Food Justice & Emergency Food Providers

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FEAST Leadership Network Webinar with Closing the Hunger Gap

July 15, 2015

• Introduction & Hellos

• What is Food Justice?

• Food Justice in Action with Sisters of the Road

• Food Justice in Action with Child Development Support Corporation

• Thank You

Agenda

Our Speakers

Jess Powers: Writer for WhyHunger

Shannon Cogan: Jesuit Service Volunteer for Sisters of the Road

Mireille Massac: Community Relations Manager for Child Development Support Corporation

UNDERSTANDING FOOD JUSTICE

FOOD SECURITY

The ability of all people to access enough food at all times.

COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY

A condition in which all community residents obtain a safe,

culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a

sustainable food system that maximizes community self-

reliance, social justice, and democratic decision-making.

--Hamm and Bellows, 2002

FOOD JUSTICE

Food justice work requires us to question why food insecurity

currently exists. We must examine the historical, social, and

economic inequalities that cause wide spread food insecurity,

locally and globally.

Source: Earthworks Urban Farm, http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/markets_programs/food_justice

THE RIGHT TO FOOD

• the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for

himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing

and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living

conditions

• the fundamental right to freedom from hunger and

malnutrition

Source: International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, Article 11

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Source: "FDR Memorial wall". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FDR_Memorial_wall.jpg#/media/File:FDR_Memorial_wall.jpg

WHAT DOES THE RIGHT TO FOOD PROTECT?

• Adequate

• Accessible (economic and physical)

• Available

• Sustainable

THE RISE OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND

THE RIGHT TO FOOD

Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to

healthy and culturally appropriate food

produced through sustainable methods and

their right to define their own food and

agriculture systems….

– Via Campesina International Peasant Movement

THE LIMITS OF LANGUAGE

Our community members don’t see our work as "health equity"

and "food justice" and "educational equity" and "black male

achievement." That’s all language from a dominant

perspective. For our parents, it’s, "Can you help my son go to

school?" And, "Can you help my family eat a decent dinner?"

For them, our work connects to their lived experience. And for

us, that’s what it’s about, too. It’s about improving people’s

lives at the core. And helping them build tools so that they

don’t need us anymore. "We can help teach you how to build

your garden, so that you don’t need to ask me to help you build

a garden again. Once you learn how to do it yourself, ...Guess

what?... I can go help somebody else. You’re good. And then

you can go help your neighbor."

--D’Artagnan Scorza as quoted in Chant Down Babylon: Building

Relationship, Leadership, and Power in the Food Justice Movement

(Food Justice Voices series)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• A History of Emergency Food in the US Timeline

http://bit.ly/1UsmYMg

• Nourishing Change: Fulfilling the Right to Food in the US

http://chrgj.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/05/130527_Nourishing-Change.pdf

• Right to Food and Nutrition Watch

http://www.fian.org/library/right-to-food-and-nutrition-watch/

• Food Justice Voices

http://www.whyhunger.org/getinfo/showArticle/articleId/4111

Please get in touch

eileen@sistersoftheroad.org

shannon@sistersoftheroad.org

kris@sistersoftheroad.org

Child Development Support Corporation

Connect With Us on Social Media! http://www.facebook.com/oregonfoodbankcfs

https://twitter.com/#!/OFB_SharonT

Jessica PowersJessica@whyhunger.org

Shannon CoganShannon@sistersoftheroad.org

Thank You!

Mirelle Massacmmassac@gmail.com

Emily Beckerebecker@oregonfoodbank.org

Tracy Gagnontgagnon@oregonfoodbank.org