Hello friends,
Thank you panelists, The Other 1% project and all of you for making Connecticut Food System Transformation: Pathways To Equity & Resilience such a successful gathering! A special thank you to Foundation House for creating a beautiful space for all of us to connect and cultivate relationships.
Transitioning into resilient and sovereign food cultures takes all of us working across sectors. As regionalization becomes stronger, it is incumbent on all of us to creatively design a food system that nourishes everyone, cares for the land and waterways, and the people who grow, process and procure our food.
As we learned at the gathering, a responsible global food system is essential and community-based initiatives are fundamental to transformation. They inform policy, guide investment, reframe narrative, weave connectivity, and build trusted relationships across cultures.
Key takeaways:
- Soil & water are the foundation of a healthy resilient food system.
- The Farm Bill is the largest funding mechanism for land conservation in the US.
- The best role for academia is to support work on the ground.
- Storytelling can help bring people together by disrupting the “us/them” divide.
- Solidarity & trust happen when you uplift other people and encourage them to share their story.
Call to action:
- Support No Cost School Meals, see link below.
- Purchase CT Grown directly from farmers.
- Shop local & shop Black.
- Focus on the zoning of the land.
- Donate to & participate in community-based organizations.
- Learn the historic and present day context of food & agriculture.
- Listen with your heart and be open.
- Follow and advocate for local, state and federal food justice and agricultural policy.
- Hold nuance and complexity, there isn’t one path.
- Never underestimate the power of gathering.
