September 2011

Food Sovereignty at the Growing Food and Justice for All Gathering

, September 26, 2011

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“Mother Earth says: ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.’” This was among the messages conveyed through an interactive socio-drama, or mistica, that took place on the first evening of the recent Growing Food and Justice Initiative (GFJI) Gathering. The enactment involved a group of peasants (family farmers) who were sharing in an abundant harvest, with Mother Earth watching over them, until a bunch of vultures flew in to steal the fruits of their labors.  The vultures also came bearing ‘bad eggs’ (e.g., GMOs, corporate control, land grabs) that they dropped into a single, carefully guarded basket.  As the vultures were guarding their eggs, the peasants organized themselves, and, donning green bandanas and colorful banners, overpowered the vultures and replaced the bad eggs with many more good eggs (e.g., biodiversity, seed banks, community control) that they placed in multiple baskets for all to share.  Everybody celebrated this victory, especially Mother Earth.

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A Mixed Bag: Considerations on Backpack Programs and Family Dynamics

, September 23, 2011

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This article is based on opinions from staff at food banks around the country. If you have comments or questions, please email us at nhc@whyhunger.org

It is a traumatizing situation as a young child to be without food. You see the fear in the faces of your mother and father, despairing that they cannot feed their children. You feel afraid, too, because your parents can’t provide for you.

—Peter Kimeu, “Remembering a Hungry Childhood,” New York Times, 9/10/11

Backpack programs seem like a great thing on the surface. Most of them serve the youngest, most at-risk kids. And of course that makes everybody feel good because who is more deserving than kids?  Who can beat those smiling faces when you hand them a bag of food?  But there are a number of things to consider when designing a backpack program.

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The Greatest Threat to Food Justice: Land Grabs

, September 19, 2011

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The global land grab is easily one of the most dangerous and pressing threats to ending hunger and promoting food justice. In “The Great Land Grab,” the Oakland Institute reports that since 2009, 60 million hectares of farmland in Africa—roughly the size of France—has been bought by foreign governments, financial speculators and agribusiness corporations. Details on these land deals are often difficult to come by, partly because it is often unclear who owns the land, much of it being land that has been farmed collectively by small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples for decades (see the New York Times article “African Farmers Displace as Investors Move In”).

Lush farmland in Kenya.

Corrupt or incompetent governments are often behind these deals, as land is sold for far below what it is worth, and yet international bodies like the UN have not firmly regulated this damaging practice.

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Sharing Knowledge and Growing Community Power – The Community Learning Project for Food Justice

, September 17, 2011

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On Friday, September 9th, WhyHunger held the first national gathering of the Community Learning Project for Food Justice in coordination with the Growing Food and Justice Initiative (GFJI) conference in Milwaukee, WI.  Fourteen of the most innovative community-based organizations in the food justice movement are participating in the project through peer-to-peer learning partnerships.

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Launched in 2010, the Community Learning Project for Food Justice is a new project developed by WhyHunger in collaboration with Growing Power to  catalyze connection, spark innovation and build on the knowledge sharing network in the food justice movement.  Participants have been working with their partners around the country, mostly via conference calls, to share ideas, technical skills and support with each other.

Taking advantage of the first time together as a group, everyone shared stories, challenges and ideas on everything from the importance of building leadership amongst the youth in the movement, to the best “point of sale” software to use for your local worker-owned food co-op.

Over the next six months, partners in the Community Learning Project for Food Justice will be visiting each other on their home turf for some on-the-ground learning and a chance to see their partner’s work in operation.  We’ll be joining them to learn more and share their stories so stay tuned for more updates on the Community Learning Project for Food Justice.

2011 Community Learning Project for Food Justice Participants

Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Renewable Living (Chicago, IL)
Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (Detroit, MI)
Oyotunji African Village (Sheldon, SC)
Community Services Unlimited, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA)
Dill Pickle Food Co-Op (Chicago,  IL)
Mandela MarketPlace (Oakland, CA)
Community to Community Development (Bellingham, WA)
Huerto de la Familia (Eugene, OR)
Gardening Matters (Minneapolis, MN)
Nuestras Raices (Holyoke, MA)
Pedal Co-op (Philadelphia, PA)
Mississippians Engaged in Greener Agriculture (MEGA) (Shelby, MS)
People’s Grocery (Oakland, CA)
Social Justice Learning Project (Inglewood, CA)

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