Quarter Acre for the People Program
The Quarter Acre for the People program to connects children and families of African and/or Indigenous ancestry, as well as refugee families who have historically been displaced from land, providing food production opportunities, garden education as well as access to cooperative farming, homesteading and farm business opportunities on local farm/fallow land.
It connects community members who systemically have been relegated to living in urban landscapes with farmers and owners of rural lands so that the land can be used to plant, maintain, and harvest perennial veggies, fruit and nut trees, and grapevines. This project involves a coordinated effort by farmers, local landowners, and community members to address issues of land access and the corresponding health disparities experienced by this community through land-sharing and perennial planting.
We believe that healthy communities are integrated ones where every community stakeholder has a hand in the healthful labors of growing good food and drink. We work to create communities where everyone has the opportunity to share in the bounty stemming from equitable access, collective efforts, the incredible majesty of this land and the grace of our common Creator.
What People Are Saying
“Quarter Acre for the People reminds me of our deep and abiding connection to the land; one not simply rooted in suffering or oppression but takes us beyond this, back to a time where the land was an expression of the cosmic creative energy that provided nourishment, health and balance. QAP recognizes ancestral ways of knowing and embraces community and partnership as a way to reintegrate us back into a true and sustaining relationship with the land and each other. I am truly grateful for the work they do to connect, educate and create safe spaces to learn about food systems and agriculture.”
— Keane Leitch-Diakhate, QAP Participant 2021
“Me and my family are so thankful for the Quarter Acre for the people organization. You guys have shown us endless opportunities of success in farming, That me and my family can feel comfortable taking on the occupation as a black woman owned farm, I'm no longer in fear of the unknown with farming. And that's because of the exposure that your organization provided to me and my family. I can happily say I will be farming one day.
Much blessings.”
— Antonisha Owens, Mother of four and QAP participant 2021
“My family participated in many farm trips organized by the Quarter Acre for the People. It was a transforming experience. We learned so much about the local farming and the potential to brings families closer to tending the land. I am looking forward to hear more about QAP and the impact of shared and collective sustainable food production in the community. Thank you QAP team!”
— Cintia H. Orsi, Mother of four and QAP participant 2020, 2021
Sign Up to Donate Land or Participate
Please fill out our form if you'd like to…
(1) donate land
(2) access land and learn how to grow food, homestead, etc.
Sweat Equity CSA Program
At the Learning Farm, we offer perennial veggies for community members, particularly those facing economic challenges. Children and families in the community are welcome to come to the farm and harvest a basket-full of vegetables once a week and to enjoy the exercise associated with gardening, as well as healthy food!
The Learning Farm is located at 272 Enfield Falls Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850
Transportation can be arranged upon request.
Sustainability Sentinel
Sustainability Sentinel is a filmed entertainment program that covers issues of sustainability ranging from environmental justice to food equity to community development and human rights of family and their children. Its style encompasses guerrilla documentary films as well as traditional interviews with sustainability luminaries. Ongoing collaboration include: We Are Ithaca, WRFI, and Building Bridges.
Farming for Freedom Trail
The Farming for Freedom Trail is a farm trail that links farmers of color to each other in a tourism app. Many people want to learn more about the real stories of freedom-fighting farmers, as well as support farms at the fringes of sustainable agriculture whose efforts are sustained through a strong commitment to the land despite historic disenfranchisement and oppression.
The widespread support of The NY Times 1619 Project has further piqued the interest of the general populace around the experiences of farmers of color in America. This trail focuses that interest into something real for new farmers of color, as revenues from tourism participation in this trail will also serve to purchase lands for more farmers of color to access and farm cooperatively.
Raised Beds for African Diaspora and BIPOC Community Members
We are partnering with the Learning Farm and Cornell Cooperative Extension and Mutual Aid Tompkins to install raised beds and provide lumber, soil and plants to start Victory Gardens at the homes of folks of color - children and families.
Because of historic inequities in access to land, high-quality food, and free places where we can get fresh air to stretch and exercise our limbs, we are providing these gardens as an avenue to food sovereignty and an entry way into familiarity and comfort with working with soil and plants. Our goal is to fan back into flame our innate love and connection to nature and to growing our own food.