What's Goin' On!

It might seem like we've been laying low the past few weeks, but really, Just Food has been laying the foundations for some exciting projects this semester and beyond.

First, on the conference front: Emily and I attended the Lehigh Valley Alliance for Sustainable Communities SEED Conference two weekends ago. We were very impressed by all of the great things the people of the Lehigh Valley are doing, and especially at how well they facilitated dialogue between the farmers and non-farmers among them. We also heard they are trying to set up a local currency system, based on the example of the Ithaca HOURS. This coming Friday, we will be attending the PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference in State College with Chaone Mallory's Food, Sustainability, and Place class. Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved, will be the keynote speaker! Additionally, Emily represented us at a gathering of the social justice leaders at local schools, as well as at the CPJE student leaders meeting, both this week, where she made lots of contacts and learned about all of the exciting things going on in our area and in our school!

In other news, it's looking like our two biggest projects for this semester will be helping to coordinate the Fair Fair and proposing a bill for institutional food donation to the University Senate. As mentioned two posts ago, the Fair Fair was an event I coordinated last year to feature some of the ways we can support local businesses with sustainable/socially responsible practices. This year, Emily will be taking the lead and perhaps expanding the event's objectives to include more information and options. We're hoping to feature companies and organizations involved in food, clothing, books, personal care products, stationery, crafts, cleaning supplies, green building, alternative energy, transportation and more! The event will be held in conjunction with Judy Wicks's receipt of the CPJE's Peace Award on Wednesday, March 18th. We are hoping to have assistance from the other CPJE student leaders and a new organization in VSB to sponsor this event. A planning meeting will be held soon, so let us know if you're interested in helping or if you have ideas about who to invite and how to organize the event!

The second major project is the University Senate bill proposal. Many organizations, including Food Not Bombs and Philabundance, are already very active in recovering and redistributing unused but perfectly nutritious and tasty food to those who would otherwise not have access to it. After all, sharing our food resources makes much more sense than wasting it in the garbage while our neighbors go hungry! Yet, many institutions and individuals are nervous about participating in such recovery activities, since it seems like they might be liable for the food that is given. However, according to Philabundance's handy and brief explanation, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act (1996) "protects food donors, including individuals, and non-profit feeding programs who act in good faith. While exceptions are made for gross negligence or intentional misconduct, the law states that these groups will not be subject to civil or criminal liability." With this knowledge in hand and other successful models to follow, we would like to promote the recovery and redistribution of the University's excess food. To this end, we will be preparing a bill proposal to present to the University Senate's Mission and Social Justice Committee this month. In the meantime, we are also hoping to hear back from the West Philly chapter of Food Not Bombs in order to participate in some of the work they do in the area.

Speaking of the Philadelphia scene, we are hoping to do some work at Mill Creek Farm in March. Meanwhile, Mill Creek is frantically trying to ensure that they can continue to provide nutritional and social benefits to the community, by securing the title of the land they are currently cultivating. Please consider writing an email to Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell in order to urge her support for the the transferral of the deed to the farm. Just go to the farm's website, where you will be directed to the councilwoman's feedback page and you can then submit the pre-formatted letter or one of your own. They need our help!

Also, Paul Glover, local/regional sustainability superstar and the guest speaker at last year's FairFair, wrote an inspiring and highly informational cover article for City Paper this week. Check it out!!!

Finally, don't forget to check out some of my favorite blogs, Ethicurean, La Vida Locavore, and Obama Foodorama, Organic Consumers' Association, for all of the latest news!