Mission
B.A.G & Company models self-sustainable living and works to bring food justice to the Durham community. We are focused on agricultural and culinary education, and the overall encouragement and empowerment of the Durham community. We want our people to embrace self-sustainable living, renewable energy, and the holistic approach to life. We want Durham to IMAGINE, GROW, AND SUSTAIN.
History
In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the “Other America” speech at Stanford, highlighting the inequality faced by Black Americans, including poor access to food, housing, and jobs. Over 50 years later, these issues persist. The Other America Movement (OAM) was founded in 2020 when officials allocated $70 million to police while working-class residents faced food insecurity. OAM mobilized protests, blocked highways, and occupied the Durham police station for 37 days, enduring arrests while providing food and hygiene supplies to the less fortunate.
After failed negotiations with city officials, Skip Gibbs shifted from protest to seek economic security for Durham's underserved. The Organization aimed to educate through sovereignty. In 2021, a local scientist and his entrepreneur wife donated land to OAM. From then to 2022, OAM took a hiatus to develop the 4-acre BRIGHTWOOD AGRICULTURE GROUP, enhancing its infrastructure and purpose. In 2025, OAM rebranded as B.A.G & Company to reflect growth and inclusivity, fighting for all of Durham’s underserved, regardless of background. The name honors our roots while expanding our mission. B.A.G signifies our stewardship of the land and our collective legacy. We remain dedicated to a food-secure Durham through fellowship, sustainable living, and self-determination.
We’re not just feeding people, we’re planting systems. We’re not just creating jobs, we’re growing futures. We believe Durham can serve as a national model for how equity, sustainability, and community care can thrive when everyone has a seat at the table.
Leadership
Skip Gibbs, Executive Chef & Director
Raised by a resilient single mother in Durham’s inner city, Skip Gibbs intimately understands the challenges of food insecurity. His mother juggled multiple jobs while completing her higher education at NCCU, making every meal at home a necessity rather than a choice. Skip and his five siblings depended on home-cooked meals, as dining out was simply unaffordable. To stretch their resources, the family ingeniously collected and filtered rainwater, harnessed solar power, and tended a thriving garden beside their home—practices that ignited Skip’s enduring passion for sustainable living and culinary arts.
Driven by this foundation, Skip earned a degree in Culinary Management from the Arts Institute and spent 16 years blending creativity and cuisine as an artist and chef. But in 2020, he made a bold shift—leaving his businesses behind to fully dedicate himself to homesteading and the fight against food insecurity. Today, Skip is not just a husband and father; he is a powerhouse advocate deeply embedded in the movement to secure lasting food justice for Durham, transforming his past hardships into relentless inspiration for change.