Top 88 Black-Owned green businesses.
We believe that Black lives matter. Our modern-day agricultural system was built on exploitation, slavery, and stolen land. Systemic racism in agriculture is clear in the disproportionate government aid given to white farmers, food apartheid in communities of color, and Black farmers losing ownership of land at double the rate of white farmers. Of the near one billion acres of agricultural land in America, people of color own less than 2%. As an agriculture business focused on equity and justice, we feel it is our responsibility to use our privilege to call attention to these injustices, amplify the voices of Black agrarian workers, and prioritize servicing Black communities.
As a white-owned business operating under an inherently racist, oppressive system, we recognize that our work will not be over until we dismantle the very structures that our company currently benefits from. We vow to support the BLM movement in all the ways that we can. We vow to fight for communities over capitalism. We vow to help rebuild an agricultural system that is void of racial inequity. We vow to use our privilege to serve as accomplices to this revolution.
That's why we're building this list of the Top 100 Black-owned green businesses, to provide our network with a launching point for doing the work of dismantling the past and building a more just, equitable, and green future. If you would like to see any other businesses of resources added to this list, please reach out to us! We want this page to just get better and better.
A few steps toward anti-racism.
Looking for a few ways you can use your privilege for good? Here are some tips that white and privileged folks can take to aid in the fight for racial justice.
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Redistribute your wealth
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Buy from Black-owned farms and growers
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Listen to Black leaders (white voices like ours should not be in the spotlight)
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Volunteer your time and/or services to Black-owned organizations
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Attend protests
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Call your representatives to demand that they defund and dismantle police
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Educate yourself instead of asking people of color to do the work for you
California
FARMS TO GROW, INC is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to working with Black farmers and underserved sustainable farmers around the country. Farms To Grow, Inc. is committed to sustainable farming and innovative agriculture practices which preserve the cultural and biological diversity, and the agroecological balance of the local environment. Our mission is to assist African American farmers and other under-served farmers/gardeners maintain and create sustainable farms and spaces to grow food and motivate the next generation of farmers to grow sustainably and with the community in mind.
A child’s mindset begins to develop at birth. We believe that enrichment can plant positive seeds in the minds of growing youth. This is our “Busy hands = Busy minds” concept: providing activities that encourage kids to explore their limitless creativity, and absorb knowledge about the world around them. We serve youth (ages 4-14) by engaging them in gardening, art, and STEM. Our hands-on enrichment opens minds to a complete potential for learning all while having fun, laughter, and excitement.
We believe every youth who attends our program leaves with the inspiration to Dream big and Believe they can achieve anything in life. Busy hands = Busy minds can be seen in every part of our program, to help kids create and develop a positive mindset.
Birthed from a belief that queer, black, woman farmers need more representation and celebration in the growing world, Ashlee Johnson-Geisse created Brown Girl Farms. While envisioned for many years, this intentional space was officially formed in response to an urgent need for plant starts and fresh produce within the community. Brown Girl Farms moved to its new home in Hayward where Ashlee Johnson-Geisse lives with her wife Jen and their pup Jay.
City Slicker Farms began with a mission to empower West Oakland community members to meet the basic need for fresh, healthy food by creating sustainable, high-yield urban farms and backyard gardens. Since its founding in 2001, City Slicker Farms has been at the forefront of the 21st-century sustainable urban farming and food justice movement, gaining national recognition as a leader in supporting low-income communities of color to grow food in the city. In the last 20 years, we have built over 550 backyard and community gardens, produced 300,000 pounds of nutrient rich food, and trained thousands of community members in organic gardening methods and environmental stewardship.
For some of us, the draw of DIY Food is reconnecting to our past and rediscovering knowledge and skills from our grandparents' generation. For others, it is a way to ensure good food close to home. What we all share is a desire to eat food that is flavorful, nutritious and sustainable.
We believe that everyone deserves fresh, local and healthy food. In 2013, we opened our doors as an edible plant nursery, urban farm supply, demonstration garden and learning space in the Fruitvale District of Oakland, CA. In 2020, like many small businesses, we closed the doors to our brick-and-mortar shop and are now online! In addition to supplies for your backyard farm or kitchen garden, we now offer consulting, coaching and garden installation services to help you grow, raise, and preserve your harvest.
