What is mutual aid?
Mutual aid is tangible solidarity –
a voluntary exchange of resources between community members – cooperating to serve
one another. We recognize that we live within a system that does not allow for everyone’s needs to be met, that allows for some to have a surplus while others struggle, and in light of that choose to unite in order for our entire community to thrive. We all have different resources and skills to bring to the table – and by doing so can build a stronger, more resilient community.
Sliding Scale
This is a model that honors the fact that we all have different access to available resources – its adaptation to farming is through the dedicated work of many other farmers. It is a tool that asks for a minimum of our participation in reflection of our own access and financial privileges. It asks us to consider our wealth, and how that balances with the way in which we move through the world. In practice, those who can choose the higher end of the spectrum directly support our community members who opt for the lower end of the scale – because everyone deserves the right to good health regardless of their wealth.
+ own the home you live in
+ can comfortably meet your needs
+ have access to family money
+ have assets
+ have high earning power
+ are college-educated, white, and/or cis-gendered
+ can travel for recreation
+ can afford to go out to eat on a regular basis
+ are BIPOC and/or LGBTQ
+ are an elder
+ have dependents
+ have significant debt
+ have been incarcerated
+ are undocumented
+ have high medical expenses
+ receive public assistance
This is a guide – not an exhaustive list, but a prompt for your consideration. For more information on what Ecotone Herbs offers on a sliding scale, visit the CSA 2023 page here.
SNAP
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can help you pay for food if you have low income. Food stamps are not technically a form of mutual aid, rather an in-kind income offered by the government. I am happy to be able to accept this form of payment at my booth at the Batavia Farmers Market every 3rd Saturday of the month. To stay updated on additional market dates, sign up for my newsletter on the home page.
For more information on SNAP, visit here.
Community & Stewardship share
Not everyone in our community has the same access to fresh produce. This farm is committed to making regular donations of fresh produce to food pantries, herbal refreshment to a local food fridge, and opening the fields up to gleaning at the end of the harvest season.
The effects of protecting biodiversity, starting with the soil, weave their way into our lives directly in one way or another as ultimately we’re all interwoven. From organizing events for invasive species removal to adopting regenerative and often more-labor intensive practices, this farm is also committed to land management that respects the
multitude of other forms of life with which we share our home habitat.
By choosing to take part in a Community & Stewardship share, you directly contribute to
these commitments – thank you.
Any amount gratefully accepted
How to participate:
Are you interested in making an impact in your local food system and supporting the
habitat that you share with a diversity of other living things? Do you have financial
security and other resources, but time is not one of them?
Consider a Community & Stewardship share to directly support the work that this farm puts towards these efforts. To sign up, send an email to [email protected].
You will receive a confirmation email with payment options and a description of what
your donation supports.
To stay tuned for volunteer days and end-of-harvest gleaning, be sure to sign up for the farm update newsletter on the home page.