Resetting the Table, from Awareness to Action
The 9th annual Local Food Summit will be held at the Eastern Michigan University Student Center in Ypsilanti on Monday March 20th from 9am - 4pm.
The Local Food Summit brings together individuals and organizations that share a common vision for the localized food system of Washtenaw County. The 2017 event utilizes a summit style format, featuring facilitated group discussions that include learning, dialogue, and collective visioning. The summit hopes to engage new audiences as well as long-time participants, including purchasers, chefs, producers, distributors, consumers, educators, business owners, politicians, and local food activists. Attendees will participate in one of six tracks, allowing them to think deeply about a particular aspect of our local food system, and to consider the impacts of social inequity and policy in Washtenaw County.
TRACKS
- Racism and Access to Land and Capital: This track will explore how racism persists in farming communities and limits access to land and capital.
- Farm to Institution: Institutions like schools, hospitals, and prisons are starting to source more food locally. This track will explore what Washtenaw County is doing to keep up with this growing trend.
- Market Development: This track will explore the wisdom of the old and the innovations of the new to create more profitable markets for our farmers.
- Farm Worker and Labor Justice: This track explores the fact that food sovereignty for the community is not possible without sovereignty for the farm workers.
- Current Environmental Issues: Water: This track explores the relationship of water and agriculture, water infrastructure, both urban and rural, and citizen engagement in water decision making.
- Food Justice: This track explore ways we can achieve equity within our food system here in Washtenaw County.
A pre-summit screening of the film Just Eat It event will be held at the 1st Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Ann Arbor on Sunday March 19th from 1-3pm. This film will be followed by a discussion of strategies to waste less food, and is hosted by the Religious Action of Reform Judaism, Temple Beth Emeth, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Ann Arbor, and the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice. A light lunch will be provided.
