Food Justice

Anni Hanna

In the aftermath of World War I, Quakers and a newly formed AFSC provided food for children facing starvation across Europe. This commitment continues today. Our work now spans continents, from providing lifesaving humanitarian aid in Gaza to supporting Indigenous farmers in New Mexico.

As a Quaker organization, AFSC envisions a world where no one goes hungry. Where food systems promote stewardship of our environment, and communities have the resources they need to thrive. Ever since 1917, AFSC has worked with communities worldwide to make this ideal a reality.

1910s - 1920s

Alleviating hunger in post-war Europe

Children lined up along train cars, receiving food

Distribution of food from a 'Health Train' in Russia, after World War I.

Feeding time in St. Remy, France.

Large group of people sitting around a table indoors.

Russia, after World War I.

In 1917, a team from AFSC joined British Friends in providing relief to tens of thousands of Russian refugees facing famine. After the end of World War I, AFSC undertook child-feeding projects in Austria, Germany, and Poland. It is estimated that AFSC fed 1 million German children every day. Throughout Germany, eating food from Quakers became known as “being Quakered.”

1930s

Providing food assistance in Appalachia

Woman holding a young child outside on a farm

Large family standing outside their house.

In the ’30s, AFSC expanded its work geographically, delivering food to mining families in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania who lost work during the Great Depression. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt took an interest in the plight of the miners. She traveled around Appalachia with AFSC’s Clarence Pickett to meet workers and families.

1950s - 1960s

Supporting migrant farmworkers in California

Three farmworkers standing alongside their crops.

John Sullivan

Terry Foss / AFSC

AFSC’s partnership with migrant farmworkers began with the demand to eliminate tin-shack housing and improve basic services. Later, AFSC helped create the United Farm Workers, providing meeting places, collecting funds for strikers, and paying the chief union negotiator’s salary.

1960s

Raising awareness through The Poor People’s Campaign

Two men protesting outside a federal building, with a sign reading 'Hunger hurts.'

Bill Wingell

Makeshift dwelling with the text 'Philly Head-Quarters' printed on it.

Bill Wingell

In the late 1960s, AFSC endorsed and supported The Poor People’s Campaign, organized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This campaign succeeded in raising awareness of poverty in the U.S. and forming a diverse coalition of the nation’s poor. It also sparked the launch of food programs in the 1,000 neediest counties in the U.S., the appropriation of $243 million to expand school lunches, and the planning of a nutrition assistance program for mothers and children (later known as the WIC program).

1970s - 1990s

Protecting community rights through food justice

Man walking away from several armed men.

Protest for fishing rights in Puyallup, Washington. Warren Anderson / Tacoma News Tribune

Protest for fishing rights in Puyallup, Washington. Warren Anderson / Tacoma News Tribune

In the Pacific Northwest, AFSC helped Native American tribes regain their fishing rights by publishing “Uncommon Controversy.” This report garnered support for Indigenous rights by emphasizing the deep respect that Native Americans have for the environment. In Latin America, AFSC’s work with liberation movements led to the formation of COMAL (Alternative Community Marketing Network) in Honduras. This organization has helped thousands of farmers access credit and markets. Amid food shortages in North Korea, AFSC collaborated with farmers to boost crop production and reduce food insecurity. These efforts are part of AFSC’s ongoing work to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.

2000s - 2020s

Promoting sustainable food systems around the world

Two women talking in front of a garden bed

Garden beds at AFSC’s Roots for Peace program. Crystal Gonzalez / AFSC

Four people talking next to a garden bed.

Ribbon cutting ceremony for South Central LA Farms, a project of AFSC and All People’s Community Center in Los Angeles, CA. Lorena Alvarez

A partner farm, part of AFSC's New Mexico program. Anni Hanna

Several people standing at an outdoor table

Communities of the municipality of Torola in the department of Morazán, participating in the exchange of local products, native and Creole seeds. Omar Ponce / AFSC

In Africa, we helped foster food security and resilience through community food production. In Latin America, we supported Indigenous communities in growing traditional crops and reclaiming ancestral farming techniques. In the United States, we established community gardens that grow food and serve as community gathering spaces. We also collaborate with communities in New Mexico to protect access to land and water and develop climate-resilient farming techniques, train beginner organic farmers, build farm infrastructure, and incubate farmer cooperatives

Food Justice