Women-led businesses are more likely to operate with the community in mind, filling in food gaps, reports The Guardian.
In California, women represent 37 percent of all producers in the state, according to USDA Census of Agriculture data. And Caitlin Joseph, Women for the Land program and policy manager at American Farmland Trust said that 75 percent of the students studying agriculture at the University of California, Davis, are women.
Women farmers in the U.S. tend to be younger, are more likely to live on the land they operate, and tend to operate farms differently than their male counterparts, according to the report.
“Research shows that women-led businesses in general have a community networking mindset approach to their operations, which does mean in times of crisis, like the Covid pandemic and supply chain issues, women are filling in the gaps,” Joseph said.
For example, during the pandemic, women farmers from Radical Family Farm provided food access in local communities when food-insecure seniors couldn’t go to the grocery store. Leslie Wiser, a farmer with the company, also advocates for and provides culturally-relevant produce, like bitter melon.
“Instead of getting bags of potatoes, they can get vegetables, produce, and herbs that are familiar to them,” she said.
As Congress works to finalize its latest farm bill, many women are calling for it to provide more support for “specialty crops,” local produce that is more likely to be grown by women. Full Story
Related: Many States to Cut SNAP Benefits; US Foods Adds Electric Vehicles to Fleet