It’s now our second week into the food project, and the information just keeps expanding. The amount of resources, people, organizations, readings, and opinions we have acquired this past week is exceptional. I think I speak for everyone on the project when I say that this week has been one big information dump in the best way. Here’s a very brief re-cap of the amazing interviews we had this week!
This past Monday, we met with NCC professor (and East 40 coordinator) Kelly Allen, who gave us sensational information regarding the bridge between food systems and social justice. Professor Allen highlighted that reimagining and repairing our food system requires the acknowledgment of intersectionality. To focus simply on the environmental aspects of food systems neglects other crucial components: race, sexuality, ethnicity, income, and other factors heavily impact how food systems are perceived—how you view a food system may be drastically different than your neighbor. He also told us that Lit Cafe is an example of a restaurant that puts sustainability first; they use local coffee, display art by local artists, make all food items in-store, and much more. He said that word-of-mouth is important when supporting local places, since most of us would not know what efforts Lit is making toward a sustainable food system without professor Allen hyping them up. The general disconnect between our current food system and equity is certainly lacking, which our project is eager to address. Thank you for your perspective, professor Allen!
On Tuesday, we interviewed ProJeCt of Easton‘s Community Relations Manager, Morgan McKay, and Case Support Coordinator, Breanna Maskalis. They gave us wonderful information about ProJeCt’s community garden and food pantry. Food insecurity, the current price of food, transportation, and other social matters were discussed in this meeting, further enforcing the importance of activism within the context of food systems. ProJeCt has helped many individuals and families across Northampton County with their food pantry service. County residents may come to the pantry once a month to grab fresh ingredients, recipe inspiration, and other helpful benefits—they also have items for people who are not able to cook an entire meal. As for the community garden, I have personally been there and can say that it is a great garden! The mint and sage are both growing like crazy, so if you’re a Northampton County resident, I highly recommend checking them out and grabbing some. They have other fantastic services as well, such as GED and ESL classes. Thank you for your outstanding work, ProJeCt!
On Wednesday, we met with Anna Smith, who is the Director of the Community Action Development in Bethlehem. The Community Action Development is multifaceted, which is another common denominator we have been noticing throughout the first few weeks of the project. Most of the folks we have been interviewing are representing organizations that juggle multiple areas of priority, which is equally inspiring as it is admirable. Ms. Smith walked us through the importance of small business support, community gardening (and how many community gardens actually rely on water to be delivered to them), farmers markets, advocacy, overall accessibility, and diverse perspectives. Ms. Smith gave us great advice for the future of our project as well. Thank you for all that you do, Community Action Development in Bethlehem!
Today (Thursday), we met with Madeline Squarcia from Buy Fresh Buy Local Lehigh Valley. Ms. Squarcia explained how BFBL is a non-profit that encourages farm-to-table practices. Although not all of the produce is certified organic, many farmers do practice organic methods and it appears that buying local is arguably more important than buying certified organic produce. BFBL serves the community through education and resources, and it serves local partners (restaurants, retailers, caterers, etc.) by connecting them with farms as well as promoting them to the public. Ms. Squarcia emphasized how BFBL’s initiative is to connect the dots between local food and community, the enviornment, and individual health. She raised an important obstacle that we had not considered yet: that farm-to-table goods are more difficult to demand in larger institutions. However, smaller places are more likely to already have sustainable alternatives; it is up to us to ask around and see who is making an effort. She also suggested that in order to see systemic change in our food systems, there must be a collective mindset and effort. Thank you for your direction, Buy Fresh Buy Local!
In addition to all of our wonderful interviews this week, we have done a substantial amount of reading to educate and prepare ourselves for the next steps in the project. We read different school districts’s wellness policies, which revealed that most local school districts have not updated their wellness policies in years. We would love to get to the bottom of why that is.
As the first week of our interviews comes to a close, we see a much larger, more complex picture being painted. Perhaps this means that “Rethinking the Food System” will have a part two this fall? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Here’s a sneak peak of what we’ll be up to next week:
Interviews with Layne Klein of Klein Farms, Professor Hollie Gibbons from Cedar Crest College, and Josh Parr from LaFarm at Lafayette College.
Lastly, we briefly discussed starting an Instagram account to post some of our findings and updates. Would anybody be interested in that? Let us know!
Check back next week with more exciting stuff!
Thank you Sarah. This is excellent and a topic that definitely needs continuing coverage!