Introducing Tosha Phonix – EVOLVE

When the Franciscan Sisters of Mary (FSMs) introduced me to Tosha Phonix at the Pallottine Center in St. Louis, I quickly realized that she is a person with the background and fortitude needed to envision and deliver a system-wide change. I understood immediately why the FSMs trusts her, a powerhouse at the center of a determined storm for good, as they invest seed money in underserved neighborhoods of North County, North City, and Metro East, as well as to parts of rural Missouri. Tosha is the food justice director at Elevating Voices of Leaders Vying for Equity (EVOLVE).

EVOLVE is building a community-driven platform that activates the creation of equitable food systems and built environments to support the well-being of all St. Louisans. EVOLVE emerges from the resilience of communities determined to take responsibility for growing and sharing healthy food despite years of being denied access.

EVOLVE means that local urban farmers are growing a worker self-directed nonprofit that allocates power throughout the organization. Meeting their own needs directly, they are dismantling inequities in the local food system.

Through its “Straight Facts” videos, EVOLVE helps local neighborhoods understand existing political and structural obstacles, especially those under review at the local City Hall where EVOLVE has established a platform for local voices to evoke change. EVOLVE has partnered with multiple organizations both locally and nationally to further the food justice movement. With radical collaboration methodology, EVOLVE cross-fertilizes with the local health department, local and state politicians, universities and national movements such as the National Black Food and Justice Alliance to further food justice throughout the country.

EVOLVE centers and uplifts Black residents and other people of color in underserved communities: Movers and Shakers, a term we love in Loretto. The Cooperative Economics Working Group of Loretto Link hosts a free July 17 online conference, Localization — Toward Economic and Environmental Justice, with much to learn from EVOLVE.