Supporting Equity Work in the Industry
In the spring and summer of 2020, we, like many other organizations, began to understand and realize that we had yet to fully acknowledge the disparities and inequities that Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) face on a daily basis, and that the cheese industry provided no exception. Albeit belated, we decided to prioritize work in the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) space in our organization. It is also worth noting that we’ve made mistakes. Some have (bravely) been pointed out to us. It is likely that we’ve also caused other unintentional harm. For that, we are sorry. We commit to do better, to educate ourselves, and to create space for diverse ideas so that our culture can truly be richer.
Our work and our goals thus far
Increasing BIPOC representation on our board and in our committees:
We immediately created three new board seats only to be filled by BIPOC that will remain for that sole purpose.
To date, we have held almost a dozen conversations with BIPOC folx and invited them to apply for our board. We understand that for many people, it is not the right opportunity for them at this time (and for some, the resources - emotional, time, etc - are not available). We simultaneously know that increased representation of lived experiences will make us - and our decision-making - better. If you know any BIPOC folx who are interested in board or committee service, please nominate them here, send them these links, or introduce us privately to start a conversation. We are also actively nominating BIPOC folx to the ACS board, our sister affiliate organization.
Educating Ourselves:
Simply put, we don't know what we don't know, we're often unaware of our own biases, and it's incumbent on us to educate ourselves. To that end, our board members have individually participated in various trainings on topics of Systemic Racism, Implicit Bias, Privilege, and Aggressions, to name a few. Additionally, we have secured renowned expert in the space, Virginia Cumberbatch, for a two-part training titled “Designing a Space of Community Equity + Racial Justice.” It has been made clear to us that we, as a board, need a baseline of educational competency on the topic of systemic racism, as well as a professional to guide us through a plan to begin this work.
Interactive Presentation (Aug 20 from 10:30a-12p CST) - Free and open to all. Must register below.
Workshop Deep Dive (Sep 1 from 10a-12:30p CST) - $100pp; limited capacity
Note that we are doing this for us as a board because we know we need it. Both the ACS and ACEF boards will be doing the deep dive work. We do have some space available for the Workshop if you are interested, but note that you must attend the first session to be eligible to purchase a ticket. To learn more about this educational opportunity or about Virginia Cumberbatch, or to register, visit the event page here.
Supporting BIPOC folx in the cheese industry:
We are admittedly stumbling through this process to figure out the way to do this in a way where our intent matches our impact and we are more than performative allies. We say that, because we are aware that some of our actions have been seen as performative. We write this now to be transparent in the process. So far, we have done the following, and we welcome suggestions from our community on how we can do this better while following our mission:
Launching the Peterson Company Scholarship for BIPOC Advancement
Initial funding of $1000 to the Cheese Culture Coalition. Learn more about their work and support them directly.
Using our funding dollars to encourage the ACS to hold more inclusive programming, scholarship opportunities, and speaker support.
Sponsoring the inaugural Conference on Food Resilience, Access, and Equity
We know that any one of these goals has problems in and of itself and isn't the solution, but we are committed to sustained work and addressing inequities within our industry in numerous ways and addressing the problem from multiple angles. What can we do better? We know there's a lot! While our focus on creating a more equitable industry directly arose after conversations and outage of the continued murder of Black individuals, it should be noted that we seek to create a culture that values diversity of multiple lived experiences - from race to ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and more.
Do you identify as an underrepresented person? If so, what do you need? We are listening.