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Food Access in Southern Maryland: A Community-Based, Thriving, and Equitable Local Food System

April 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Join the Accokeek Foundation, Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission and Rural Coalition for the second in the 2012 Food Justice Series.  This free, open-to-all event brings together members of various sectors of our food system, including food banks, government social services, faith-, farm-, and school-based initiatives working to address issues of hunger in Southern Maryland.

The panel will feature Brenda DiCarlo of the Southern Maryland Food Bank who will talk about their work with Farming 4 Hunger and Juan Manuel Thompson of Charles County Social Services who is working to add EBT machines to farmers markets in Southern Maryland. A youth group from Thomas Stone High School will also present their initiative to grow food on campus, and the Southern Maryland Community Food Council will lead a lively discussion about the local initiative of community members working together to systematically achieve a just and sustainable local food system.

For questions or more information regarding the Food Justice Series please contact Molly Meehan at mmeehan@accokeek.org.

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Honoring Farmworkers: A Celebration of Cesar Chavez

March 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Accokeek Foundation, Rural Coalition, and Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission co-present the 2012 Food Justice Series. The Series kicks off with “Honoring Farmworkers: A Celebration of Cesar Chavez,” which includes a brief film screening and discussion with members of the Chavez Family.

This four-part presentation of the Robert Ware Straus Lecture Series brings together farmers, policy advocates, community leaders, faith- and government-based initiatives focusing on building local, equitable, and sustainable food systems. Topics include a celebration of the legacy of Cesar Chavez, farmworker justice, food access in Southern Maryland, young and beginning farmers, as well as a look at our diverse ancestral farming in this region and looking toward to the future of farming. This is a wonderful time to come together as a community in solidarity to cultivate insight and conversation about the pressing matters of food justice and how we can work together to transform our food system.

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Food Justice Series Speakers

November 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The following are the invited speakers to present on the panel during the next installment of the Food Justice Series held at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, November 17, 2011. This month’s topic will be on Environment, Food, and Health.

Bernadine Prince
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, FRESHFARM Markets

Bernadine (Bernie) Prince is Co-founder and Co-Executive Director of FRESHFARM Markets, a nonprofit organization which operates 11 producer-only farmers markets in the mid-Atlantic region in 2011. She started the Food Stamp/Matching Dollars program and oversees the FoodPrints—local foods school program which just opened its Food Lab, a fully functional teaching kitchen that complements the edible garden and curriculum instruction for first, third and fourth graders at Watkins Elementary School in DC’s Ward 6.  For the past seven years, Prince has also worked in Australia and New Zealand, where she helped set the standards for those countries’ farmers markets. She holds an honorary position on the board of Farmers’ Markets New Zealand, Inc. Prince was just elected President of the national Farmers Market Coalition in the USA.

Colin O’Neil
Regulatory Policy Analyst, Center for Food Safety

Colin O’Neil is Regulatory Policy Analyst for the Center for Food Safety (CFS), a non-profit public interest organization that works to protect human health and the environment by curbing the proliferation of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture. Prior to joining CFS, Colin received his B.A. from Beloit College where he graduated magna cum laude. At CFS, Colin works on a wide range of policy issues related to genetic engineering, organic foods, biofuels, corporate accountability, climate change and food safety. Colin also works for CFS’ sister organization, The International Center for Technology Assessment, where he focuses on nanotechnology, synthetic biologic, and geoengineering.

Michele Roberts
Campaign and Policy Coordinator,
Environmental Advocates for Human Rights

Since 1990, Ms. Roberts has provided technical assistance and advocacy support to communities regarding the impacts of toxins on human health and the environment.  Ms. Roberts is also a spoken word artist, who created Arts Slam @ SsAMS, a community-based arts program. Ms. Roberts received an M.A. from the University of Delaware (2000), and a B.S. in Biology from Morgan State University (1983). Ms. Roberts has co-authored reports on environmental justice issues. Her advocacy work has been featured in television, print news, and magazines.

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Sí, Se Puede! Food Justice: A Global Issue

April 5, 2011 by 1 Comment

Lorette Picciano, executive director of the Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural, introduces the evening's speakers.