Ron Finley is a rebel with a green thumb. In 2010 Ron set out to fix a problem in his South Central neighborhood parkways; those often neglected dirt patches next to our streets. He planted some vegetables there. Soon after he was cited for gardening without a permit by the apparent owners of those dirt patches: the City of Los Angeles. Queue the beginning of a horticulture revolution.
Ron fought back, and won. He started a petition with fellow green activists, and demanded the right to garden and grow food in his neighborhood. Having grown up in the South Central Los Angeles food prison, Ron is familiar with the area’s lack of fresh produce. He knew what it was like to drive 45 minutes just to get a fresh tomato. Boldly and tenderly, Ron’s vision to rejuvenate communities around the world through gardening, knowledge, and togetherness has taken root.
We are a restorative organization. Our mission is to rebuild the connection between humans and nature. We believe it is every human's birthright to have access to nutrient rich foods on a consistent daily basis. We provide urban agriculture hubs and sustainable living farms in South Los Angeles. Our program teaches environmental science and technology, along with nutritional and culinary education. Weekly, we share community produce distributions of locally grown produce to families in need. We are a registered 501(c)(3) charity organization.
Raised Roots is an urban farming company based in Oakland, California. We are committed to providing superior produce, gardens and farm education.
Our number one priority is ensuring the quality of life of those who work with us. Second is ensuring the highest quality product for you, the customer.
We envision a food system centered around farmers and producers, and their relationship with those we nourish.
Soul Flower Farm is committed to aid in the generation of Social Equality through vocational empowerment and regenerative design. We make accessible environmental workshops, classes and skill shares to those who are regularly overlooked in the current state of society. With the goal to make freedom the new norm. This is a collective effort sponsored by Students, Community, Donors and Love, to reclaim our origins of land and community. Our approach is holistic, instilling our connection with the earth, the wisdom in the seed, nurturing of the sprout, maintenance of the crop, care for the harvest and mindfulness of tomorrow.
We are a small organic farm located in the San Francisco East Bay Hills of California. We strive to incorporate biodynamic farming methods and permaculture design to be self-sustaining. Our passion is living in connection with the land, giving back, sharing with the community and practicing holistic medicine. For information about classes, apprenticeships, volunteering or our products, email us at soulflowerfarm@gmail.com. Follow our adventures on instagram, facebook and at soulflowerfarm.blogspot.com. You can find us vending weekly at the Berkeley Farmers Markets! Peace and Blessings!
Our mission is to transform the hood for G.O.O.D. using urban agriculture as a tool for community engagement, empowerment and employment.
With a single seed, not much bigger than the period at the end of this sentence, we hope to rebuild and restore South Oak Park to a healthier place where all families have equitable access to the resources they need to thrive.
Starting with a few plants in the backyard, our vision has grown to showing communities the answers contained in the soil.
The Mission of the African American Farmers of California is to increase within the African American Community an appreciation and understanding of applied resource management, through the promotion of sound farmland management, technology, community marketing, and outreach to urban and rural areas.
The Fresno-based African American Farmers of California in a 501c3 non-profit organization headquartered in Fresno, California. The organization uses a demonstration farm to cultivate seasonal ethnic African crops and empower youth to learn how to farm.
We are a Black and Indigenous led agroecology collective composed of skilled land stewards, spiritual leaders, healers, gardeners, farmers, builders, writers, educators, artists, musicians, and organizers. We study and spread ancestral knowledge and contemporary agroecological practices to train community members to build collectivized, autonomous, and chemical free food systems in urban and peri-urban environments throughout the Occupied Karkin Ohlone & Chochenyo Territory.
Colorado
Burnt Meadow Hemp is an African-American woman led, minority-owned, family business that sustainably produces premium whole hemp products in the fertile high plains of Southeastern Colorado.
We are re-imagining wellness for the modern movement toward economic and social justice and are committed to educating, empowering and uplifting women and communities of color while making great, whole hemp products.
Connecticut
Empowering New Haven & CT residents by reconnecting us to our inherent relationships with food, land & self-resiliency through Black-led & community-run food systems & agriCultural initiatives.
