-
WATER SCARCITY
By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will be in a water
scarce state globally.
By implementing closed loop agriculture systems,
we can use 90% less water
to grow our food. -
FOOD SECURITY
Monocultures have left our soil depleted, riddled with
pesticides, and 12% of the population in a food
insecure state.
We must make sustainable agriculture systems
more accessible, safe, and sufficient. -
AG-TECH EDUCATION
It's time to re-think our food systems. Locally and globally,
our systems are costly, unjust, and unsustainable.
By making agricultural technology more accessible to
underserved communities,we can educate & empower
populations that otherwise, would be vulnerable
to the impacts of are outdated
food infrastructure.
Our Mission
Change Food for Good is a New York City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to making sustainable agricultural technology more accessible to areas affected by food insecurity. We believe we can educate, empower and ultimately, uplift vulnerable communities out of food-insecure states through the use of localized sustainable agriculture and pathways to opportunities in the green sector.
Our Vision
Change Food for Good will foster the next generation of urban farmers who will use technology and advanced farming methods to meet the food production demands of the future. We aim to provide free workshops & training to 1500 individuals, secure 250 job placements for our alumni, and help build 100 green spaces & farms by 2025.
The Future of Food
Our current food infrastructure's fragility is leading us toward a food crisis. We've identified 3 main drivers of this systemic issue:
Climate Crisis
As climate-caused drought threatens to leave 1.8 billion people in a water scarce state by 2025, it's crucial that food insecure communities begin farming locally and using growing methods that reduce water consumption like hydroponics and aquaponics.
Workforce Gaps
In the US, the average age of farmers is 57 years old. As our global population increases, we'll need to increase our food production significantly to meet the demand. We have to begin stewarding young adults into the jobs that are emerging in green infrastructure due to these workforce shifts.
Food Access
Our current food infrastructure leaves 1 in 9 people in a state of chronic hunger. This problem is only becoming worsened by the resource intensive practices that commercial farming uses which damages farmland. From production, distribution, pricing and marketing, we need to rethink food access from the bottom-up.
Our Approach
Free Job Training Programs
We provide hands-on, interdisciplinary training for young adults (18-24 years old) interested in gaining agriculture, construction, and technology skills - free of charge for participants earning less than $45,000/year.
Community Farm Development
We work with New York City's schools, community-based organizations, and community gardens to build and maintain community smart farms, food hubs and green spaces.
Accessible Technology Solutions
We leverage technical skills and tools to advance farming practices. With access to affordable, user-friendly technology solutions, urban and commercial farmers can integrate data-informed practices to improve their farm sites.
Employer Partner Network
We partner with employers to integrate employment based skills into our training & place alumni into gainful employment positions. Upon successful completion of our job training programs, participants are matched to 3-6 month subsidized internship roles with one of our community partners, at no or reduced cost to local employers.
Why We Started
Change Food for Good began as a grassroots, volunteer-led effort and a desire to radically change the food
landscape of New York City. We saw that the tools that could alleviate poverty and food insecurity were
not accessible to the communities most impacted by it - in New York City and abroad. Food access is being
addressed from the top-down, yet food insecurity is on the rise and climate change threatens to worsen this
outdated infrastructure in the years to come. While AgTech, a $15 Billion industry in the United States,
continues to grow, it's clear that the readiness of food system solutions is not the problem.
It's access - for the people that need it.
We decided to bring modern farming practices and agricultural technology to our communities and in the process,
help up-skill young jobseekers to fill the gainful employment roles emerging from this booming sector. We can
reshape our local food economy. We can create pathways into these emerging sectors and advance economic mobility.
We can create collaborative, community-centric models that advance urban, peri-urban and rural food systems for generations to come.
Meet Our Team
Samia Lemfadli
CEO & Founder
Samia Lemfadli is a Brooklyn native and technologist with a deep-rooted passion for sustainable agriculture. As an alumnus of programs like General Assembly's Web Development Immersive and Platform by Perscholas, she has leveraged her technical and business development skills to improve workforce strategies and advance technical infrastructure for organizations like MIT Civic Media Lab, The Knowledge House , Per Scholas, New York Maritime Innovation Center , Kilimanjaro Initiative USA, and JobsFirstNYC . Samia has applied her lived experience of the workforce development system to secure more than 300 job placements for program alumni and her community network. She remains a fierce advocate for young adult economic mobility. She believes workforce development and inclusive technology advances can be key levers for self-determination and more resilient communities. She was selected for Claniel Foundation’s 2022 Emerging Leaders Fund, was a 2020 Echoing Green Semi-Finalist, was Head of the Steering Committee for NYMIC, Head of the Junior Board for Kilimanjaro Initiative USA and served as Co-Chair for the Yes Bed-Stuy Partnership .
