by Adam Liebowitz | May 29, 2019 | Films & Video, News
On April 18th, CFF partnered with East New York Farms (ENYF) to host Growing Leaders: Shifting Power to Young Leaders in the Food Justice Movement. At this event, ENYF staff discussed their own leadership journeys from youth participants in a food justice program to staff at one of the preeminent youth food justice organizations in New York City. The panelists also detailed the many practices and policies ENYF has implemented to make this transition possible. This event was the CFF Champions Award briefing, designed and created by our 2018 Award recipient, East New York Farms!
by Adam Liebowitz | Apr 2, 2019 | Films & Video, News
On March 20th, CFF partnered with WhyHunger to host an event with grassroots leaders who are finding inspiring and effective new ways to “change the narrative” and build power through two separate initiatives. Food First’s intensive WriteShop method brings together frontline leaders from the food, farm and climate justice movements to produce a compelling book and generate shared strategies for community action. The Closing the Hunger Gap Network – a coordinated space for food banks and pantries moving beyond food distribution towards strategies that address the root causes of hunger – is undergoing a national story-based narrative change process to challenge the dominate narrative of hunger in U.S. and redefine the role of food emergency organizations in building a more just food system.
by Adam Liebowitz | Dec 12, 2018 | Films & Video, News
On December 4th, CFF partnered with Philanthropy New York, Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders, and Surdna Foundation to host a briefing on three new leadership development programs in the food and farming sector. Navina Khanna, Director of the HEAL Food Alliance, spoke about their School of Political Leadership that supports 10 food and farm justice leaders with the tools, knowledge, and skills they need to run for office, work on campaigns, and drive political change. Next, Farzana Serang, Executive Director of the Castanea Fellowship, described how Castanea will provide a diverse cohort of leaders with the time, space, and resources they need to connect and innovate on long-term solutions that can foster vibrant communities and the creation of a more equitable, sustainable, and healthy food system. Lastly, Adam Liebowitz, Director of Community Food Funders, outlined the new Seeding Power Fellowship for experienced food justice leaders working across sectors to build equitable food systems in New York City, the Hudson Valley, and Long Island.
by Adam Liebowitz | Dec 11, 2018 | Films & Video, News
On November 1st, CFF partnered with The Marcus Foundation and SAFSF to host a briefing about the living and working conditions faced by most farmworkers in the US, and food certification programs that are trying to address and ameliorate these issues. Jessica Culley described the work of the Farmworkers Support Committee (CATA), a grassroots member-led organization. CATA was also a founding member of the Agricultural Justice Project that issues the “Food Justice Certified” label. Peter O’Driscoll talked about the Equitable Food Initiative and all it has accomplished in the past five years with its “Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured” label that comes only as the result of multi-stakeholder engagement and agreements across the supply chain. And Michael Rozyne talked about his years in the farming and food distribution business with Red Tomato, what it will take to maintain farms in our region, and a pilot project he is engaging in with EFI in Connecticut to explore the model on smaller farms.
by Adam Liebowitz | Aug 9, 2018 | Films & Video, Past Events
On June 7th, over 50 CFF members gathered at Project Farmhouse for the 6th CFF Annual Gathering. Delicious Puerto Rican food was supplied by Liberation Cuisine, with drinks sponsored by Port Morris Distillery and Bronx Beer Hall. The evening featured a presentation by East New York Farms, our 2018 CFF Champions Award recipient, and a keynote panel on food system issues in Puerto Rico with frontline activists from the island.
by Adam Liebowitz | Jul 30, 2018 | Films & Video, News, Past Events
On July 12th, CFF hosted an event called Pesticides in Paradise: How Hawaiian Communities Took on the Chemical Industry and Won. Food justice advocate and funder Anna Lappé opened with an overview of how she learned about this story and why she was drawn to get involved, and then Dr. Virginia Rauh presented her research on the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos and its public health impacts, including related chemical exposure from indoor spraying here in New York City. From there we heard from community activist Malia Chun about her community’s personal history with the pesticide industry, and how that narrative fits in to the larger history of Hawaii post-contact with Western colonialists. Anna Frederick, Executive Director of Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA), then detailed the community organizing and statewide campaign that resulted in the country’s first ban on chlorpyrifos. Malia closed by discussing new nonprofits, especially on the most impacted island of Kaua’i, that have emerged as a result of this fight.
