The FSNE 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge Enters Year 12 and a New Chapter

Some work is bigger than any one organization. It grows through relationships, shared leadership, and the care of a network. The Food Solutions New England (FSNE) 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge has always been that kind of work. Each year, thousands of people step into a shared practice of learning, reflecting, and taking action together.

Beginning this year, Interaction Institute for Social Change (IISC) will serve as the new host of the Challenge, in partnership with the University of Vermont Institute for Agroecology (IFA) and KAS Consulting, led by long-time Challenge co-leader Karen Spiller.

IISC is stepping into this role as a longtime partner, not a new one. We have been connected to the Challenge since it first launched in 2015 through FSNE. That year, IISC’s Curtis Ogden, along with Karen Spiller and Johanna Rosen of Equity Trust, took work that was originally created by Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. of The Privilege Institute, and Debbie Irving, author of Waking Up White, and developed an online food system-focused version of the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge. Over the past twelve years, that version has grown into a nationally and internationally recognized learning experience, bringing together thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations each year.

Evolving Through a Network, Grounded in Continuity

As of July 1, 2025, FSNE transitioned from its longtime institutional home at the University of New Hampshire into a new partnership with the University of Vermont Institute for Agroecology. This transition reflects something that has always been true about this work: that strength lives in the network itself, which is bigger than any single organization or institution. The relationships, commitments, and shared purpose continue even as structures evolve.

Hosting the Challenge here at IISC feels like a natural continuation of that shared stewardship. The collaboration, trust, and values that shaped the Challenge from the start remain at the center of what comes next.

For some, the current political climate has made racial equity work feel more scrutinized, exhausting, or difficult to advance publicly. Many organizations are navigating uncertainty about how to continue this work in increasingly constrained environments, and some may feel cautious about participating in spaces focused on racial equity learning.

At the same time, we are seeing many people lean in more deeply. We are hearing from leaders, organizers, practitioners, and community members who are looking for places to stay grounded, learn in community, and reconnect to why this work matters. The Challenge is designed to hold space for both of these realities. It offers an accessible, reflective, and community-rooted way to continue learning together.

What the Challenge Offers

For 21 days, participants receive daily emails with curated resources, carefully crafted reflection prompts, and invitations to deepen understanding and to engage in concrete practice. Some engage individually, while others participate as teams or organizations. Many return year after year because the Challenge becomes both a learning opportunity and a sustaining practice that deepens their sense of purpose, connection, and possibility.

Now entering its 12th year, the Challenge remains open to anyone looking to strengthen their racial equity practice and work more generally for a just world.

Registration opens March 5, 2026, and the Challenge will run from April 20 through May 10.

While the Challenge has historically been free, registration will now be $21 for 21 days. This small fee helps support the coordination, curation, and stewardship that allow this learning community to continue growing while staying accessible to participants.

The FSNE 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge continues to be shaped by the communities, partners, and participants who have carried it forward since 2015. We feel honored to help steward this next chapter alongside IFA, KAS Consulting, and the broader FSNE network.

The invitation is open to anyone who wants to learn, reflect, and take action in community with others working toward a more equitable and just food system and society. Save the date for March 5 when registration opens here. We hope you’ll join us!