Welcome to the SFA

Welcome to the Southern Foodways Alliance -- an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture with headquarters at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Southern Foodways Alliance documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South. We set a common table where black and white, rich and poor -- all who gather-- may consider our history and our future in a spirit of reconciliation.

SFA Launches Endowment Campaign

Matthew Rowley
SFA Secretary/Treasurer

Ole Miss alumni Ron and Becky Feder, principals of the R&B Feder Charitable Foundation for the Beaux Arts of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, helped launch the Southern Foodways Alliance’s endowment fund during this October’s Southern Foodways Symposium with a $5,000 challenge grant to members. The grant is the first installment of a ten-year pledge totaling $50,000. SFA members attending the symposium met and bested that challenge, raising over $11,000 in additional funds during the weekend.

One of the SFA’s most critical and pressing needs is an endowment that serves as a permanent and reliable source of funding for the events and programs that support its mission. Today, almost all operating expenses -- nearly $100,000 annually -- must be raised through the efforts of SFA staff. As the organization grows, however, demands on staff resources grow. This endowment will relieve some of the pressure to raise funds. Staff can then dedicate more of their expertise to assuring the same high quality of scholarship and service that members and the public have come to expect.

Interest earned on the endowment’s premium will provide funds for operational expenses such as supplies, printing, and postage, as well as for salaries, special events, and scholarships. Further, it will provide seed money for some of our biggest aspirations. Chief among those is a thorough compilation of oral histories about current, historic, and endangered foodways of the American South. A close second is planning for a public museum, library, and archives.

Projects such as these were once only dreams. Now, they are becoming reality. An initial collection of SFA archival materials, for instance, is on deposit at the University of Mississippi Department of Archives and Special Collections. Likewise, the oral history campaign has already produced histories on barbecue and baking. To manage that project, the board recently hired Amy Evans as a part-time facilitator. Amy, a recent graduate of the Southern Studies master’s program, was the lead researcher on our Tennessee barbecue project.

Both the University of Mississippi and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture are working closely with the SFA to develop the endowment campaign. The University of Mississippi Foundation will administer the endowment. All funds raised will be dedicated exclusively to the Southern Foodways Alliance.

The initial round of donations to the endowment came from SFA members, the board, the staff of the Center, even symposium speakers. A case in point: Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q of Birmingham, Alabama, responded to the challenge with a pledge of $3,000. Others may choose to contribute anonymously or make donations in another’s name. All contributions are fully tax-deductible and can be made by check, credit card, or pledge.

The Southern Foodways Alliance has always been a member-driven organization. I urge each member with a development or philanthropic background to continue that tradition by contacting me at sfaendowment@olemiss.edu or 215-432-4348 to offer advice and leadership on the endowment campaign. I am eager to discuss fundraising strategy, leads, and developing promotional materials.

The Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award

Each fall, the SFA (with support from the Fertel Foundation) honors an unsung hero or heroine, a foodways tradition bearer of note, with the Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award.

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