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Farmer Checking Plants

EQUITY
& CLIMATE MARKETPLACE

Removing barriers and Integrating Supply Chains

Rural women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) food producers have few opportunities to access high-profit niche and value-added food markets. The Equity and Climate Marketplace will empower a more just, resilient, and self-sustaining food system by connecting these food producers and entrepreneurs to business support, supply chains, and buyers.

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Through a practice of listening and learning, The Wave Foundation has built deep connections with Northwest Tribal Nation communities through its Food Program, which prioritizes sourcing from these providers and providing healthy, sustainable, and culturally relevant foods to these communities.  

 

The Equity and Climate Marketplace will be a mixed-mode platform for creating fully integrated, values-based supply chains that link rural Indigenous and disadvantaged producers with direct-to-consumer markets and intermediated buyers at local, regional, and national scales, such as:

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  • Large event venues, including professional sport stadiums, amphitheaters, convention
    centers, zoos, and aquariums

  • Delaware North

  • Business and industry campuses

  • Universities and colleges

  • Whole Foods Marketplace 

By connecting these food producers and entrepreneurs to business support, supply chains, and buyers, The Equity and Climate Marketplace will empower a more just, resilient, and self-sustainable food system.

Interested in getting involved with The Equity and Climate Marketplace?
In collaboration with the White House Conference on Hunger and Nutrition

The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health marks a significant step in combating systemic disparities in the United States. This conference became an emphasis of Congress and the Biden Administration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed the broken state of the nation’s food systems.

WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE PILLARS

Improve food access and affordability.

End hunger by making it easier for everyone – including urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities – to access and afford food. For example, expand eligibility for and increase participation in food assistance programs and improve transportation to places where food is available.

Empower all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices.

Foster environments that enable all people to easily make informed healthy choices, increase access to healthy food, encourage healthy workplace and school policies, and invest in public messaging and education campaigns that are culturally appropriate and resonate with specific communities.

Enhance nutrition and food security research.

Improve nutrition metrics, data collection, and research to inform nutrition and food security policy, particularly on issues of equity, access, and disparities.

Integrate nutrition and health.

Prioritize the role of nutrition and food security in overall health, including disease prevention and management, and ensure that our health care system addresses the nutrition needs of all people.

Support physical activity for all.

Make it easier for people to be more physically active (in part by ensuring that everyone has access to safe places to be active), increase awareness of the benefits of physical activity, and conduct research on and measure physical activity.

Commit to The Wave Foundation’s vision of food equity and sustainability, and its intersection with the pillars of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.

JOIN US BY


Buying locally sourced food items whenever possible
 


Prioritizing community-based fishers, farmers, and ranchers

 


Supporting rural women and BIPOC producers
 

Talking with your friends, family, and network about a reimagined, regenerative food systems that work to improve our communities and plant

Partners in Commitment

The Wave Foundation has rallied over 80 organizations across the United States to sign their commitment and join forces in addressing the Five Pillars of the White House Conference. Our partners include Indigenous, underrepresented, and rural producers aligned to build an Equity and Climate Marketplace that will empower a more just, resilient, and self-sustaining food system.

  • Sakari Farms

  • Portland’5 Centers for the Arts

  • Desantis Landscapes

  • Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation

  • Seattle Convention Center

  • Space Needle & Chihuly Garden and Glass

  • Yakama Nation Farms

  • Meals on Us PDX

  • Black Food Sovereignty Coalition

  • We Do Better Relief

  • Feeding Feasible Feasts

  • Food Fleet

  • Pyramid Communications

  • Washington Build Back Black Alliance

  • Pacific Coast Fruit Company

  • MTR Western

  • Portland Community FC

  • Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association

  • Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust

  • Zack Fisheries

  • Settler Fisheries

  • Black Sheep Design & McCormick Golf

  • Arrowleaf Consulting

  • Vibrant Table Catering and Events

  • Natural Sports Medicine

  • ServiceMaster Building Services

  • Mazzetta Company

  • Salmon King Fisheries

  • Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs - Tribal Elder Delson Suppah, Sr.

  • Commodities - Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs

  • Peregrine Sports

  • MLS Portland Timbers

  • NWSL Portland Thorns FC

  • Providence Park

  • Musco Lighting

  • Portland Trail Blazers

  • Rose Quarter

  • Moda Center

  • AgRecycle

  • NatureWorks

  • Natur-Tec

  • Levy Restaurants

  • Careit

  • Sky Above Trail Grub

  • New Mexico Food & Agriculture
    Rural Coalition

  • National Latino Farmers & Ranchers
    Trade Association

  • Koi Fusion

  • Rose City Disposal and Recycling

  • ClimeCo

  • Flying Fish Company

  • Nikky USA

  • EarthUP

  • Fishpeople Seafood

  • Carbon Underground

  • MeetGreen

  • Johnson Ohana Foundation

  • Pioneers of Sustainability, LLC

  • Audentia LLC

  • Kooskooskie Fish, LLC

  • Sustainable Fisheries Foundation

  • Christenson Electric

  • Marine Fish Conservation Network

  • Oregon Coast Visitors Association

  • Sea & Shore Solutions

  • MetaMora Productions

  • Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

  • 5 Star Chef

  • Joe Beasley Foundation

  • Oregon Zoo

  • SalmonState

  • Monterey Bay Aquarium

  • The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center

  • Wildfish Marketing

  • Food Conservation Alliance

  • Food Waste Prevention Week

  • Climate Solutions

  • Williams

  • The Summit at Snoqualmie

  • Earth Day Oregon

  • Portland Expo Center

  • Oregon Convention Center

  • Seattle Seahawks

  • Lumen Field

  • Commodity Foods Program - 
    Nez Perce Tribe

Sustained Support

Once established, the Equity and Climate Marketplace will foster multiple supply chains, providing self-sustaining economic development.

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Food producers and entrepreneurs will have access to business and supply chain support, including:

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  • Sales

  • Packaging

  • Liability insurance

  • Certifications

  • Compliance requirements

  • Value-added processing

  • Working capital

  • Warehousing

  • Branding and marketing, including curation and development

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The Equity and Climate Marketplace will be a catalyst for investment in all participating communities.

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Woman with Crate of Vegetables
Organic Pesticide Spray
Partnerships that leverage connection

This project leverages The Wave Foundation's and 5 Star Chef's extensive supply chain connections in the United States. Robert Soper, member of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut, will bring his experience and network to create new opportunities for tribes whose members face dire economic conditions.

  • The Wave Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that works with BIPOC, women, and community-based food producers and food sovereignty leaders as well as a national coalition of partners to accelerate programs in areas of food, energy, transportation, zero waste, and clean air and water.  

  • Five Star Chef brings to the table decades of food service, food security, and supply chain development experience in rural US Northwest and Alaskan Indigenous communities. 

  • Robert Soper operates a minority-owned business and is the former CEO and International President of the Mohegan Tribe’s gaming enterprise.  

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