Conference

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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:

• NOLA.com surveys the conference-goers.
• The blogger from EatYourYard.com's take on the conference.
• The Summit Daily News takes a look at the conference...and backyard urban chickens.
• This article came out in advance of the conference, but is a great summary of it's mission and purpose.

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.

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When I walked past the Canal Street McDonald's last evening without buying a Big Mac (which I have to admit, I sometimes crave), I knew that the day's events had had an impact on me.  After a day of learning of injustices of all types in the food system--many of them the result of corporate power in the industry--there was no way I could bring myself to order a double cheeseburger without feeling ashamed of myself (instead, I felt temporarily hungry, which is preferable IMO). 

The event in question was an annual conference--Food Culture Justice--organized by the Community Food Security Coalition.  And my first day at the conference, which is taking place in New Orleans, was a tremendous experience.  

Creating alliances within the food movement increases the movement's strength exponentially.  So, when farmworkers' rights advocates link up with food service workers rights' advocates, who link up with sustainability advocates and local farming advocates, what you get is a beautiful thing: the ability to take on entrenched powers who would prefer that we all mind our business so that the food system remains the same.

The conference was filled with representatives from great organizations: The Food Chain Workers Alliance, Food First, the Restaurant Opportunities Center, the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, the National Family Farm Coalition and the Real Food Challenge, just to name a few.  

The event continues today.  So stay tuned for live tape-delayed updates from New Orleans.

We wanted to let all of you know about an awesome conference, Trade Action Camp, happening at the University of Central Florida March 27-28.  Trade Action Camp is a national conference of students activists and interested individuals who work on issues of fair trade and trade justice. It is being organized by two national student organizations: The United Students for Fair Trade and The Student Trade Justice Campaign.

You can find out more at www.tradeactioncamp.com and the event's Facebook page.

This event is an opportunity for students, producers, educators, vendors, and other players in the Trade Justice movement to come together and share knowledge, experiences, and ideas. This year’s Convergence will have a strong focus on addressing the most current and pressing global crises and mobilizing the responses to these crises to implement solutions—both the Economic and Climate Crisis movement as a whole and the student movement in particular. The concept behind “Trade Action Camp” is to inspire student activists to challenge the Trade Justice movement to continue evolving by creating new goals and new interpretations of what Trade Justice is and should be.

If you want to spread the word, here's a flyer you can post around campus!

A couple of months ago, Stir It Up had a student conference in Chicago.  Students from Northwestern, DePaul and Loyola all got together to learn more about the food service industry, hear from food service workers and to learn some of the organizing and research skills that make campus organizing successful.  

Well, now....Stir It Up is going Hollywood! 

On Saturday April 10th on the USC campus, students from universities all over Los Angeles and Orange County will be getting together for the second Stir It Up conference.  All students are welcome to this free event.  To register please fill out this online form.  

We'll have more about this conference as we get closer to the date.  In the meantime please make sure to fill the registration to reserve your spot at the conference.

The Stir It Up miniconference in Chicago on Saturday was a huge success!  Students from five schools across the Chicago area spent the day learning from each other and from campus food service workers also standing up for change.

We'll have some more posts about the conference in the coming days and weeks, including some video, but for now check out the photo set on Facebook.  The photos were taken by Pat Brown, a student leader from DePaul.  Here's a sampling:

Students and workers start out the day.

Workers Making Change panel discussion.

Sorry to all of you longing for Stir It Up-dates from Chicago.  Don't worry, though, we've been busy.  As hopefully you all know, the Stir It Up Chicago mini-conference is just three days away!  If you haven't registered, do so now!

Stir It Up mini-conference: Bringing Justice to Campus Food Service!
Saturday, November 7
12-5 pm
DePaul University (main campus in Lincoln Park neighborhood)

If you have questions, just shoot an email to Kyle Schafer at kschafer [at] unitehere.org.