Dr. Heber Brown III on Ending Food Apartheid Through Black Church Food Security Network

Black Church Food Justice is transforming communities through purpose-driven initiatives. Join Stephen Lewis and Kimberly Daniel on the DO GOOD X podcast as they interview Dr. Heber Brown III, founder of the Black Church Food Security Network. Discover how his leadership at Pleasant Hope Baptist Church sparked a movement to combat food apartheid by leveraging church land and Black farmers. Learn how Black food ecosystems empower communities and foster social justice and food sovereignty. Dr. Brown shares insights on building community-led food justice solutions that honor cultural identity and drive lasting change.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:   

✅ How Dr. Heber Brown III founded the Black Church Food Security Network to address food apartheid.

✅ Strategies for creating Black food ecosystems with Black farmers and churches.

✅ The role of social justice in transforming black church food justice initiatives.

✅ How to leverage church assets for food sovereignty and community empowerment.

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TIMESTAMPS:  

00:00 Meet Dr. Heber Brown III, pastor and founder of Black Church Food Security Network, for food security and food sovereignty

03:35 Dr. Brown shares his core values: agency, love, social justice and the launching of Black Church Food Security Network, inspired by food apartheid patterns of members in his church

09:06 Frustration with the local market leads to a church garden vision; yields 1,200 pounds, tapping community knowledge from the Great Migration

15:39 Utilizing the opportunity that exists in land owned by Black churches: underutilized church land, an opportunity for Black food ecosystems, and engaging rising entrepreneurs

22:14 Favorite story: Ebenezer Baptist Church CSA program with Black farmers, 100 subscribers shifting to food sovereignty

28:21 Approach to lasting change: honor food charity, show congregations by example what can be accomplished

32:24 Aligning funding with values and relationships and being unapologetic for the black base of power

38:24 Dr. Brown speaks to shifting from being a pastor to leading a business, but staying connected to your base and not delegating critical aspects of your core values

42:59 Scaling the philosophy, and allowing the values to guide the ecosystem you have created

44:52 Listeners are invited to join the DO GOOD X Mastermind Community, beginning November 6, 2025

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

💎 Dr. Heber Brown III's vision for Black Church Food Justice transforms communities through black food ecosystems and church gardens.

💎 Food sovereignty thrives as black farmers and churches unite, tackling food apartheid with social justice.

💎 Community-led food justice solutions empower black churches to leverage land for sustainable food security.

💎 Unapologetic Black Church Food Justice aligns funding with values, fostering resilient community gardens.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Reverend Dr. Heber M. Brown, III, has been a catalyst for personal transformation and social change for over twenty years.  For nearly fourteen years, he served as pastor of a Baptist church in Baltimore, where he saw and personally experienced the impacts of food apartheid.  This helped inspire him to launch the Black Church Food Security Network, which advances food security and food sovereignty by co-creating Black food ecosystems anchored by nearly 250 Black congregations, in partnership with Black farmers and other food justice stakeholders.  He serves on the board of Bread For The World. He is Senior Church Advisor to Justice Connection, the...