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Join Slow Food and Stir It Up in a Month of Eat-Ins!

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 13:15
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April is National Food month, and there is surely no better way to celebrate than to spend a good meal talking about the connection between workers in the food chain and the food we eat every day. That’s why Slow Food on Campus and Stir It Up are working together to invite students to organize Eat-Ins, where students and workers can share food and their stories!
 
 

What is an Eat-In?

 
Eat-Ins are a powerful way to build community for social change. An Eat-In is a public gathering of people to share a meal they’ve cooked together, a declaration that food is our common language and a universal right, and a celebration of the people who work to feed and share food with others.
 
It is both a protest, in the spirit of the independence and civil rights movements of the last century, and a potluck, in the spirit of the good food movement. Eat-Ins have a long history, with various groups in the 1960s and 70s organizing protests where they occupied a space, ate something, and demanded change. The first Eat-In to celebrate and fight for good food took place on Labor day 2008 as part of Slow Food Nation, a gathering of over 80,000 people to celebrate and support the workers who make good, clean, and fair food possible.
 
Are you ready to take a stand for students and workers? Coordinate an Eat-In!

Steps to Making Your Eat-In a Success!

 
1. Support your local food community by purchasing good, clean, and fair food. Meet your farmers, grocers, and other food workers.
 
2. Invite your old and new friends into your kitchen to cook. Invite other friends to cook in other kitchens. Five or five hundred people can Eat-In.
 
3. Reach out to as many people as possible and invite them to share the meal. Don’t be afraid to start new friendships and alliances.
 
4. Set your table in a public space, such as a park or in front of a dining hall.
 
5. Eat together and invite everyone to consider the following questions:
  • What is worker justice, and what does it have to do with transforming the food system?
  • Is the food you’re eating good, clean, and fair? What kind of food does our current food and farming system support? 
  • How does our current food system impact the people who work to feed us? Are food workers compensated fairly and respected on the job?
  • What does student-worker solidarity mean to you?
6. Don’t forget to take videos or photos from your Eat-In and send us reports! We’ll make sure everyone in the Slow Food and Stir It Up networks share in the energy of your Eat-In.
 
Let us know if you’re up for holding an Eat-In at your school. Making them happen around the country will be a great way to kick-start an important dialogue between the slow food movement and the food workers movement!

 

"Unity. Community. Movement."

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Mon, 02/28/2011 - 12:58
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On Friday night, the youth leading the Real Food Challenge’s Northeast Food and Justice summit stood up in front of hundreds of people and kicked off an incredible weekend with a simple theme. In between giant icebreakers, stretches, step lessons and poetry performances, the youth leaders had everyone in the room repeat the theme aloud over and over again. 

“Unity. Community. Movement.”
 
Days later those three words are still resonating. They are three words that describe the conference perfectly and simply, and what strikes me most is that the word “food” doesn’t count among them. 
 
Yes, over the three days we talked a whole lot about food. But anyone expecting a conference full of a new generation of snobby “foodies” who only want high-quality food for themselves would have been sorely out of place. This conference was about changing the world for everyone by creating a food system that works for everyone – from farmworkers and dining workers who deserve a fair wage to high school students who deserve a healthy meal. It was about food, sure, but at its core it was about a whole lot more than that. 
 
Honestly I felt honored just to be part of it. In the Stir It Up workshop, “Worker Leadership in the Fight for Sustainable Food,” worker leaders from UNITE HERE Local 35 at Yale talked about their own struggle to keep good food in their dining halls. Many years ago, to protest fresh baked goods being replaced with packaged ones, the Yale dining workers held a taste test in the middle of campus. They won. Much more recently, when Yale started an expansive sustainable food program, the workers figured out how to make it practical for them too. The program couldn’t work without their input. I could barely keep track of all the hands up from workshop participants wanting to understand the worker perspective and remarkably eager for advice on how to involve workers in sustainable food projects at their own school. In other workshops we attended that day, such as ones put on by Slow Food USA, the Student/Farmworker Alliance and the Food Chain Workers Alliance, the energy seemed just as high. 
 
On the third and final day, the conference closed by recognizing the love that went into the meals prepared for us over the weekend and by talking about youth in the Civil Rights movement who also changed our world. I think to most of the people in the room, those weren’t two different topics. I don’t know if the food movement is the next big movement that will radically change our society, but after this weekend, I feel like it could be.

 

Talking Real Food, From Illinois to California

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 13:56
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I could get used to this.
 
