Happy anniversary to The Global Food and Drink Initiative (GFDI)! It was four years ago, on August 10, that GFDI was officially founded and it has been an amazing journey thus far.
Our work includes three important pillars: storytelling, education and advocacy. Storytelling is at the heart of what we do to amplify and preserve Black food culture and history through Cuisine Noir, our media outlet, and Diaspora Food Stories, our podcast.
In addition, GFDI is embarking on some very exciting new projects that aim to educate and inspire individuals, communities, and organizations about the rich culinary history of the African diaspora that many generations have kept alive.
Lastly, we are here to ensure our voices are included in conversations that impact our food communities the most, with one example being the climate crisis.
To see what we have initially done in our first three years overall as a nonprofit be recognized by the James Beard Foundation this past June is truly amazing and there is still more work to be done.
Looking Ahead
We’re so excited about what‘s to come. If we seem quiet at times, trust that we are meeting, discussing, planning, and working on how to deliver more impactful stories and continue bringing communities together.
The first we can share is about Cuisine Noir as we approach its 15th anniversary on September 1. We’ll be celebrating all month long and have some exciting changes and additions that will be revealed on the first that we know everyone will enjoy.
There is no denying that the outlet has pioneered Black food media and created excitement and pride around Black foodways, awareness about Black wine and spirit makers, and broken stereotypes around Black people and travel.
What’s next? Plenty as we have only begun to scratch the surface.
In addition, we understand that the way people consume media is very different today than it was 10, 15, or 20 years ago. Therefore, we’ll always be looking for ways to enhance our readers’ experiences so that they get the information they want, how they want it.
Panel discussions, bringing people together to cook and visual storytelling are all part of what we are working to bring to everyone in the coming months.
Making a Bigger Impact Together
Anyone who has started a nonprofit knows it takes a minute to get things off the ground, including securing all tax-exempt designations and setting a firm foundation to begin engaging donors and funders.
Now that we have done that, it is time to move full speed ahead with our mission and the work we want to accomplish over the next one, five and ten years.
This is where we need your support.
The Global Food and Drink Initiative funds the publishing of Cuisine Noir, the production of Diaspora Food Stories and all of our other work thanks to the support primarily of generous donations, grants with advertising and sponsorship barely accounting for much of our budget.
It may seem like this work done digitally does not take a lot to make it happen, but trust us, it does, and just as the cost of food goes up, so does the cost of technology.
We’re kicking off our annual fall campaign where YOU, our amazing supporters, can donate in support of our work and, more importantly, contribute to our goal to amplify even more Black voices and stories through our award-winning journalism.
We hope you will consider donating now through December 31 to support our mission. Each donation is 100% tax deductible and goes right back into covering The Global Food and Drink Initiative’s work.
No donation is too small and, of course never too big! Thank you all in advance as we raise a glass to the next year!