A Bittersweet Goodbye to our CFS Program Director

Written by Jonah Fertig-Burd, CDI’s Cooperative Food System Program Director

I wanted to share the news with our clients, collaborators, and supporters that I will be leaving CDI at the end of August to start a new job as the Community Partner at the Sewall Foundation in Maine leading their Food Systems Programs.  It has been an amazing 5 ½ years at CDI and I have grown tremendously, learned, and been able to contribute to the growth of the cooperative ecosystem in Maine and the region. When I joined CDI, I had just left Local Sprouts Cooperative, a worker-owned cafe, and catering business that I had co-founded in 2007.  CDI had helped Local Sprouts start-up and I was excited to help other people start cooperatives. 

While I am sad to leave CDI, I’m excited about a new opportunity to expand my work to transform the food system in Maine and take on new challenges at the Sewall Foundation. Through my work at the Sewall Foundation, I will also be working to support BIPOC led organizations, farmers, and food businesses.  Sewall is also a funder of the Cooperative Development Institute and so I will continue to support CDI from my new role at Sewall.  

I have been able to be a part of and contribute to many projects, clients, and collaborations during my time at CDI.  Some of the initiatives that I’m most proud of are:

• Working with New Roots Cooperative Farm: When New Roots Cooperative Farm formed in 2015 they were the first immigrant-owned co-op in Maine.  We were able to work with them and other partners to secure a 30-acre farm in Lewiston and help them grow their farm business.  They’ve become successful and this year sold out their 200 member CSA and secured more funding from the State of Maine to expand their infrastructure and from the Sewall Foundation to start a food pantry at a local mosque.  CDI will continue to work with New Roots and this fall will be working with partners to raise funds for their land purchase. 
• Expanding the cooperative ecosystem in Lewiston-Auburn and Maine: Over the past 5 years, we have worked intensely in Lewiston-Auburn, Norway area, the Midcoast, and Washington County (all in Maine) to grow the cooperative ecosystem in these regions.  We have trained non-profit staff in these areas to start co-op development projects, engaged policymakers, conducted public education, and expanded collaborations.  Specifically in Lewiston-Auburn, we’re working with Isuken Co-op, the nation’s first Somali Bantu food truck, Herban Works, an herbal medicine co-op, Raise Op Housing Co-op, an immigrant-led childcare co-op, and a Community Food Center, organized by the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center. This work is funded through the USDA’s Rural Community Development Initiative grant, the Sewall Foundation, Broad Reach Fund, John Merck Fund, and John T. Gorman Foundation.CDI is now a well-respected and active contributor to economic and community development in Maine.  
• Growing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at CDI: I am excited about the new, diverse, emerging staff at CDI with many new staff taking on greater responsibilities and roles within the organization.  When I joined CDI in 2014, there were 12 staff, who were all white, and only one person of color on the Board.  CDI also had limited collaboration with BIPOC-led organizations or support many BIPOC-owned co-ops. Through the work of the Collective Liberation Working Group, we have helped guide CDI’s journey towards being an anti-racist organization that is supporting a diverse staff, working with diverse clients, and working to be inclusive and equitable in how it operates internally and externally.   CDI and the co-op movement still have a long way to go to truly be inclusive, equitable, and supporting justice and liberation at all levels and I’m happy to see that the commitment to this work at CDI continues to grow and deepen.  
• Expanding Urban Housing Co-op: CDI has done incredible work in the NEROC program for residents of Manufactured Housing Communities and yet our work in urban housing has been limited.  Over the past few years, staff within our Cooperative Business Services and NEROC have worked on researching and advocating for urban housing co-ops in Portland (and I actually started promoting this in Portland back in 2006 with a workshop by former CDI staffer Lynda Brushett).  Now there are two proposals for new construction housing co-ops in Portland, one of which has already been approved by the City’s Economic Development Committee and the other will be decided upon on August 18th.  Julian Rowand and Arthur Sabiti, two of CDI’s new staff and our newly elected staff representatives to the Board, will be leading this effort. 
• Expanding CDI’s Communications work: CDI does a lot of amazing work, but unfortunately, for a long time not many people knew about this work because it was scattered across the Northeast and there wasn’t a focus on communications.  Over the past 5 years, our Communications department has grown from 0 people to 3 staff and we have developed videos (including the Local Foods in Cooperations series), received extensive media coverage, produced several reports, increased our social media presence, presented and tabled at many conferences and raised the profile of CDI and co-ops in the Northeast.    

While I will be taking a step back from co-op development work, I will still be involved in the co-op movement in Maine, the region, and nationally.   Outside of CDI, I am also a farmer and our farm is converting to a multi-stakeholder cooperative, Celebration Tree Farm & Wellness Center, with workers and community owners, and we are purchasing our land with Land in Common Community Land Trust.  Our new cooperative will join the Cooperative Maine Business Alliance and we look forward to being active members.   Lastly, I will continue to serve on the Board of the Cooperative Fund of New England which finances many of the co-ops that CDI works with in the Northeast.  

I will be forever grateful for the learning and opportunities that I have had while working at CDI and will continue to support the work of CDI as I embark on this journey in my life.