Love Fed New Haven (conceived in February 2018) is a community of Black & Brown neighbors growing their own food at home and cultivating a growing community that actively works towards practicing food sovereignty while supporting personal wellness and environmental health through land stewardship, urban farming education and training, and culinary education.
Park City Harvest was established in 2017 by two young African-American horticulturists, (Shawn and Rich) who graduated from Connecticut's Horticultural Science degree program. Noticing that we were the ONLY two black people in the program we've been dedicated to changing the image of farming within urban communities while feeding and educating the communities that we serve. Our mission is to empower, and equip urban youth about the impact that food has on our health, community, and the environment. We at PCH firmly believe that we can transform our communities one plant, one bite, and one voice at a time.
Root Life LLC Is An Eco-Friendly Business, Based Out Of New Haven, CT, That Offers Organic Produce, Live Plants, Organic Seeds, Vegan Skin & Hair Care, & Quality Environmental Services For People In The Local, As Well As Global, Community Looking To Efficiently Enhance Their Interactions With Their Natural Environments.
Florida
Urban GreenWorks (UGW) is a Miami-based not-for-profit organization and a fund of the Miami Foundation. We exist to restore the economic, physical, and social health of under-served communities. Our focus is community food security and environmental restoration. UGW creates programs for communities plagued by poor access to fresh food, blighted and neglected open space, low urban tree cover, and an under-employed population of young adults. We provide environmental programs and green job training to incarcerated men and women, youth remanded by court to drug rehab and at-risk high-school youth in low-income neighborhoods.
We are a non profit organization with a focus on creating community gardens and sustainable ecosystems in areas that are predominantly known as food deserts. These are urban areas where residents generally reside in low income housing with little to no access to fresh produce within a 10 mile radius. We also focus on providing education on horticulture and nutrition to the youth, both locally and afar, as well as in grade level schools. They have the opportunity to learn about different plants, fruits and vegetables, how to grow food, and nutrition. We apply urban gardening techniques, farming and food forestry to produce locally grown food held within a community garden. The food grown is given away to local residents free of charge. Our mission is to empower residents to live a healthy, sustainable life, through fresh locally grown food.
Georgia
Gilliam's mission is to nourish communities across metro Atlanta with fresh, healthy, locally-grown food that is accessible and affordable for all. They are a 3-acre sustainable urban garden located in Atlanta's Westside neighborhood. Since 2014, their diversified garden produces beautiful vegetables, herbs, fresh eggs, and their very own dried spice blends.
Gilliam's Community Garden serves as an outdoor educational center for local children, homeschool families and schools seeking unique science-based and STEM learning. They provide cooking classes for seniors, as well as learning tours and urban farming experiences for volunteer groups.
Gratitude Botanical Farm’s mission is to educate, grow, feed, serve and protect the history of the people of Atlanta through the art of organic urban agriculture.
We are comprised of Christopher Lemons and Desmond Baskerville, both Atlanta natives. Not only are they business partners, but also childhood friends. Christopher, a certified master gardener from a long lineage of farmers in Georgia, maintained and managed his community garden for years in the historic Peoplestown community in Atlanta. Desmond, also an ancestral farmer, often volunteered there as his love for agriculture grew into a passion. In 2018 they were presented with the opportunity to work their dreams into a reality.
Located in South Fulton, GA minutes from downtown Atlanta, Miller City Farm is a 4+ acre micro-farm specializing in seasonal, heirloom, non-GMO, and organic produce. With offerings ranging from strawberries and mixed greens, to tomatoes and blackberries, Miller City Farm’s goal is to provide farm fresh food to 250 families across the South Fulton area. This ambition is fueled by Farmer Willie, a 3rd generation green thumb born and raised in the south. Dusting off his green thumb and perfecting his unique method of sustainable, naturally grown, heirloom growing, he moved from a rooftop urban farm, to a friend’s backyard, and now a 4+ acre micro-farm — with an abundance of space needed to grow locally-sourced, fresh food. As his territory increased, so did the demand for his ‘goodie bag’ of fresh harvest, along with canned and preserved vegetables and fruits. We at Miller City Farm are excited to see our dream of feeding our neighbors and friends with nutrient rich, fresh food come true! Even more exciting is the opportunity to strengthen the fabric of our community through farm partnerships.
