plant A Seed” fundraising campaign, SOFSA’s Advisory Board has to allocated 75% of funds raised to support efforts across our network to advance food justice – and the idea for this community grantmaking initiative was born! As of February 2026, the Food Justice Fund stands at a grand total of $37,000*. The sources of these funds are outlined below: $12,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, $7,500 from the CNY Community Foundation, $7,250 reserved from 2025, and $10,250 raised through "Plant a Seed with SOFSA." https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b70b56_688dde16079b4d6083af3aac0135514f~mv2.png *The Food Justice Fund Leadership Council will reserve a portion of these funds to seed 2027's Food Justice Fund.

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Each year, funding priorities for the Food Justice Fund grants are determined by the Food Justice Fund Leadership Council (FJFLC). Their decision-making is informed by their personal perspectives on the food system as well as data collected by SOFSA through our Community Listening Sessions, Food Justice Gathering exit surveys, working group conversations and more. Funding priorities are outlined within the application.

Community voting will take place through an online balloting system developed by the Crowdsourced Democracy Team at Stanford University. Any resident of Syracuse, Onondaga County, and Onondaga Nation over the age of 14 is eligible to vote one time throughout the voting period. Voting will be available in the following locations: • In-person at any Onondaga County Public Library location during their open hours. • Visit https://www.onlib.org/locations (https://www.onlib.org/locations)to find a location near you. Ask at the circulation desk to receive a unique access code. • Remotely from your phone or personal computer using SMS verification. • In-person at the Gather & Grant Celebration (Beauchamp Branch Library) – Thursday, May 14 from 5:00-6:30pm. On-site interpretation services and childcare will be available. We will use “knapsack” style voting where participants will have the opportunity to fill their “bag” with projects to decide how this year’s Food Justice Fund grants are awarded. Results will be automatically tabulated at 6:30pm on May 14th and the awardees will be announced later that evening!

The Food Justice Fund Leadership Council (FJFLC) is a diverse group of community leaders committed to building a more just and equitable food system in our region. They are selected yearly through an application process in the fall. This year's group is comprised of the following talented individuals who’ve lent their time to designing this grantmaking process together: • Mercy Oppong • Josephine Galdamez • Gabby Miranda-Diaz • Hillary Rabel Non-voting advisors help to facilitate conversations among the FJF Leadership Council and offer context to support their decision-making. This year’s FJFLC Advisors are: • Amy Tao, 2025 FJF Leadership Council Alum and 2024 Grantee • Maura Ackerman, SOFSA staff member • Micah Orieta, SOFSA staff member https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b70b56_2f7b0c92fa504d8c9ab89dd6d87c0f85~mv2.png Over the course of its work to design this year’s community grantmaking process, the FJFLC will practice consent-based decision-making (https://www.sociocracyforall.org/consent-decision-making/)arriving at its conclusions with careful deliberation. At the same time, we recognize that we are new to community grantmaking. It will be messy, we will make mistakes, and we will work together to continually improve. It will also be celebratory and joyful as we collectively enact a just food future that serves our community! In 2026, the Leadership Council is joined by a small group of non-participating observers from other Local Food Councils throughout the State. Observers and SOFSA staff are working together outside the FJFLC meetings to compile a curriculum and related guidance on how to establish a community grantmaking project like the Food Justice Fund. The goal is for other organizations to be able to adopt the process. Observes in 2026 are: • Josh Stephani from the Adirondack Food Systems Network in the North Country • Leah Eden from Equity Advocates in NYC

A conflict of interest happens when someone involved in reviewing applications has a personal or financial connection to a person or organization applying for funding. This could mean they work for the organization, are a close friend or family member of someone applying, or could personally benefit from the funding decision. Members of the FJF Leadership Council are not eligible to apply for funding for grant funding for a project they are directly involved with, however, other conflicts of interest may still emerge. If an FJF Leader has a conflict of interest with an application, they will disclose that in writing as part of their application review. They will also step back and not take part in reviewing, scoring, or discussing that application. This helps make sure the process is fair for everyone.

This year’s annual campaign “Plant a Seed with SOFSA” will again be dedicated to fundraising for another round of Food Justice Fund grants in 2027. To make a contribution, please visit: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/peer-to-peer/plant-a-seed-with-sofsa--2026(https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/peer-to-peer/plant-a-seed-with-sofsa--2026)