The Common Good Co-op (formally Seeds of Change)

The Common Good Co-op is a mission-driven urban farm, run by women of color in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. The Massachusetts Food Trust Program has awarded them a loan and a grant to expand their urban farm for retail and host a seasonal farmer’s market exclusively run by women of color.

CGP’s mission is to increase access to culturally appropriate, fresh foods, while lifting up and training new entrepreneurial women of color in the agriculture sector. The Common Good Co-op is led by Kafi Dixon, a farmer with significant experience growing and selling produce. In an effort to empower the low-resourced women in the neighborhood, Ms. Dixon will train nine Black women directly from the local community. These women will learn how to grow culturally appropriate, fresh produce to be sold at local farmers markets.

The community in which CGP operates currently offers a poor selection of produce and few grocery options—most residents are tasked with shopping for groceries at their local convenience store or bodega. Ms. Dixon’s community-driven model speaks to the needs within Dorchester and offers not only a way to make healthy food more accessible, but also an opportunity for the community to uplift and inspire women of color through entrepreneurship.

LEAF was able to make a flexible, low-cost loan to The Common Good Co-op, thanks to the mission-driven work of the Massachusetts Food Trust Program. This type of flexible approach is what makes state-supported Healthy Food Financing Initiatives so important—they fill a niche for a vital sector that are often outside the radar of traditional financial institutions.

We are inspired by the Common Good Project’s mission and congratulate Ms. Dixon and the CGP team. We are so glad we can support them in this important work and are excited to see what this project can do to address systemic issues around healthy food access and economic and racial justice.

Images provided by Erin Clark (The Boston Globe) and The New England Grassroots Environment Fund