Supporting organisations to progress in anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion

During the first year of Sustain's diversity outreach project, alliance members were surveyed on their aspirations and commitments in areas of anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion. There was a strong desire to further work across these areas therefore Sustain is offering an programme of support to alliance members and allies in the sustainable food sector to dive deeper into relevant issues and areas of development.

What the programme covers  

The programme will focus specifically on ethnic and racial diversity as we recognise the systemic issues most pertinent in the sustainable food system and acknowledge that by tackling racial oppression we can make progress against other forms of oppression. 

The programme will: 

• Develop individual and organisational understanding of the relevant opportunities and challenges within the sustainable food and farming sector.  

• Enable them to develop the knowledge and skills to become anti-racist and inclusive organisations. 

• Support participants to apply learning across their organisations.   

These opportunities are open to all alliance members, as well as a limited number of places for other organisations and individuals in the sustainable food and farming movement. This includes access to training, resources and information on relevant topics and issues. 

In addition Sustain are offering a free programme of direct support delivered over six months from Sept/Oct 2024 to Feb/March 2025 to a up to six organisations. This will include:  

• Identification of organisational goals in terms of diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and anti-racism. 

• Support to develop a plan to progress in this area through 121 sessions and additional resources.  

• Peer support connections with others on the programme.  

Criteria to apply for the direct support programme

To be eligible for the 1-1 and peer support element of the programme (training is open to all) organisation should:

• Be either a Sustain alliance member organisation or an organisation that works across the sustainable food and farming sector and is committed to progressing change in this area. 

• Have started work or have been thinking about your approach to diversity, inclusion and anti-racism.  

• Ideally be able to commit one dedicated member of staff that has a decision-making role to attend 121 sessions every 4-6 weeks and peer sessions every 6-8 weeks across a six-month period from Sept/Oct 2024. The time commitment for sessions and training is 15 hours over 6 months plus any planning, reflection and action time.  

• Be available to start the programme by mid-September 2024.   

How to apply?  

To express an interest in the opportunity for your organisation to engage in 1-1 and peer support, please complete this form by 10am on Thursday 15 August 2024. 

Note: the online training sessions will be open to all organisations and there is no need to apply to access those. 

We will contact you in late August to discuss further and agree inclusion in the programme, ahead of starting the programme in September. We will inform everyone of the outcome of decisions.  

If you have any questions please contact Sareta Puri, Diversity Outreach Coordinator, on sareta@sustainweb.org.  

Express your interest in the 1-1 and peer support programme by 14 August.