Shopper at Community Food Bank’s Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market. Photo by: Josh Schachter
As spring makes a comeback, thoughts turn to the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees. In the flowers and trees department, home-grown victuals can abound in the desert and local gardeners are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about native edible plants.
As eaters, more people are becoming more mindful of how choices in food consumption – i.e., which foods we choose to grow or purchase, how those foods are grown, and how they get to our tables – make a real difference to our health, politics and communities. The food security issue has expanded into the food justice movement and Tucson’s rich and active grass-roots nonprofit scene offers residents prime opportunities to get onboard.
The Community Food Bank will host one such opportunity on Sunday, March 6 at Pima Community College’s Downtown Campus, 1255 N. Stone Ave.
“Cultivating Food Justice,” a public forum and community discussion, “will be a chance for residents to get acquainted with local food activists and will help people think about the local food movement in a more personal way,” according to Monica Garcia, the food bank’s farmers’ market outreach coordinator. The free event runs from 2pm to 4pm; childcare will be provided, and refreshments will be catered by Café 54.
Robert Gottlieb, author of the recently published book, Food Justice, will be on hand to share stories about how citizens across the country and the world are activating change to create food self-reliance and production sustainability, and to combat “food injustices” that contribute to issues like poor public health, urban “food deserts” and substandard labor conditions for food workers.
According to a review on Booklist, Food Justice highlights “inspiring and innovative success stories at both grassroots and high-profile levels, and offer attainable examples of ways consumers, farmers, manufacturers, merchants, and legislators can correct system-wide injustices.”
Local panelists will include farmers from Breckenfield Family Farm and Sleeping Frog Farm as well as parents of students at Ochoa Elementary School. Organizations tabling at the event include Tierra Y Libertad, Watershed Management Group and Antigone Books, which will be selling copies of Food Justice.
For further details, contact Monica Garcia by calling 622-0525, ext. 265, CommunityFoodBank.com. Information on the book is at FoodJusticeBook.org.