Gangstas to Growers is committed to giving Black youth the time to heal, experience economic relief and access to new careers. G2G is the inaugural program of The Come Up Project, a multi-faceted grassroots collective developing self-sustaining social enterprises and worker cooperatives as solutions to our nation's problems.
Gangstas to Growers is an agribusiness training program for formerly incarcerated Black youth on the WestSide of Atlanta. While in the program trainees not only learn how to build and run businesses; they participate in a robust curriculum of personal, professional and skill development.
Gardening in organic soil & utilizing holistic techniques to yield larger-than-life produce, Haylene Green wants to equip families and growers with knowledge concerning food security and safety, and sustaining the environment for years to come.
Swanson Family Farm is a 32 acre farm run by the Swanson family—Wayne, Charmaine, and their son Jekhi—that specializes in grass-fed and pasture-raised beef, lamb, goat and pork. We feature GA Pineywoods Cattle, hair sheep and heritage breeds of goats and hogs. Our aim is to provide the highest quality products raised the way God intended—on a pasture or in the woods. We do not feed commercial food or pump steroids or hormones into our animals. You can purchase our products on the farm, at a local farmers market, via private chefs or at one of our partner restaurants.
A black owned, family operated, multi-generational farm and nursery who deals directly with farmers across Georgia. They are dedicated to providing their customers with locally grown, naturally grown, farm fresh products that they can feel safe providing their families with.
Their mission is simply to produce the very best at achievable and affordable prices to all, while embracing, promoting and empowering the culture and economic progress of underrepresented communities.
Gilliam's mission is to nourish communities across metro Atlanta with fresh, healthy, locally-grown food that is accessible and affordable for all. They are a 3-acre sustainable urban garden located in Atlanta's Westside neighborhood. Since 2014, their diversified garden produces beautiful vegetables, herbs, fresh eggs, and their very own dried spice blends.
Gilliam's Community Garden serves as an outdoor educational center for local children, homeschool families and schools seeking unique science-based and STEM learning. They provide cooking classes for seniors, as well as learning tours and urban farming experiences for volunteer groups.
Gilliard Farms is a family-run organic farm, growing under the watchful eye of sibling farmers Althea Raiford and Matthew Raiford. Gilliard Farms was first established in 1874 by Althea and Matthew's great great great grandfather Jupiter Gilliard. The farm has never used chemicals to grow any crops and is a member of Georgia Organics, Coastal Organic Growers and Georgia Grown. Althea & Matthew Raiford are the sixth generation to farm this land.
When we first settled on the name for our farm, we were dreaming big dreams, dreams we had no idea how we would achieve (hence the ‘flying pig’ ). With that, High Hog Farm was born with a ridiculous amount of faith and a cute, tongue-in-cheek play on words. Since then we’ve grown to realize just how much ‘tlc’ this land required, and just how much more the land would pour into us in return. Ironically, we hadn’t considered how many people would assume we were a pig farm based on the name. Our farm centers around our love for herbs, our passion for natural fibers, and the joy of growing together as a family. We are rekindling an intimate connection to the land, drawing from it and one another. The way we grow and prepare our food are cultural expressions of ourselves and those we love and we are grateful that it connects us more deeply with our community. Ours is a journey of reclaiming and reconnecting with ancestral wisdom and skills. Our name is a reminder and a guide and it contains within it limitless hope. We hope it inspires you as it has us… food, fiber, and dreams included!
Local Lands is a Family owned and Operated Farm. We use only organic materials, seeds, fertilizer, feed…. etc… All of what has been given naturally to the earth and to those who take part in the earth’s cycle. Our mission has been and will be to provide all natural and conscious sources of food and products, from the field to the table, to create an intimate relationship between producer and consumer, and to educate all involved.
We have been Farming in Georgia since 2010, Pennsylvania before that, and have been enjoying the weather, the people and the overall environment. Our Farm is open to the public and we welcome those who wish to participate in what they eat…
The Federation is a non-profit cooperative association of black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives. We are organized by state associations with field offices serving a primary membership base in the Southern States. The majority of our farmers, landowners, cooperatives, and credit unions are in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Louisianna. Our Largest individual membership base is in South Carolina. Our largest co-op membership base is in the state of Mississippi.