Last weekend was another great one for campus dining workers connecting with the college and youth movement for real food. Stir It Up and UNITE HERE worker leaders were at the Strengthening the Roots Convergence in Santa Cruz and the Midwest Real Food Summit in Chicago, making friends and building the kinds of bridges we’ll need to build a food system that works for all of us.
 
Though I can’t speak for my colleagues who attended the CA convergence, my highlight from the Midwest summit was just listening to cooks in our union sit back and really talk about food. One of the workers talked about his cooking as an art, another about how she goes out of her way for good, fresh ingredients when she cooks at home. If you’ve never talked to the dining workers at your school about their craft, you’re probably missing out on some of the most impassioned commentary on food on all of campus. 
 
The summit’s other workshops made for a full couple of days, and despite complications of a winter storm, everyone attending seemed determined and inspired to go back to their own campus and really start to change the food system. 
 
Of course, that means I left inspired as well, and can’t wait to continue to deepen the connections between dining workers and the movement to bring real food into the kitchens they so proudly run. 
 
Next stop: Boston. If you’re going to be at the Northeast Food and Justice Youth Summit or the Coalition of Immokalee Workers actions Feb 27 in Boston or March 4 and 5th in Tampa, let us know – we’d love to see you there!


 

Racial Justice in the Food Chain

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Sat, 02/19/2011 - 13:41
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We here at Stir It Up know all too well that divisions that plague our society at large – divisions of class, race, gender, immigration status and more – are often showcased in campus dining halls. We know that the struggle for worker justice in our industry cannot be separated from the ongoing struggle for racial justice in our nation. This week, the Applied Research Center and Colorlines Magazine helped to put some numbers behind what many of us have seen first-hand.
 
On February 16, the Applied Research Center released “The Color of Food,” a report detailing racial injustice throughout the entire food chain, from the production workers who pick and produce the food all the way to those who cook and serve it. Colorlines Magazine also has a great summary of the findings in the article, “America’s Food Sweatshops and the Workers of Color Who Feed Us.”
 
 
The key findings of the report show that in the food system overall (graphs from ARC):
  • People of color typically make less than whites, including within specific occupations;

  • Few people of color hold management positions;

  • People of color are over-represented in the system’s low-wage jobs 
As the report shows, food service is no exception to the trends in the industry overall. 
 
The good news is that we at Stir It Up know that the fight for equity is ongoing. In just the last three months, campus food service workers at Loyola University of Chicago, Dominican University and St. Peter’s College have won union representation with UNITE HERE. The campus dining workforce at Loyola comes from all over the world, with 16 different countries of origin. There are over 180 workers total, many of whom are immigrants and most of whom are people of color.
 
Campus dining workers at DePaul, who are also members of UNITE HERE, recently won a great new contract, which included significant improvements in wages and healthcare benefits as well as specific protections for immigrant workers. 
 
Looking forward, the Applied Research Center report concludes, “A movement for food justice must advocate for the dignity of and respect for the workers who help to produce, process, distribute and serve us our food. This will require us to build meaningful and durable bridges between the food, labor and racial justice movements.” 
 
We at UNITE HERE and Stir It Up are whole-heartedly committed to building those meaningful and durable bridges. We are excited to be a part of the Real Food Challenge 2011 summits this month and to have joined the Food Chain Workers Alliance this week. We look forward to more collaboration to bring justice to the food system.

 

Stir It Up Goes to Arizona

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 18:12
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[Editor’s Note: This post comes from Alberto Ramirez, who has been working with UNITE HERE to stir things up on the West Coast.]
 
On Saturday February 12, 2011 I had the opportunity to present at the United Student for Fair Trade / Real Food Challenge Southwest Convergence. 
 
In the first Stir It Up workshop, sisters and brothers from Unite Here Local 631 and Central Arizonians for a Sustainable Economy (CASE) presented to students about a day in the life of a food service worker at the airport. Everyone in the workshop shared stories and made the connection that exploited food service workers, fair trade coffee and sustainable food in general are all connected in one struggle.
 
Later in the afternoon, we covered in more detail the food industry’s relationship with universities and the economic exploitation of workers who serve us our food at colleges across the United States. Students shared their personal stories and connections to the food service industry and we delved into the last part of our presentation - Building Community Across Counters – to talk about how students can help make change.
 
One story from a workshop participant really stuck with me. She had gone to culinary art school and invested $30,000 and worked hard to complete her courses and planned to have the American Dream in the food service industry as a cook. However, she is making 8 dollars an hour and has a heavy debt load. She was not asking for a hand out, nor did she want to be dependent on anyone. She worked hard and invested in her education and in our presentation she learned that some of the major food service providers make nearly $20 billion dollars in revenue annually,I saw her face and heard her anger and frustration when hearing those numbers in comparisons to her wages and the exploitation at the job. Now, she wants to do something about it.

