You’re Invited! The Change is Us: Democratic Empowerment for Food System Transformation
An online round table discussion hosted by Food Solutions New England. Keep an eye on your email inbox for invitations to more events over the coming months.
Thursday, November 12 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm EST
Registration
“The kind of food system we need requires that we exercise democracy in as many ways as possible.”
Imagine thousands and thousands of people actively engaged in creating their own food future across the region and beyond.
Democratic empowerment has been identified by Food Solutions New England (FSNE) as a critical attribute of the food system we are creating. And yet democracy can take many different forms. Whether it’s participatory decision-making, direct democracy in the management of your organization, cooperatively owned businesses, or simply engaging more fully with the mechanisms of civic life – like voting and advocacy – the potential benefits for our food system are immense.
Join FSNE for this round table discussion on the critical role of democratic empowerment as we collectively build a sustainable, just, and resilient food system that works for everyone.
Special guests include Senator Marilyn Moore (CT), Commissioner Amanda Beal (ME), Niaz Dorry (NAMA & NFFC), Molly Anderson (VT) & Julius Kolawole (RI).
You will hear about many expressions of democratic empowerment already in our region, be inspired to engage with this work, and get fired up to leverage more forms of democracy for food system transformation.
This session will be conducted in English with closed captioning and will be recorded for later viewing. Facilitation by Karen Spiller (UNH Haas Professor and KAS Consulting), Curtis Ogden (Interaction Institute for Social Change) & Lisa Fernandes (UNH).
Help shape the next 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge!
Food Solutions New England (FSNE) is gearing up for the 7th annual 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge scheduled for April 5-25, 2021.
Be part of the 2021 Racial Equity Challenge Planning Team
Each year we collaborate with a team of people from across the network to update, improve, and “fine-tune” the Challenge. This is a great opportunity to connect with others centering equity and justice work while contributing to the evolution of FSNE’s Challenge as a tool for food system transformation. Read more about the Challenge here.
Planning team members are volunteers who:
- Attend approximately 5 one-hour planning team Zoom calls between November and May.
- Spend 1-2 hours between each of the planning calls reviewing and/or giving feedback on Challenge materials being developed.
- If time permits, help develop one or two areas of the Challenge that they are especially interested in, like the Launch Webinar, the daily prompts, the Challenge blog series (original writing, videos, audio, etc.), or helping to spread the word about the Challenge, etc.
Who can join this team? The FSNE 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge planning team members live and/or work in at least one of the six New England states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut) and are connected in some way with food system work (farming, fishing, food business, policy, food security, food justice, food communication, etc.). It’s ideal, but not strictly necessary, for planning team members to have participated in the Challenge at least once.
Express your interest here by Friday, November 6th at 5pm EST.
What else is going on with FSNE?
Welcome to our many new subscribers!
Food Solutions New England is a regional, six-state network that unites the food system community around a shared set of values – democratic empowerment, racial equity and dignity for all, sustainability, and trust – and strengthens the movement’s ability to achieve New England Food Vision goals. Our network envisions a powerful food movement that democratically transforms New England’s food system so that it is sustainable, just, and resilient.
In brief: Here are some activities to keep your eyes on as we build momentum for the decade ahead…
- We’re excited to bring you more stories that demonstrate how New England is already doing the foundational work of building a just and resilient food system – and building back even stronger based on what we’ve experienced during the pandemic.
- We will be rolling out a series of online gatherings in the new year for our regional network to focus on four key areas of our shared work. Watch for your email invitation so that you don’t miss out on the most comprehensive food system networking opportunity in our region.
- We will be bringing some of our energy and resources to bear on the policy work that supports durable food system change and connecting with our policy-oriented network partners to build that momentum. Watch this space!
- We are launching a monthly series of capacity-building workshops for food systems communications professionals. Contact Lisa Fernandes to make sure your communications staff are on the invitation list.
- We are looking to update the New England Food Vision to build on the amazing collaborative energy that we experienced while creating our submission to the Rockefeller Food Vision Prize earlier this year, and in cooperation with our partner networks in the region.
- We are planning for the return of the in-person New England Food Summits in 2022!
- Under the general category of “network strengthening,” we’ve got a robust network health assessment coming up, the FSNE Pledge rolling out (become one of our inaugural signers, if you haven’t already!), envisioning what our Network Leadership Institute has in store, as well as getting ready to expand both the FSNE Network Team and Steering Committee very soon!
Don’t forget to follow us on all your social media platforms, catch up on the latest food systems news, submit events for our calendar and social media feeds, and spread the word as we build and strengthen our network together!
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Food Solutions New England (FSNE) is a six-state regional network creating a healthy, just and resilient food system that works for everyone. The FSNE network is coordinated by the UNH Sustainability Institute in Durham, NH. The University of New Hampshire ranks #2 in the country among public higher education institutions for its sustainability efforts.
Our mailing address is:
Food Solutions New England at the UNH Sustainability Institute
107 Nesmith Hall
131 Main Street
Durham, New Hampshire 03824