Holding Our Families Close This Week

Dear Community,

As so many prepare for the holiday, we stop and pause. We know the times we are in. We know the pressure so many households are facing. The cost of groceries. The instability of federal support. The quiet math Black women are doing every single day to make a way out of no way, so our families can sit down together around a table.

We see you. We honor you. We are with you.

That’s why, in one of our final partner spotlight of the year, we are proud to lift up the National Black Food & Justice Alliance (NBFJA). They are leaders on the front lines of the fight for healthy food, land justice, and Black nourishment.

Please read their call to action below and take a moment this week to download the YAMS app, a simple but powerful tool connecting our communities to Black farmers, Black co-ops, and real data that strengthens our collective fight for food sovereignty.

And as we move through this season of care, don’t forget to gather your people for the Black Family 5K this weekend! It’s a tradition of joy and connection we all need right now.

With love

GirlTREK

The National Black Food & Justice Alliance (NBFJA) aligns with GirlTrek’s demand for Healthy Food, a demand that strikes at the heart of the struggle against food apartheid. Food apartheid is not a natural condition; it is the result of deliberate policy choices, disinvestment, and exploitation that have denied Black communities access to land, healthy food, and the means to feed ourselves.

We believe that the fight for healthy food is a fight for self-determination and sovereignty. From Fannie Lou Hamer’s Freedom Farm Cooperative to the urban gardens and rural farms we steward today, our people have always built systems of nourishment rooted in care, community, and justice.

Earlier this month, millions of families faced an unprecedented crisis when SNAP was halted indefinitely. It was a stark reminder that we cannot depend on federal programs that can be paused, negotiated, or weaponized in moments of political conflict. Our families deserve steady care. Tools like the YAMS App help us strengthen that care, connecting Black farmers and co-ops directly to our people so we can feed one another with intention.

We join GirlTrek in calling for investment in Black farmers, growers, and cooperatives; for an end to policies that uphold extraction and neglect; and for the transformation of our food systems into ones that affirm care.

Because when we feed ourselves, we free ourselves.

We imagine a future where Black communities don’t just survive, they thrive. A future where our neighborhoods are filled with fresh, affordable food. Where Black farmers, grocers, and co-ops are resourced and respected. Where decisions about our health and well-being are shaped by us, not by systems that overlook or undervalue our needs.

The YAMS app (Yielding Access to Market Solutions) helps make this vision real.

This app, created by us and for us, builds a living picture of how Black communities are investing in nourishment and care and how we’re ensuring food security for one another, even when federal systems fail. This data helps researchers and advocates fight for better access to healthy, affordable food and strengthens the call for policies and funding that support community-led food systems.

By simply uploading your grocery receipts, you are:

Showing the need for more healthy food outlets in our neighborhoods
Helping make the case for funding Black-led co-ops, farmers markets, and grocers offering fresh options
Contributing to a community generated map that helps you see where healthy foods are available near you.

Download the YAMS app in the Apple or Google Play store.

If you’ve ever wanted to do something about food injustice in your neighborhood, this is one way to start. Because when we know what’s real, we can fight for what’s possible.

The National Black Food & Justice Alliance (NBFJA) is a coalition of Black-led organizations working towards cultivating and advancing Black leadership, building institutions for self-determination, and organizing for food sovereignty and land justice.

NBFJA currently has over 60 member organizations representing hundreds of urban and rural farmers, organizers, and land stewards based throughout the U.S. NBFJA members are building power through an intergenerational, urban/rural alliance of organizations that trains, connects, and deepens grassroots efforts toward protecting Black land, advancing food sovereignty, and supporting a climate-resilient future.

Questions about GirlTREK? Check out our FAQ.

GirlTREK
530 S Union St, Montgomery, AL 36104