I left Arizona motivated from seeing youth organizing for sustainable real food, youth who are also making the connection that no worker, no human being should be abused and dehumanized for trying to have the American Dream. Students have the opportunity to build relationships with workers, hear their stories, and begin the steps to fight for worker justice.

 

Join Us at the Real Food Summits!!

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Thu, 02/10/2011 - 14:46
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Over the next three weeks, our friends at the Real Food Challenge are leading summits all across the United States to bring together people fighting for justice in our food system. Stir It Up is honored to have the opportunity to present at four of the five summits, and we hope to meet you there!

This weekend, in Tempe AZ, we’ll kick it off as part of the United Students for Fair Trade / Real Food Challenge Southwest Convergence at Arizona State University. In workshop session one on Saturday, Feb 12, meet concessions workers from Phoenix’s airport to hear about what it is like to work in the food service industry. Later in the day, we’ll go over the basics of the campus dining industry and lead a training on Building Community Across Counters.
 
Next weekend, Feb 18-20, we’ll be in two places at once!  Find us at the Strengthening the Roots Convergence in Santa Cruz, CA and at the Midwest Real Food Summit near Chicago, IL. At both conferences, you’ll have a chance to talk with food workers about their experiences in the cafeterias and their fight for justice in the workplace.   We’ll also run down the campus dining industry and train students on how to start building a campus community inclusive of dining workers at their own school.
 
We’ll wrap up our tour at Northeast Food and Justice Youth Summit in Boston, Feb 25-27. In addition to the campus dining basics, Boston attendees will have a special opportunity on Saturday, Feb 26 to talk with campus dining workers from Yale who have played a critical role in making that school’s sustainable food program a success both for those who cook the meals and the students who eat them.
 
Then on Feb 27, we’ll hit the streets of Boston with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Student/Farmworker Alliance, joining farmworkers and other allies in the March to Stop Sweatshops in the fields.
 
It promises to be an exciting few weeks in the movement for real, sustainable and fair food. If you haven’t registered for any of these conferences yet, you may still have a chance! Check out Real Food Challenge’s central summit website for all the links you need.
 

 

 

What's in it for food workers? The Food Safety Modernization Act

Submitted by Hannah Caruso on Fri, 12/03/2010 - 12:39
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Everyone is all a-flutter about the new food safety regulations the U.S. Senate passed this week. What does the proposed law (that still has to pass through the House) mean for workers in the food chain?

The Good

  • The obvious first change will be more prevention of massive disgustingness like E-Coli and salmonella outbreaks. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration has powers to test for food safety that were made into law in the 1930s. Yay for companies being required to have detailed food safety plans! Less chance of feces-originated bacteria on food = indubitably positive for workers in food manufacturing.

The Bad

The Ugly

  • Supporters include General Mills, Kraft Foods, and Monsanto. I don’t trust them.

Photo credit: Frans Persoon

CFSC Conference: An Executive Summary

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Thu, 10/21/2010 - 08:43
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I had another great day at the Community Food Security Coalition conference in New Orleans.  My biggest regret: I didn't make it out of the French Quarter to the non-tourist neighborhoods.  Word is, that's where you get authentic New Orleans cuisine.  (Locals aren't caught dead eating the French Quarter...god I hate being a tourist).

Anyway, the conference was packed and was a tremendous success.  I'm not the only person who thought so.  Here are some links from the blogosphere/newsosphere with other takes on the event for those who wanted to go but couldn't make it for whatever reason:

The CFSC has another event in Portland this coming Spring, the National Conference on State and Municipal Food Policy.  Click here if you're interested in learning more.  Also, college students who are interested in these issues should check out the Real Food Challenge and Slow Food on Campus, two other great organizations fighting for positive change in university food service.

The New Politics of Food: Michael Pollan Sounds Off

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Tue, 08/31/2010 - 19:01
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A more substantive Stir It Up-date coming tomorrow! For now, here’s a really interesting article by Michael Pollan in the New York Review of Books. 

The article contains a lot of information to chew on for students planning to build a diverse coalition of organizations in the fight to democratize campus food service.  Here’s a piece of the article that describes the diverse interests that hold a stake in effecting change in the food system:  

Read more

Chime in... where do you want to see change in food service?

Submitted by Hannah Caruso on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 14:07
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