Branden Riley

Branden Riley is a faith-driven systems builder committed to embodying the principles of Psalm 82 by advancing justice, restoring balance, anddeveloping structures that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Through leadership with Faith Works Village Inc., he works at the intersection of food sovereignty, regenerative agriculture, workforce development, and sustainable community infrastructure. An engineer by degree, farmer by training, and strategic systems consultant bypractice, he designs and supports integrated systems—including through Purple Food Crew—that strengthen equitable food access, expand economicopportunity, and build long-term regional resilience across the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Reeba Daniel

Reeba is a dedicated first-generation Afro-Caribbean American, mother, farmer, and food autonomy activist, deeply committed to community empowerment and sustainability. Her love for plants and herbal medicine inspired her to found a herbal skincare company focused on, minor pain relief, reflecting her holistic approach to wellness. As the founder of Keep Growing Seeds and the nonprofit Keep Growing, Dreams, Reeba works to create farm-to-school garden builds and immersive educational experiences that connect youth with nature andnutrition. In her role as the education hub for the Oregon Farm to School Network, she provides vital technical assistance to schools and nutrition staff, enhancing access to healthy food. Reeba also proudly serves as the chair of the Farmers Market Fund, championing community initiatives that promote food equity and education.

Gabriela Pereyra

Over the last twenty years, Farmer Gaby has worked with farmers from the Americas, Africa, and Europe, learning about carbon, nitrogen, and water trade-offs between the soil, plants, and the sky. Since 2022, she has practiced sustainable agriculture with her life partner on Yara Farm in Middletown, NY, which has 27 acres of forest and arable land. Through Yara Farm, Gaby has co-created and organized mutual aid programs and farmer-to-farmer initiatives in food production, aggregation, and distribution. She has worked in the nonprofit sector in programming development for beginning and aspiring farmers for the last 8 years. She has a BSc in Biology with a major in Botany from Universidad Central de Venezuela, an MSc in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Hohenheim, and a PhD (cum laude) from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and the Friedrick Schiller University of Jena.

LaToya Drake

LaToya Drake, MS is a Community Health and Food Systems Strategist dedicated to advancing nutrition security, early childhood well-being, and community-rooted health education across Kentucky. With nearly a decade of experience within the University of Kentucky system, she has worked at the intersection of food access, public health, and early care and education, supporting families, educators, and community leaders in building healthier environments. She is the founder of How to Eat Good!, a nutrition education platform that blends storytelling, culturally relevant food traditions, and practical strategies to help individuals and communities build confident, sustainable relationships with food. Through curriculum development, digital media, and community partnerships, LaToya translates complex public health concepts into engaging, accessible resources that empower communities to thrive.

BIPOC Farmer League

Driven by the momentum to bring market opportunities to producers, NFSN is embarking on a new project, the BIPOC Farmer League.

Through our previous projects and developed resources for producers, we have successfully trained over 900 agricultural producers on the best practices and viability of accessing K-12 & ECE markets. The milestones reached throughout our work with producers have led NFSN and partners to seek out new and innovative opportunities to enhance farm to school engagement amongst producers nationwide.

Funded by Farm Credit & CoBank, the Bringing the Farm to School: BIPOC Farmer League will focus on creating opportunities for intentional outreach and training for BIPOC producers on farm to school engagement, ranging from:

production planning;
school community outreach;
and understanding of Child Nutrition Programs within K-12 & ECE settings.

NFSN and regional partners will promote the utilization of existing farm to school tools and resources, and the market opportunities of farm to school through regional and national BIPOC producer conferences and convenings. To deepen BIPOC farmers' engagement in the farm to school movement, the BIPOC Farmer League aims to create a national community of BIPOC producers to share resources, success stories, and mutual support.

Stay tuned for new developments and ways to support the BIPOC Farmer League. For inquiries, reach out to Tomas Delgado, Program Manager, at tomas@farmtoschool.org.

BIPOC Growers and Farm to School Guide

Finding your path into school markets

As a part of this project's goal to help BIPOC growers access and navigate school markets, NFSN developed BIPOC Growers and Farm to School: Finding Your Path into School Markets. This guide incorporates what we heard from BIPOC growers across the country through a needs assessment, as well as the perspectives of our BIPOC Farmer League Advisory Council.

We found that many growers have questions about how schools purchase food, who makes buying decisions, whether they can meet volume expectations, how delivery works, what food-safety requirements apply, and whether the price will work for their farm.

This guide explores these topics and is designed to help growers understand the pathways available to school markets, identify the support they may need, and connect them with people and resources that can help them take the next step.

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