A Social Justice Charitable Loan Fund

SUPPORTING FARMERS

OF COLOR

What is Potlikker Capital?

Potlikker Capital is a farm community governed charitable integrated capital fund created to holistically serve BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) farmers in America who operate at the intersection of racial and climate justice.

We are committed to preserving and increasing the diversity of America’s farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers who covenant to:

  • Increase equitable access to healthy food for their communities

  • Build wealth and knowledge within their local BIPOC farming communities

  • Farm to address climate change through adopting regenerative farming practices

Potlikker (pot lik·​ker) n. Potlikker is a term used in Southern cuisine to refer to the nutrient-rich and delicious liquid left over after cooking collard, turnip, or mustard greens, ham hocks, or other smoked meats.

Potlikker has a history rooted in the experience of slavery in the American South. Enslaved people often had to make do with the leftover scraps and discarded parts of animals their owners did not want, including ham hocks and other smoked meats. These scraps were used to flavor and enrich the water in which collard greens and other leafy greens were cooked, creating a nutritious broth that could be eaten as a meal in its own right.

Potlikker is a part of Southern cuisine known for its rich flavor and nutritional value. In addition to its culinary uses, potlikker has also played an important cultural role in the South.

It symbolizes resilience and resourcefulness in African American culture. It remains a beloved part of Southern cuisine and a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of enslaved people and their descendants.

Our Work

Potlikker provides capital to stabilize and grow existing businesses:

  • Access to higher-value markets

  • Access to cooperative ownership opportunities across the food value chain

  • Educational opportunities and resources, including assistance in implementing regenerative farming practices

  • Agroecology/agribusiness internship program to develop the next generation of American BIPOC farmer entrepreneurs.

Why is a new Institution necessary?

BIPOC farmers disproportionately face the detrimental impacts of institutional oppression. The agricultural players have deprived farmers of access to capital. Reparative capital is needed to build thriving businesses and shift control and power back to marginalized communities to support self-determination. 

As a charitable loan fund, Potlikker takes an integrated capital approach to deploy “reparative capital” using a combination of non-extractive investments, zero and low-interest loans, and grants and recoverable grants.  We acknowledge that debt should be on society’s balance sheet, not only on the farmer. We work with BIPOC farming enterprises in the US that still suffer from a lack of access to capital due to the agricultural financial sector’s reluctance and unwillingness to take on the risks of smallholder farmers of color and their transitions to regenerative farming practices. 

Potlikker Capital, together with its supported entity, Jubilee Justice, seeks to work with over 300 BIPOC farming businesses across the US to strengthen the positive impact they can have in their local communities by building communities of practice that again prioritize the value of the relationship of humanity to the environment and to each other.

 

Multi-Layered Impact

Accelerating change through:

Farmers

Restore and accelerate land ownership and stewardship of BIPOC Farmers by creating thriving generational wealth, improved quality of life and stronger voices.

Communities

Grow communities of “BIPOC Farming Excellence” by providing resources to support regenerative farming practices, cooperative ownership and access to new markets.

Systems

Eliminate the barriers of oppression that are present in our current agricultural system by establishing a non-extractive institution promoting equity and justice throughout our food system.

  • Gail Myers PhD, Founder of Farms to Grow, Inc.

    “The foundation of the agricultural system as we know it is a result of Black farming”

  • Ozell White, Owner PL88 Farm

    “I want to provide my community with fresh produce and meat using sustainable methods.”