SOFSA Blog
Community Chooses: $30K in Food Justice Funding Awarded Through SOFSA’s Gather & Grant Celebration
On April 24, 2025, more than 70 community members, local leaders, and funders came together at the Beauchamp Branch Library to celebrate a powerful moment of community-driven change: the conclusion of SOFSA’s second annual Food Justice Fund (FJF) grantmaking cycle....
Salmon Fillets Sing of Indigenous Food Sovereignty
On Sunday April 13, 2025, we gathered at the Salt City Market Test Kitchen to learn from Curtis Waterman, a member of the Hunter-Gatherer crew at Onondaga Nation Farm. Curtis specializes in Indigenous fishing traditions and waterways, and taught us how to process...
Elected Official Briefing: Central New York’s Food System Challenges
Syracuse, NY – On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA) hosted a community listening session that brought together local elected officials, food system stakeholders, and community members to discuss the most pressing challenges...
Budget Season Advocacy Days
In February, SOFSA traveled to both Washington, D.C. and Albany to advocate for policies that advance food justice and strengthen our local food system. These visits were critical opportunities to connect with policy-makers, share real-world impacts of challenges...
Governor Hochul includes Universal School Meals in the 2026 Executive Budget, adopted into One-House Budget resolution
SOFSA director, Maura Ackerman, attended the Governor’s State of the State press conference in Long Island on January 10th. On January 10th, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that universal free school meals will be included in the FY2026 executive budget. If the State...
2024 Impact Report
In February we published the 2024 Impact Report- 10 meaty pages outlining the highlights of our work in 2024. The report captures our new strategic action plan, the growth of our network, and activities carried out by SOFSA’s various working groups. It does a deep...
2025 Food Justice Fund Community Grantmaking Info Page
Table of Contents General Information What is community grantmaking? What are the goals of the Food Justice Fund? Where did these funds come from? What is the annual timeline for the Food Justice Fund? What are the key dates for 2025? What is the Food Justice Fund...
New report seeks to understand and address barriers to farmer participation in Farm to School
Farm to School: Supply Chain Analysis of Producers, seeks to establish a baseline of producerparticipating in Farm to School (F2S) in Central NY, as well as identify opportunities forstrengthening producer participation and matchmaking. The project was a regional...
2nd Annual Food Justice Gathering: Recapping the day and looking ahead
On Saturday, October 26th, 2024, SOFSA hosted our second annual Food Justice Gathering at Plymouth Congregational Church in downtown Syracuse. Organized around the theme of “Cultivating Resilience,” the Gathering was inspired by the thoughtful organizing–both...
2024 Candidate Policy Positions
Policy-makers play a key role in uplifting our local food system so that it works for all people in Syracuse, Onondaga County, and Onondaga Nation. Through a survey, SOFSA asked this year’s election candidates about how they support a healthy Central New York food...