FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: March 20, 2017 Brittany Vanderpool (202) 248-5487 bvanderpool@vancomm.com
DEVASTATING WILDFIRES SPUR FARM AID TO ACTIVATE FAMILY FARM DISASTER FUND
Organization seeks donations for recovery funds in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas
Cambridge, Mass. — Farm Aid is activating its Family Farm Disaster Fund as ranchers in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas deal with the impact of massive wildfires that have ravaged more than 2 million acres of land and thousands of cattle, taking the lives of several ranchers who worked to protect their animals from the blaze.
Family farmers have stepped in to help with donations of hay and even a tractor brigade to block the flames, but Farm Aid says ranchers will need long-term, sustained support to start recovering from the disaster. Donations to Farm Aid’s Family Farm Disaster Fund will go to support groups on the ground who can effectively assess needs and provide direct assistance.
“For ranchers and their rural communities, these fires have been devastating,” said Farm Aid’s Farm Advocate Jennie Msall. “Many of them face damaged homes, charred land, burnt fences, and dead or injured animals. The resulting loss of income has a ripple effect in their communities. The Family Farm Disaster Fund is designed to support the on-the-ground relief efforts in communities, wherever and however they need it most.”
To donate to the Family Farm Disaster Fund, please visit: www.farmaid.org/disasterfund. Every dollar raised will support local recovery funds that provide the resources family farmers and ranchers need to recover.
Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 30 years, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $50 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.
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