Statement of Racial Equity Priorities

As an educator, writer and consultant I am committed to racial equity within my business and through my business activities. I am aware of the ways my own training in my area of expertise was rooted in white supremacy, and the ways in which my work has reflected systemic racism.  I am actively engaged in building awareness, conducting analysis, and taking action toward accountability for myself and my company. I work daily to de-center whiteness in my writing, partnership, collaboration, investment, representation of information, and volunteer efforts. I am not an expert in providing equity in the culinary and food media industry, but I am devoted to using my platform to embed change language and actions for justice in my sector. 

I have made mistakes in citation, representation, ownership and crediting. I have used harmful language out of ignorance or incomplete education. I stand accountable for past harm, and vow my vulnerability toward becoming anti-racist in my personal and professional life. 

Examples of my actions are:

  • I commit to making a statement of my racial equity values at every workshop and in every contract, and to otherwise be more vocal about my values in my activities. 

  • I commit to always acknowledging that I am not an expert when I approach this work in word or action, and to the imperfectness of the terminology “BIPOC” when referring to the diversity of people in the communities I seek to support. 

  • I commit to divesting from anti-black companies and ideologies. I commit to risks and discomforts in my trainings, forums, and other interactions in order to do so.

  • I commit to investment in black communities. By 2025 my goal is to spend 30% of my budget with black businesses. This includes farmers, food entrepreneurs, software developers, consultants, suppliers, web developers, equipment and tool manufacturers, and distributors. 

  • I commit to continued learning and consistent representation of BIPOC ideas and culture in my writing and teaching about foodways. 

  • I commit to collaborating with and learning from BIPOC leaders and writers in my industry, and recommending the associated books, consultants, and leaders to my trainees.

  • I commit to deferring work and payment in order to recommend and promote BIPOC writers and educators in my industry.

  • I commit to communication about equity when negotiating contracts with publishers and clients, especially when collaborating with BIPOC writers and consultants.

  • I commit to ongoing activism that seeks transparency and accountability in writing, editing, and publishing, and to collaborating more thoroughly as a writer as a means to making accountability a priority in the media world.

  • I commit to lifting up BIPOC voices in my education, through direct interviews and recordings, and will work toward taking a back seat where I can as the bearer of information. 

  • I commit to ongoing equity work in my volunteer work in the non-profit sector. I will use my board positions and committee leadership roles to advance equity in food and farming and to advance BIPOC leadership in the organizations I serve. 

  • I commit to making this statement a living document that changes as my awareness, analysis, and action evolve.