A Call to Action: Food for Thought

A Call to Action: Food for Thought is co-sponsored by Transition Whatcom, a hub within the Transition network and a group dedicated to supporting resilient and more self-reliant communities throughout Whatcom County, and by Anything Grows, a non profit devoted to developing an oppositional culture to civilization which provides resources, information, community, food, music, art, etc. in a sustainable and egalitarian manner.

Free before 8 p.m. Those who attend the dialogue are admitted free to the concert. After 8 p.m. door charge = sliding scale $5-10.

This event, consisting of two sections, is first an open-dialogue, panel discussion amongst local producers, farmers, professors, city council members, sustainability oriented organizations and community members. It is secondly a fundraiser for Sustainable Connections by means of a musical concert (Performed by The Endorfins and friends), so as to produce income in support of our local economy and raise awareness about the importance of buying local. This event will be creating the discursive and physical space for engendering social change. It will be a day of one-on-one networking and learning what's working in our local food economy. Time and place: The Foundry (100 E. Maple) doors open at 6 p.m. discussion begins at 6:30, benefit concert around 8:30-9 p.m.

The overarching goals of the event are to (1) engage the above stated attendees in a thought provoking discussion, open to the community with strong emphasis on community involvement and contribution, about questions and issues concerning our local food system, (2) provide local restaurants and producers an opportunity for free marketing and promotion, and a place to take part in direct interaction and relationship building with consumers, (3) provide consumers a place to come and ask questions of local producers, such as about quality, location, access, production techniques, sustainability, transparency, etc., (4) raise awareness of gastronomic knowledge to a wide variety of audience members in an effort to promote a food policy for the city that prioritizes food justice, establishing the right of all residents to adequate, nutritious food and promoting food production and distribution systems that are grounded in equity and equality, (5) address differential discursive status and access asymmetries of power by providing a physical space where anyone and everyone in the community is welcome to learn and have a voice in speaking about concerns, inequalities, disparities, visions of the future, and any ideas or comments in general concerning both the national food production system and our local system.

Open Panel Discussion: Invitations have been extended to the following recipients (more are in the works): NamaSte Entrepreneurs, Terra Organica, Bellingham Food Co-op, Common Threads Farms, Growing Washington, Walter Haugen, Gigi Berardi, Fred Berman, Sustainable Bellingham, Sustainable Connection, Mike Long, The Table, Bellingham Food Bank, Misty Meadows Farms, and City Council members Terry Bornemann and Jack Weiss.

I, Kenneth Schaumberg, and Chelsea Thaw (a friend and fellow intellectual) will be facilitating the discussion.