GRIFFIN, Georgia – During the annual summer meeting convening Southern SARE staff and administrative council (AC) members, three new board members were voted in. The new members include Maurice Small, a food consultant and urban farmer from Atlanta, Georgia; Charley Jordan, a veteran, farmer, and educator from Florida; and Hope Ostane-Baucom, a gardener and plant nursery owner from North Carolina. Each member subsequently introduced themselves and shared their experiences and goals for their respective areas of focus.
Maurice Small will represent urban agriculture and community development. Small is a farmer representative with an emphasis on urban production and community and the unique opportunities and challenges that are associated with farming in the city. This member serves as a representative to improve the quality of life, foster economic stability, support new innovations, and advance community development. The USDA defines urban agriculture as the cultivation, processing, and distribution of agricultural products in urban and suburban areas; tribal communities and small towns may also be included.
Maurice says that his primary goal is to bring insight into what it is to be culturally sensitive to the urban ag members that we're going to be serving in the future.
“There is a lot of experience that I bring from the 1990s up until most recently working with the city of Atlanta. The urban ag areas that I cover are food, access, food, insecurity, food, equity, and food sovereignty. All these issues are at the forefront and have been for several years. But primarily as we look at our systems around the world, not just in Southern SARE, but around the world. There's a way in which we're looking at increased population density happening in urban environments. I'm here to build the bridge. I'm here to help everyone find common ground. And with this common ground, there's a way in which we can all look at each other as being equal and taking that seed and turning it into food. And how do we manage that in certain climates from Vermont on down to the Virgin Islands and all points in between.”
Primarily, his experience has been in the Midwest and the South. He speaks worldwide about food, injustice, and food access. And he’s looking forward to bringing his expertise while serving on Southern SARE. For more on Maurice or to ask him any questions, visit mauricesmall.com.
The second new member is Charley Jordan, a veteran farmer who will liaise with new and beginning farmer veterans in sustainable agriculture. Jordan is the farmer representative with an emphasis on the intersectionality of military service, farming, and physical, and mental health, and well-being. This AC representative is going to help liaise with any new and beginning farmer veterans working in sustainable ag, whether it be on farms, in nonprofit organizations, in educational institutions, or in other areas. The USDA defines a veteran farmer or rancher as a producer who served in the United States Army and Navy-Marine Corps. Air Force or Coast Guard, including the reserve component thereof, and was released from service under conditions other than dishonorable.
Hailing from Clarksville, Tennessee, which is a Middle Tennessee area, Charley is a veteran. He spent over 28 and a half years in the US Army as a special operations aviator. When he retired in 2017, he continued his passion for agriculture and farming, as well as advocacy. He owns Jordan Farms, which is a 5-acre flower farm in Woodlawn, Tennessee, and he is also a veteran advocate with over 10 years of experience.
“I’m looking out for the veteran voice in agriculture. I'm an educator. My background is in stem and in robotics, where I teach for Embry Riddle Aeronautical University as an uncrewed aircraft systems instructor, and locally teaching ag to my fellow veterans and different conferences and other ways. I'm happy to be here and looking forward to this new mission that I've taken on.”
Hope Ostane-Baucom is another new AC member who will focus on equity, justice, and food sovereignty. The equity, justice, and food sovereignty member is a representative with a focus on farming and equity, food, nutrition, access, land access, seed, and sovereignty. It was created for farm leaders or farm workers, who are leaders in community-based organizations, the non-profit sector, and ag professionals at academic institutions.
A native of Miami, Florida, Hope resides in Mooresville, North Carolina, just north of Charlotte, North Carolina. She works with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Food Policy Council implementing programs like the Nutrition Program for farmers markets and the snap double books, programs at all the farmers markets in the Charlotte Mecklenburg area. She is also a licensed pesticide applicator who emphasizes the importance of integrated pest management to reduce our farm workers’ exposure to toxic and harmful chemicals.
“I'm so grateful to be a part of this and to have the opportunity to use my passion and expertise to continue the fight for justice and food sovereignty in our southern region. I am the Farmers of Color network communications coordinator at RAFI, a breast cancer survivor, and a mom of 3, and I’m the one who will always be smiling. I believe in bringing joy and passion to everything I do, and I’m excited to be on board.”
The Administrative Council, often called the AC, is the governing body for the Southern SARE region. For more information on the administrative council visit https://southern.sare.org/about/administrative-council/.