HABESHA, Inc. is a Pan-African organization that cultivates leadership in youth and families through practical experiences in cultural education, sustainable agriculture, entrepreneurship, holistic health, and technology.
SAAFON is a network of Black farmers who are dedicated to ecologically sustainable farming in the Southeastern United States and its Caribbean territories.
Their focus is utilizing what the earth provides holistically growing our vegetables, fruits and herbs with zero chemicals. They simply take care of the soil, plant heirloom seeds, and harvest to provide the most nutrient dense produce possible. Welcome to bread and butter farms. Chefs with over 20 years of fine dining experience, harvest veggies and fruit from the farm as well as obtain some of the finest grass fed meats from their farm as well as locally sourced and then prepared culinary marvels you and your family are sure to enjoy. These dinners are very exclusive and you must have received a special coin to enter.
35. New Communities Inc.
New Communities is a grassroots organization that has worked for more than 40 years to empower African American families in Southwest Georgia and advocate for social justice.
Born out of the Civil Rights Movement in 1969, New Communities, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(4) based in Albany, Georgia. Founded as a collective farm, New Communities is widely recognized as the original model for community land trusts in the US. Today, the founding members, including Charles and Shirley Sherrod, are dedicated to empowering the community through agribusiness and economic development.
New Communities brings a mature vision, grounded on decades of experience, adversity, and commitment to this historic opportunity. The vision of New Communities is to become a thriving organization that is a global model for community empowerment through agribusiness, education, social awareness, and wealth building.
36. The National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA)
The National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA) is a coalition of Black-led organizations aimed at developing Black leadership, supporting Black communities, organizing for Black self-determination, and building institutions for Black food sovereignty & liberation. The Alliance seeks to achieve this by engaging in broad based coalition organizing for Black food and land, increasing visibility of Black-led narratives and work, advancing Black-led visions for just and sustainable communities, and building capacity for self-determination within our local, national, and international food systems and land rights work.
We focus our work on Black food sovereignty, self-determining food economies, and land. We approach food sovereignty, land and self-determining food economies through the lens of healing, organizing & resistance against anti-Blackness.
37. Justice For Black Farmers
The USDA Coalition of Minority Employees is a civil rights organization formed by employees of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1994 specifically focused on ending discrimination within the Department and more generally on eradicating racism in agriculture in the United States.
Hawaii
38. Slow Island Food & Beverage Co.
Founded by Chef Gida Snyder, Slow Island Food & Beverage Co. is a Black woman-owned food products company on the beautiful island of Kaua’i. Our mission is to uplift farmers, support and mentor other women in the food production space, and to celebrate the diversity and abundance of incredible ingredients grown in Hawaii. Chef Gida is a Certified Master Preserver and alumni of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific with years of international cooking experience. She is driven by quality and uses her skills to bottle the exceptional fruit & produce and share a taste of the islands we call home!
Our excellent team of (mostly) women come from diverse backgrounds; restaurants, farming, retail, science and art but all have one thing in common: a deep love for food & farms. From juicing to bottling and everything in between, we all have a hand in making our Slow Island products amazing! Teamwork makes this dream work!
Illinois
39. Grow Greater Englewood
Established in 2014, Grow Greater Englewood (GGE) works to build a community in which all people have the opportunity to live safe, happy, healthy and fulfilling lives, now and into the future.
Grow Greater Englewood is a social enterprise that works with residents and developers to create sustainable, food economies and green businesses to empower residents to create wellness and wealth.
40. Urban Growers Collective
Our approach is to build economic opportunity for BIPOC urban growers and makers; mitigate food insecurity; and increase access to high quality, affordable, culturally-affirming, and nutritionally-dense food on Chicago’s South and West Sides. As a women- and BIPOC-led organization, healing through food justice is integral to our mission and in our approach to building market opportunities for producers, providing good food for the communities we serve, and throughout our programming.
Indiana
41. Indiana Black Farmers Co-op
Our mission is educating our community on how to grow and preserve their own food and to improve soil and crop health. Engaging our youth in activities and programs that foster cooperative community farming and money management. Collaborating with urban farmers to increase the quality and quantity of nutrient-rich, wholesome, and natural produce in food deserts.
