Because ANYTHING LESS than OWNERSHIP is UNACCEPTABLE

OUR VISION

Our vision is to create a world where inner city “neighborhoods” can become Communities. Where NO ONE goes without HEALTHY AFFORDABLE food options. Most importantly a world in which we can create Ownership and employment opportunities IN and FOR the COMMUNITY.

OUR MISSION

OUR MOTIVATION

A Failed System

The current economic and political systems routinely fail our communities. A lack of investment in these communities means that residents have little to no access to necessary services such as supermarkets, banks and political representation. The lack of representation means that the local government does little to nothing to address the situation. Communal health and wellness suffer as residents are forced to choose between purchasing poor-quality food from price-gouging local stores or traveling outside of neighborhoods (often relying on public transit) to purchase fresh and healthy food.

Spreading Ownership

The AHFC seeks to not only to promote ownership in communities in the Buffalo and Niagara Area, but to spread its model to empower inner city communities everywhere. By encouraging residents in the community to become engaged with their local food system, AHFC can guide more communities to cease participation in oppressive structures and build, own, and operate inclusive systems that heal the local economy and reverse systems of oppression and discrimination.

Taking Ownership

Communities have realized that in order to overcome these obstacles, they needed to come together and take ownership of their Food System. Thus the African Heritage Food Co-op was founded as a community owned and community operated co-op. Through the AHFC, the community is able to take ownership of their food system, promote their health and wellness, and create good jobs for their residents. By doing so, the community builds a local economy that includes everyone.

OUR TECHNIQUE

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We cannot take ownership of our food system without engagement from our community. We need as many people as possible to stay engaged through membership, volunteering, and, of course, buying produce. We also can use donations as we work to transition to a brick and mortar store and spread our food system model to other cities.