On a green school wall, large black text reads “EVERYONE HERE IS IMPORTANT.” The words are surrounded by colorful pictures of butterflies drawn by students. Messages like these are important for students to hear during LGBTQ Pride Month and all year long.
Posters and messages in the hallways at Pierce Elementary School in Flint, Michigan. Photo by Rochelle Li.

Queer and trans justice is round-the-clock work—during Pride Month and the rest of the year, too. But did you know there are LGBTQ+ groups working toward food justice? 

LGBTQ Groups Focused on Food and Farming

Here are three organizations in the food and farming industries—with a focus on queer and trans justice—to start following right now. We’re inspired by their missions, values, and commitments to creating a more just world through their intersectional work. 

We hope you’ll follow and support these organizations, which celebrate the power of LGBTQ+ joy and community all year long. 

Queer Farmer Network 

About the Queer Farmer Network: “We are a not-for-profit grassroots organization of current and aspiring farmers, gardeners, growers, caretakers of land, food revolutionaries, and more spread across the so-called USA.

The QFN was formed in 2018 by a group of comrades in the upper midwest as a support resource for queer farmers that would help build community and combat isolation among rural and queer farmers, while interrupting heteropatriarchal, capitalist, racist legacies in agriculture.

The network hosts in-person gatherings, communicates via an online listserv, and shares information and resources with one another via our Job Board, Directory, and more.”

History and purpose: “The QFN was conceived to build community among queer farmers and to reflect on and interrupt racist, capitalist, and heteropatriarchal legacies in agriculture. We strive to create a stronger web of support for and address the isolation of queer farmers in both rural and urban spaces across the so-called USA.​

The network was dreamed up by several friends in northeast Iowa—the traditional occupied homelands of Ho-Chunk, Sauk, Meskwaki, and Oceti Sakowin peoples—who longed for more support and community among queers in agriculture. Its first project was the Queer Farmer Convergence, a homespun gathering that has served the queer farmer community for 3 years now from the base of Humble Hands Harvest, a queer, worker-owned cooperative farm in Decorah, Iowa.”

How to get involved: Donate, follow on Instagram, add your farm to the QFN Directory, or get in touch about volunteer opportunities. 

Queer Food Foundation

About the Queer Food Foundation: “We are a collective of queer individuals who work at all intersections of the food system—from food justice, culinary to community organizing, media, hospitality, and more. We are passionate about holding space for the queer community in food. We aim to share our skills, knowledge, and experiences to create a thriving, represented and intersectional food system.”

History and purpose: “There is a need for dedicated spaces for queer and LGBTQAI+ communities to gather, build community, learn from one another, and find resources. Queer folks have been a critical identity serving the food industry in the U.S., but there has been limited representation at the larger discussions about the food industry, especially within intersectional identities. 

From farmworkers, sommeliers, media experts to waitstaff, brewers, and gardeners, we hope to fill in that gap, to begin creating a platform for queer expression in food, to advocate for more inclusive food industry spaces, and to offer all queer food workers a space to build, meet, and speak about their experiences.”

How to get involved: Donate, follow on Instagram or Facebook, add your name to the QFF LGBTQ food Directory, or check out upcoming events.

Trans Farmers for Trans Farmers 

About Trans Farms for Trans Farmers: “Trans Farmers for Trans Farmers is a trans-led organization dedicated to cultivating connection, community, and opportunity among trans people farming.

As trans farmers we are working to grow and support a vibrant, interconnected community of trans farmers that centers and supports the oppressed; help realize land access, skills, knowledge, and other resources essential for farming for our community; and support our ability to pursue farming in a safe, joyful, and creative way.”

History and purpose: “Trans Farmers for Trans Farmers was a project created by a working cohort of trans farmers in the Northeast U.S. as a small project under Cultivemos, a regional element of FRSAN in 2022. It was developed to connect and support trans farmers across the US with vibrant community and content.

Soon after beginning the project, the working group decided to formalize as an organization in order to continue the work beyond the end date of the Cultivemos agreement. In May of 2023, TF4TF became a formal independent organization dedicated to the connection, support, and peer-led education of trans farmers.”

How to get involved: Sign up for the group’s newsletter or check out the upcoming events.

Related read: 9 LGBTQ-Led Farms to Support This Pride Month | “Pride Month is a celebration of creation: the creation of a social movement, of communities, of relationships, of growth and change and progress. At FoodCorps, we’ve always been moved by the creation that takes place on farms, school gardens, greenhouses, and other spaces where food and life are cultivated. This month, we’re shining a light on a handful of LGBTQ-led farms throughout the United States. We hope you’ll explore all they have to offer and support them year-round.“

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