Last week, the Accokeek Foundation held the first event in its four-part Food Justice Series. In celebration of César Chávez Day, the event explored the struggles that are faced by farmworkers around the world and the significant role that small family farmers play in the fight for sustainability and social justice.

Put on in partnership with the Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural and the National Immigrant Farming Initiative, this series brings together farmers, policymakers, and advocates to cultivate insight and conversation about the pressing matters of food justice that each of them witnesses firsthand. Speakers at our first event, Food Justice: A Global Issue, included Kathy Ozer, Executive Director of the National Family Farm Coalition; Angela Adrar, Field and Outreach Coordinator at the Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural; and Tirso Moreno, Founder and Executive Director of the Farmworker Association of Florida.

The crowd that came together at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., cheered to chants of “Sí, se puede! (Yes, we can!)” and clapped the “farmworker clap” alongside special guests Oscar Gonzales, Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Julie Chávez Rodriguez, long-time human rights activist and granddaughter of César Chávez. Rodriguez encouraged the audience to come together in the fight for food justice. “When we’re working together, we’re louder,” she said. “We’re more powerful.”

For photos, video, and music by Rudy Arredondo, president of the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association, take a look at the clips after the jump.

[Read more...]

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The Accokeek Foundation Holds Food Justice Series

March 11, 2011 by 1 Comment
Food Justice Series Art Project Winner

Artwork created by sixth-grade students from Capital City Public Charter School.

As the world finds itself facing widespread environmental degradation and ever-increasing human health concerns, the new food movement has taken hold. This shift in thought and action–which some have called a revolution–advocates sustainable agricultural and environmental practices that preserve the well-being of both land and people. As this movement works to transform our methods of food production and distribution, it has become ever more important for us to understand what makes a food system fair and just.

The Accokeek Foundation Center for Agricultural and Environmental Stewardship, in partnership with the Rural Coalition and National Immigrant Farming Initiative, presents a series of four events that will spotlight the issues that affect food justice on a local and global scale.

From the challenges to increasing food access in urban areas like Baltimore and Washington, DC, to the threat that genetically-modified foods can pose to our environment and our health, this Food Justice Series brings together farmers, policymakers, and advocates to cultivate insight and conversation about the pressing matters of food justice that each of them witnesses firsthand.

In our efforts to further community engagement, the Accokeek Foundation has partnered with Capital City Public Charter School, whose sixth-grade class has created several pieces of agriculture-inspired artwork as part of a lesson on the industrialization of food. The Foundation will exhibit this artwork at the Food Justice Series to make clear the relationship that all generations have with food and with farming and to inspire those in attendance to consider their connections to the agriculture in this region and the food on their plates.Each of these events will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Langston Room of the flagship location of Busboys and Poets (14th and V St. NW). This progressive community gathering place reaches a diverse audience of artists, activists, thinkers, and dreamers. The events are free and open to all, but donations are welcome.

Calendar:

Thursday, March 31 (Cesar Chavez Day); 6 to 8 p.m.; Food Justice – A Global Issue

Thursday, May 12; 6 to 8 p.m.; Food Access

Thursday, September 22; 6 to 8 p.m.; Building Local, Just Food Systems

Thursday, November 17; 6 to 8 p.m.; Environment, Food, and Health

About the Partners:

The Accokeek Foundation Center for Agricultural and Environmental Stewardship was created to teach, inspire, and encourage people about the principles and practices of sustainability in agriculture and everyday life. Building on its successful Beginning Farmer Training Program, the CAES offers workshops, field days, presentations, community forums, and guided tours covering topics ranging from sustainable agriculture to green living, environmental science, and local food. This event is part of the Foundation’s Robert Ware Straus Lecture Series. The Rural Coalition is a grassroots-oriented alliance of farmers, farm workers, and indigenous, migrant, and working people that seeks to build a more just and sustainable food system. The National Immigrant Farming Initiative is a collaborative effort of Heifer International and other partners that advocates for immigrant farmers. NIFI works to build awareness of the challenges that immigrant farmers face while increasing the visibility of their important contributions to our communities and agriculture.

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