Updates
Black Food Sovereignty & Juneteenth: Power Through Food
June 16, 2025
Black food sovereignty is at the heart of modern Juneteenth celebrations, reflecting a continued fight for liberation through food, land, and culture. Juneteenth marks a delayed freedom, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the last enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free. Today, that legacy lives on not just in remembrance, but in action, as communities reclaim power, dignity, and access in all forms, including the right to food.
Across the country, Black-led food justice organizations are reshaping our food systems by reclaiming agricultural traditions, honoring culturally rooted foodways, and building mutual aid networks that prioritize community care over profit. These efforts are more than acts of service, they are acts of resistance and empowerment.
At We Don’t Waste, we believe food sovereignty is essential to equity. By rescuing surplus food and ensuring it reaches nonprofits serving historically marginalized communities, we stand in solidarity with these justice-driven movements, supporting a future where access to nourishing and culturally relevant food is not a privilege but a right. We also acknowledge the systemic barriers many people of color have faced within institutional structures, including food access.
Reclaiming Land and Power Through Black Food Sovereignty
For generations, Black Americans have been systematically denied land ownership and access to the agricultural economy they once built. Today, organizations like Soul Fire Farm in New York and Farming While Black are leading the charge to reverse that narrative, training Black and Brown farmers, promoting agroecology, and advancing Black food sovereignty by returning land stewardship to those long pushed out of it.
In Colorado, groups like Black Food Sovereignty Coalition Denver are working to cultivate community gardens, reclaim neighborhood plots, and expand education around culturally rooted agriculture. These movements aren’t just about growing food, they’re about growing freedom.
Honoring Cultural Foodways in the Fight for Black Food Sovereignty
From okra and collards to gumbo and grits, food has always been central to Black identity, resilience, and storytelling. Organizations like The Black Feminist Project are preserving and celebrating these foodways while also addressing food apartheid and generational trauma. A food apartheid describes the institutional racism and use of political power to perpetuate food access and funding inequality.
By ensuring access to culturally relevant foods, those that resonate with heritage, faith, and community, food justice initiatives reinforce the idea that liberation also looks like a dinner table where everyone sees themselves reflected in the meal.
On Juneteenth, many celebrations will feature red foods originating from the cultures of the enslaved Yoruba and Kongo people, who were brought to Texas in the 19th century. The color red can represent power, sacrifice, and transformation in both of those cultures.
In the present day, barbecue and adjacent sides are often the go-to food for Juneteenth celebrations, but this tradition is more than just a festive meal. Barbecue is deeply rooted in Southern history and is recognized as a communal act of cooking and gathering.
As Texas Monthly’s barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn notes, 19th-century newspaper reports often described entire communities coming together at local barbecue pits or open grounds to prepare and share food in honor of Juneteenth. The slow-cooked meats and shared preparation reflect not just flavor, but the collective spirit and cultural pride that define the holiday.
BBQ sides also have a metaphoric meaning; black-eyed peas and pork represent wealth, collard greens (or any dish using leafy vegetables) are said to bring good fortune, and corn symbolizes gold.
Mutual Aid as Liberation
During the pandemic and beyond, mutual aid networks filled the gaps left by traditional systems. Black-led coalitions organized free fridges, meal deliveries, and redistribution efforts that directly supported families in need, no red tape and no strings attached. This community-first approach echoes the spirit of Juneteenth: people taking care of people in the absence of systemic justice.
These systems thrive on shared responsibility, collective power, and the belief that everyone deserves to eat, not just survive, but thrive.
At We Don’t Waste, we rescue fresh, high-quality food that would otherwise be discarded and redirect it to a network of over 100 nonprofit partners. Through our Mobile Food Markets, we deliver food directly to neighborhoods that have been historically underserved, offering produce, pantry staples, and proteins without barriers. We strive to distribute food that aligns with community preferences and dietary needs, honoring the cultural relevance of what we serve.
Food justice is not just about saving food; it’s about who has access to it, what kind of food is available, and who holds the power in the process. As we reflect on Juneteenth, we commit to building a food system rooted in Black food sovereignty, equity, dignity, and justice.
Read our other Juneteenth blogs here, and dive into a more historical retelling of January 1, 1863, here.
This Juneteenth, consider donating to or volunteering with organizations like We Don’t Waste that are working to ensure equitable food access in historically underserved communities. You can also support Black-owned farms, restaurants, and food businesses that are preserving foodways, reclaiming land, and feeding their communities with care.