Our vision is transforming black lives by making a direct correlation between healthy eating habits, learning abilities, and overall good health.
Iowa
42. Minerva’s Meadow
We are a no-till organic flower farm that highlights the prairie and all of nature’s beauty. We grow cut flowers, raise bees, and sell direct to customers.
It all started as a dream - to live and work in a bucolic setting with family and friends surrounding us. In 2019 we were able to find a property that would work for us!
In 2020, we launched Minerva’s Meadow, LLC. We have grown in many ways since our founding, and gone through much evolution, not to mention some real challenges. Still, we rise. We look forward to growing seeds with you all.
Kentucky
43. Russellville Urban Gardening Project, Inc.
Russellville Urban Gardening Project, Inc. (RUGP), is an urban gardening/farming program located in Russellville, Kentucky. Since 2012, RUGP has expanded to include partnerships with Kentucky State University, University of Kentucky, Logan County Extension 4-H, the City of Russellville, and Russellville Independent School. The three-acre garden sits in the middle of the African American community and includes an acre dedicated to a traditional tilled garden, a separate children’s garden with raised beds, two high tunnels, a stage, and a handcrafted bench framed around a huge tree designed by Kentucky folk artist Willie Roscoe.
Louisiana
44. Backyard Gardeners Network
The Backyard Gardeners Network is a Lower 9th Ward based nonprofit organization whose mission is to sustain and strengthen the historically self-sufficient and deeply rooted community of the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, LA using our own food growing traditions as a platform to build community, revitalize the neighborhood and preserve our cultural heritage. We currently manage two community gardens in the Lower 9th Ward, the Laurentine Ernst Community Garden and the Guerrilla Garden, and are spearheading the development of the Ernst Garden Resource Center.
Maryland
45. Black Yield Institute
Transforming the current food system will require more than platitudes and rhetorical assertions. Land grants from elected officials, financial support from philanthropic and corporate partners and the organizing of African descendants and allies are all concerted efforts necessary to realize such a vision. Black Yield Institute is committed to shifting the political discourse and building a human rights movement to address food insecurity and disproportionate distribution of land and community wealth. We are committed to systemic and structural transformation and will utilize diverse approaches, including coalition building, social planning, community organizing, legislative advocacy and community-based participatory action research. Black Yield Institute is committed to planning, implementing and evaluating a strategic plan (blueprint) with other entities and independent people of African descent. We will also support existing and develop future programs, projects, ventures and organizations, in order to materialize a vision of Black Land and Food Sovereignty. Our areas of praxis (reflection and action) include, but not limited to: research/knowledge creation; urban agriculture; cooperative economic development, social planning and community organizing; and political education and community building.
46. Black Church Food Security Network
The Black Church Food Security Network utilizes an asset-based approach in organizing and linking the vast resources of historically African American congregations in rural and urban communities to advance food and land sovereignty.
Our Black Farmer Directory has more than 60 Black farmers from across the country ready to connect with you, your church, community, or organization.
47. Earth-Bound Building
Earth-Bound Building is a collective of skilled builders, crafts-people and farmers founded in 2014. Our Cooperative flowered out of the Black Dirt Farm Collective and the primary observation that functional, durable and ecological farm and land infrastructure lies at the heart of a just and thriving sustainable food system.
Today, we've incorporated the principles of Ecological Building, Craft and Cooperative Economics to our fundamental mission and practice. We specialize in Timber Framing, Natural Building (think straw-bale and clay plaster!), and Agricultural Infrastructure that serves the needs of our farming and rural communities and offers functional and aesthetic value.
We strongly value people over profit and use the business as a means to achieve long-term goals of land sovereignty and Just Transition as outlined by our close allies at the Climate Justice Alliance (CJA). Earth-Bound Building is also a member of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives and the National Black Food and Justice Alliance
48. Deep Roots Farm
Deep Roots Farm is a regenerative ''O'', women owned and operated farm located in Brandywine and Upper Marlboro, MD. We grow vegetables, herbs, fruit, and flowers, and raise chickens on 50 acres for our community.
Regenerative "O" describes a holistic approach to farming that encourages continuous innovation and improvement of environmental, social, and economic measures.