Tosha Phonix
       
Executive Director 
 

Tosha Phonix founder and executive director has been in agriculture since she started growing food in 2011. In 2018 she was hired as food justice organizer for MO Coalition for the Environment. In this position she helped elevate community voices through the creation of the Food Equity Advisory Board. In this position she launched the first BIPOC farmers grant for areas that don’t see a lot of resources.   She worked with St. Louis University on the Food Audit Toolkit which allows community members to collect data on the food landscape within their community. While advocating for Black farmers  Black communities right to self-determination she was given the opportunity to expand her work outside of MO coalition for the Environment (MCE). 

 

In 2020 she founded and became the executive director of A.C.R.E.S. Focusing on building on the work she was doing at MCE. Working with the Black communities in North St. Louis City that have been left blighted such as Fairground to create a community owned grocery store for themselves. She collaborates with Muhammad Mosque 28 being in position to serve over the Ministry of Agriculture to use agriculture as a way to make “communities safe and decent places to live”. She currently is working on building out an urban farm in the Walnut Park neighborhood which is “bringing life back into the community” as residents have stated. 

 

Tosha Phonix serves as a member organization and leadership team member for the National Black Food and Justice Alliance. She has been a part of Neighborhood Leadership Academy & Neighborhood Leadership Fellows, as well as Sierra Club/Women’s Earth Alliance U.S. Grassroots Accelerator for Women Environmental Leaders. She has done consultant work with Gladiator Consultant. She has served on the MO Food Equity Task Force, and been featured in various articles such as Business Today and Civil Eats.