Joe Carrano
Board Chair
Joe Carrano is a Brooklyn native, technology consultant, and the Co-Founder of The Knowledge House: a free tech workforce program that serves low income New Yorkers and connects them to skilled jobs in tech. He has been a long time supporter of Change Food for Good's mission & mentor to Change Food for Good's Founder, Samia Lemfadli.
Jeffrey Deasy
Board Treasurer
Jeff has more than 20 years of experience in the field of economic development, small business development, finance, and corporate governance. Jeff is currently providing support to entrepreneurs, including worker-owned cooperatives, and social ventures nationwide on behalf of the Business Outreach Center Network.
Kai Lin Zhang
Board Secretary
Kai Lin Zhang is a software developer, community organizer, and plant-lover, who volunteers with GrowNYC & the NYC Parks street tree stewardship program. Her passion for economic, racial, & environmental justice led by & for communities of color drove her to join CFFG's work in food security. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the New York State Assembly Asian Pacific American Task Force.
Lyndsey Richardson
Board Member
Lyndsey Richardson (she/they) is a facilitator, service designer, bureaucracy hacker, and community power strategist. Lyndsey’s educational background (MPH) and personal experiences bring her knowledge and dedication to community health, participatory design, healing-centered praxis, and youth-development. She currently serves as the Deputy Design Director at the Service Design Studio in the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity.
Isaac Vidal
Agriculture Instructor
Isaac is a Bronx native and comes from a long line of farmers in Mexico. Through the pandemic, Isaac became aware of the disconnect between people and the food systems which led him to branch out to the urban agricultural industry. He applied for Change Food for Good Intro to AgTech job training program in 2021, where he learned about hydroponics and aquaponics. Isaac went on to build a small scale hydroponic farm for the elder farm generations in Mexico. He then came back to the Bronx and became a full-time Farm Production Operator at Upward Farms. He has now joined Change Food for Good as their Agriculture Manager to lend his expertise to the growing industry.
Heriberto Roman
Web Developer / Technology Instructor
Heriberto is a Software Engineer with a background in teaching in both the private and non-profit sectors. He embarked on his coding journey in 2014 and is deeply committed to contributing to the community where he was raised - as a coding instructor & mentor. In addition to his coding work, Heriberto dedicates his free time to playing ice hockey with his son. For him, the combination of hockey and coding is more than just a hobby; it’s a way of life.
Jane Muthoni
Farm Hand
During Jane’s participation in the Kilimanjaro Initiative’s program alongside CFFG’s Founder, Sam, where participants get to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Jane shared her aspirations to become a hydroponic grower with Sam. Her plans came to fruition in 2023 when CFFG launched “Pole Pole'' in Nairobi, a farm system dedicated to Jane to provide free food and education to Kwa Njenga Primary School students year-round. Jane now leads CFFG’s hydroponics training, farm maintenance, and food distribution.
Steve Kasoa
Project Manager
Steve brings over a decade of dedicated efforts to develop socially conscious initiatives in Nairobi to the team. From his work with the Red Cross to his program management of the Kilimanjaro Initiatives Big Climb program where he first connected with CFFG’s Founder, his love for and efforts toward a better, more sustainable Kenya is evident in his management of our farm system in Nairobi, Pole Pole. He hopes to help bring our food relief farm systems to more people around the world.
Pammi Balani
Web Developer/Teaching Assistant
Pammi's journey began as an Intro to AgTech participant where her passion for tech was ignited. She transitioned to a Web Development Intern for CFFG where she crafted websites for organizations like The Bronx Digital Equity Coalition and Vertical Gardens LTD. Pammi is eager to continue driving positive change and honing her web development skills to construct a brighter, more interconnected future.
Fatima Rimi
Project Manager/Web Developer
Rimi’s tech journey began with CFFG’s 4th cohort of Intro to AgTech. Driven by a love of learning and innovation, she went on to work as a Web Developer intern for CFFG building client websites, and then, as a Software Engineer at a private firm. Rimi’s passion for helping organizations grow by enhancing their digital presence led her to join the CFFG team as a Project Manager and Web Developer.
Jaden Bland
Teaching Assistant
Jaden started his journey with CFFG as a participant in Intro to AgTech Cohort 4. His experience with electrical engineering and carpentry skills with Coop Tech were evident in his final project farm design and he was quickly brought on as a Teaching Assistant for CFFG after his Carpentry & Electrical internship with Soulful Synergy. He is eager to continue building farms and teaching students as his career pathways expand.
